Clarke Central High School head football coach David Perno looks at his team on fall sports senior night on Oct. 21. Varsity starting linebacker senior Byron “Memphis” Spraggins feels Perno has done well as a coach this season and is brininging back the culture and tradition of CCHS football. “He knows the tradition. Tradition is a big thing for him,” Spraggins said. “He changed the uniform back to the traditional ways. He changed how they did practice based on tradition.” Photo by Hannah Gale.
Story by LUCIA BERMUDEZ – Co-Editor-in-Chief
Multimedia by ANEESA CONINE-NAKANO – Co-Editor-in-Chief
David Perno, once a Gladiator himself, followed a sports-based path of playing and coaching which has lead him to his current position as the Clarke Central High School head football coach.
He stands on the sidelines, surrounded by a sea of players and coaches.
His presence is calm, his eyes focused firmly on the play at hand. Billy Henderson Stadium is loud, the field is awash with noise and commotion, but he remains still, unfazed.
His years of experience avs a coach have led him to this moment. In the back of his mind, he had always envisioned a time when he would stand before his team as head coach, a team which he was once a part of.
The game has ended.
The team gathers in a huddle. He speaks to his players, giving words of encouragement, promise for a better tomorrow.
“You did a good job, you showed up. Everything is still in front of us.”
His presence commands respect, seen in his players’ responses of “Yes, sir.”
His determination is apparent, his passion is contagious. He stands over his team, unsure of what lies ahead, but certain of all it took to get there.
Clarke Central High School head football coach David Perno has had a long history with athletics, a history that has led him to his current position at CCHS. Perno showed an interest in sports from a young age, as he was influenced by his sports-centered family.
“Young, I played everything I could. I had an older brother, I had an older cousin and we were always, always playing. We were always doing something athletic,” Perno said. “It’s been a big part in my family and upbringing.”
Perno spent his elementary school years at St. Joseph’s Catholic School. However, as he grew and began to play team sports, he felt the school did not this needs and he transitioned to Clarke Middle School, where he gravitated towards football and pursued the sport.
“I (went to tryout) and I was, I think, the only seventh grader to come out one year, and the only reason I came out was because my cousin was the C-Team quarterback and I knew I always caught his passes,” Perno said. “He talked me into coming out, and I came out and that was it — I was hooked.”
After that moment, Perno did not stop playing football. He transitioned to CCHS, where sports were not merely an aspect of his life, but rather the focal point — what he lived for.
Perno played both baseball and football at CCHS, both under the leadership of Billy Henderson, who was a coach, inspiration and role model to Perno. Henderson coached at CCHS for 23 seasons and left a legacy within the school, especially within its athletic program.
“You know, to be honest, outside my dad, there is no one that had the in uence on me like coach Henderson did, and that’s why I’m here,” Perno said. “When it comes down to it, it’s all about the environment that coach Henderson created here and I had so much respect for the program and the way he did things and the relationship I had with him.”
According to Perno, Henderson motivated his team to work hard and instilled a culture of pride within the school.
“He just had this way about him. He knew when to press, he knew when he needed to push, he knew when he needed to pick you up,” Perno said. “He just had a real good feel on personalities of players and he was firm, he was fair and we had fun in his program.”
Under the in uence of Henderson, Perno’s passion for football grew. After a loss at the state championship of 1984 against Valdosta High School, the Gladiators were down, but would not accept defeat.
“At that point, we knew that next year we had to nd a way to win one more game,” Perno said. “Our mindset was it was state championship or bust.”
The Gladiators won their third and last state championship at CCHS in 1985 with Henderson at the helm. Perno earned All-State honors as a senior running back on the undefeated team. The school and community reflected this pride.
“We were one of the best football programs in the country during those years, but you know what? We had one of the best high schools in the state, and I think they went together,” Perno said. “The pride that everybody had about the football program carried over to the school year.”
Perno graduated from CCHS in the spring of 1986 and continued to play sports in college, but rather than football, Perno pursued baseball. Perno first played collegiately at Middle Georgia State University, later transferring to the University of Georgia in 1988, where he served as the starting second baseman on the Bulldogs’ 1990 National Championship team.
“Being a part of that (team), I was able to learn a lot and that was part of the reason I always had the vision or ambition that I wanted to come back and coach Georgia because I felt like there was more in there,” Perno said.
Perno did go on to become a collegiate baseball coach, first at MGSU and then as assistant coach at UGA for five years and head baseball coach for 10 years. Michael Henson, a 2005 CCHS alumnus and a 2009 and 2011 UGA alumnus, played UGA baseball under Perno’s coaching in 2006 and 2007. Henson felt Perno cared greatly for his players.
