(From left to right) Varsity football player Jaylon Stone, varsity football player Lucian Anderson III, head varsity football coach David Perno and varsity football player Dailen Howard pose outside of the Terry College of Business Conference Room during the Seventh Annual Clarke & Oconee Football Media Day on July 25. During the event, Anderson spoke about how this year’s team can make a deeper playoff run. “The leadership is different this year,” Anderson said. “There’s no slacking off at all, and I feel like that’s really gonna make a difference, it’s gonna show on the field and it’s really going to help us in those late playoff games.” Photo by Aza Khan
The CCHS varsity football team will kick off their season with a scrimmage against North Oconee High School on Friday, Aug. 5 before playing their first official home game against Cedar Shoals High School on Aug. 18.
Following a 10-3 season that ultimately ended in a third-round playoff exit, the Clarke Central High School varsity football team is coming into the 2022-2023 season with a new motto: Close the gap.
The Gladiators’ coaching staff introduced the mantra at the start of their summer training camp in response to consecutive quarter final losses to Calhoun High School in the Georgia High School Association AAAAA playoffs. According to head varsity football coach David Perno, those losses show a gulf in class between the Gladiators and high school football’s top programs.
“Warner Robbins (High School), Cartersville (High School), Calhoun (High School) and Ware County (High School are) pretty good programs, so we just got to find a way to get in that elite,” Perno said. “We’re close, we’re there, (we’re) making it to the final eight. We just gotta close the gap.”
The idea of closing the gap between the Gladiators and their competitors has permeated the team’s summer training, with attention focused on the upcoming season rather than past ones.
“The goal is to win every week. That’s what we’ve been preaching about every single day this summer,” CCHS senior and starting quarterback Lucian Anderson III said. “Then, we’re gonna be good enough to be in the playoffs and make a deep run.”
In order to make a playoff run, the Gladiators will have to navigate a reshuffled region that doesn’t include Walnut Grove High School and Johnson High School, who placed second-to-last and last in Region 8-AAAAA, respectively.
A graphic compares the records of teams in Region 8-AAAAA last year and this year, highlighting how the new Region 8-AAAAA teams won more games than the outgoing teams. Clarke Central High School head varsity football coach David Perno believes the Gladiators’ schedule will be more difficult, but that the team needs to persevere in spite of it. “We’re dealing with a little different animal, with our region schedule, but at the same time, we owe it to our players, our former players and our coaches (to perform well),” Perno said. “The expectations are there now. We gotta handle ‘em.” Graphic by Wyatt Meyer
“(The new region has) a huge impact. (We) lose Walnut Grove (High School) and Johnson (High School) and pick up Jefferson (High School) and Flowery Branch (High School). I don’t think you can say more,” Perno said. “AAAAA is a different animal from our standpoint. It’s just a beast.”
In preparing for their retooled region schedule, the Gladiators have been training for most of the summer, which Anderson says will have a positive impact on the team’s performance.
“It’s all about the work ethic during the summer and we’ve already been on that all summer,” Anderson said. “I know we’re gonna come out fast this year and we’re just gonna make it happen.”
In terms of personnel, the Gladiators graduated several key players last year including leading rusher William Richardson and leading receivers John Warrington and Antonio Jewell Jr. However, Perno believes that these losses will be offset by improved play on the offensive and defensive lines.
“Up front (on the offensive) line and (defensive) line with those guys, we’re just a little better than we’ve been in years past,” Perno said. “We’re always gonna lose good players, but we’ve done a good job of developing young guys, so we’re good.”
“I wouldn’t say there’s more pressure on me. I feel like we’re still going to be doing some of the same things, even though we lost some of our older running backs.”
— Lucian Anderson III,
CCHS senior and starting quarterback
Perno will rely on CCHS seniors Dailen Howard and Jaylon Stone in the trenches this season, with Howard at defensive end and Stone playing tackle. Stone is focused on improving his play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
“(From) a defensive standpoint, getting knockdowns, (tackles for loss), stats and all that (is important),” Stone said. “(From) an offensive standpoint, trying to keep defenders off your quarterbacks and running backs (is) very important.”
Among the other returning players are CCHS senior and cornerback Malachi McNeill, the team’s leader in interceptions last year, as well as Anderson, who will enter his second year as the starting quarterback. Despite the departures of key offensive players, Anderson believes the offensive will remain balanced.
Clarke Central High School varsity football team quarterback Lucian Anderson III, a senior, poses outside of the Terry College of Business Conference Room during the Seventh Annual Clarke & Oconee Football Media Day on July 25. While this year’s Region 8-AAAAA realignment introduces two Region 8-AAAA playoff teams into the Gladiators schedule, Anderson disagrees with the notion that CCHS’s path to the playoffs has gotten more difficult. “If we do what we’re supposed to do, we’re gonna be fine no matter who we’re playing,” Anderson said. “If we execute, we do everything full-speed, we’re hitting hard and we’re being explosive, we’re gonna be fine.” Photo by Aza Khan
“I wouldn’t say there’s more pressure on me. I feel like we’re still going to be doing some of the same things, even though we lost some of our older running backs,” Anderson said. “We’re gonna be throwing the ball a little bit more this year, so that’s gonna be a little bit more pressure than (last year), but that’s not too bad.”
Although Anderson feels that the weight of the offense won’t rest on his shoulders alone, he stressed that there are still areas of his game where he can become better.
“(I’m looking to improve on) using my legs more with my running game and being able to break that one tackle and go run for a touchdown,” Anderson said. “With the passing game, (I’m looking at) being a little bit more accurate, being quicker with my feet and just being on time (with) the ball.”
Anderson and the rest of the Gladiators will be looking at making a stronger start to their season offensively after last season, when the team put up just five points in their first two games.
“We’ve been slow at the gate offensively (in recent years.) I wanna make sure that we’re a little ahead of the game this year and clicking a little better, minimizing mistakes a little earlier in the year,” Perno said. “With us, it’s just getting some confidence early.”
Everything will come to a head in the Gladiators’ first game of the season at home to Cedar Shoals High School in the Classic City Championship, and players on both sides are excited about the game.
“We try to look at it just like it’s another game, and we prepare the same, we don’t do anything different, but we do know it’s the rivalry game,” CSHS senior and quarterback Mandrell Glenn said. “It’s just a different feel when you play (at CCHS), with the crowd, and it’s the last time I play them, so I’m looking forward to (it).”
“We’ve been slow at the gate offensively (in recent years.) I wanna make sure that we’re a little ahead of the game this year and clicking a little better, minimizing mistakes a little earlier in the year.”
— David Perno,
head varsity football coach
Though the Gladiators have won 10 of the last 11 Classic City Championships, Anderson doesn’t believe that detracts from the game’s significance.
“It’s (special) because you know the guys that you’re playing against, you really know them, you’ve been friends with them for a long time,” Anderson said. “There is (an extra edge) because the person who wins that game (gets) to have the bragging rights.”
The CCHS fans will get their first taste of this season’s Gladiators during their home scrimmage against North Oconee High School on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m., with Anderson setting a high bar for what the community should expect.
“(The CCHS community) should expect a better team than we’ve ever had, (we’re) just gonna be great,” Anderson said. “They should expect some points being scored, explosive plays, (and the) defense making stops. It’s gonna be awesome.”