“Coach Perno was always very honest and he would be quick to tell you if you were doing a great job, but would also be quick to tell you if you were not doing a great job,” Henson said. “Everyone on the team would respect the fact that he was honest and everyone knew where they stood.”
Henson says that although Perno commanded respect from his players and held an authoritative position, he always had an open door.
“He was someone that if you were unhappy or unsure about what was going on, he always had his door open to talk to him about whatever was going on. He was a good leader,” Henson said. “He made everyone feel like they were a part of the program regardless of their role and made everyone feel like they were welcome to come in and talk to him at any point.”
The UGA baseball program thrived under Perno’s coaching, with the team placing fourth in the College World Series in 2006 and second in 2008. Henson recalls a pep talk Perno gave to his team in the spring of 2006 that set the team up for their successes to come.
“He said, ‘The team can be as good as it wants to be or as or as bad as it wants to be. It’s up to y’all. You have more talent than anyone in the country and it’s going to be up to y’all to determine what you want to do with that talent’ and that meeting was a turning point as a team,” Henson said. “We were already really close and bonded, and we kinda came together.”
The baseball team was peaking, and Perno was responsible for the success of his players. However, the program took a hit after the injury of two players affected the team — and Perno — greatly.
“Things at Georgia hit us so fast. It went from an almost-dormant program to one of the best programs in the country in a very short period of time, so I wasn’t seeing it like I needed to see it,” Perno said. “Going through those injuries, those two young men and just tremendous kids, it’s tough and it’s still tough to this day to talk about it. But it really changed my life, and going through those two situations really put life in perspective for me.”
The two players, Chance Veazey and Jonathan Taylor, were paralyzed following their accidents. Veazey was involved in a traffic accident in 2009, and Taylor was injured in an out field collision in 2011.
After Veazey’s injury, the team never won more than 16 games. Due to a perceived level of diminishing performance, UGA athletic director Greg McGarity fired Perno from his position as head coach in 2013, leaving Perno at a loss.
“I was seventeen years at the University of Georgia and I gave over half my life to that baseball program, so it wasn’t an easy situation,” Perno said. “It kind of blindsided me. I just didn’t expect it after two kids getting paralyzed and my mother passing away. I didn’t expect an AD to fire me,” Perno said.
After his termination, Perno focused on his family. Perno met his wife of 20 years, Melaney Perno, in high school, as she was a friend of his older sister. The two were living in Athens during Perno’s time serving as UGA assistant baseball coach and reconnected, later marrying and having their two children: Saidee and Hayes.
Saidee is a junior at CCHS, and Hayes is in eighth grade at Malcom Bridge Middle School. Shortly after the beginning of Saidee’s freshman year at CCHS, Perno made the decision to move his family out of Clarke County, with the intention of distancing himself from UGA.
“When my daughter enrolled (at CCHS), we were right across the street, but I felt like we were too close,” Perno said. “I was probably half a mile to three fourths of a mile from (Foley Field), so I could really hear the PA. I felt the need to move and we moved out (to Oconee).”
Following the loss of his job and the move, Perno continued to pursue other sports opportunities, including serving as a college baseball analyst for the SEC Network. He stumbled upon the new opening for head coach at CCHS in late 2015, and applied for the job.
“When I heard about (the job opening) — someone casually had mentioned it — (I didn’t think) anything about it because at the time, I was working on a new TV contract with ESPN and SEC network, and one thing led to another and next thing I knew, I was talking to coach Ward,” Perno said.
CCHS athletic director Jon Ward supported the decision to hire Perno.
“It came through to me that his strengths met the needs of our football program. Obviously, there’s the fact that he has not been a football coach at the high school or the collegiate level, but he has a wealth of experience in running a program,” Ward said.
Before delving further into the hiring process, Perno first asked his daughter what she thought of him working at her high school.
“When I started going about this deal about the job, I asked her, ‘What would you think’ and the first thing out of her mouth was ‘As long as you win.’ But she was completely good with it, and when she was here (at CCHS) and we were living out there (in Oconee), I was connected a little bit, so I started coming to her games and just the way she loved it, I was like, ‘Man, maybe this’ll be a great situation.’”
On Dec. 10, 2015, Perno was introduced as the eighth head football coach of CCHS. He went into the job feeling confident. However, he faced criticism from those who did not see him as fit to run the football program.
“There were so many people questioning me and my ability to do it with no experience as a head coach, and you just gotta do your job and do your job well,” Perno said.
However, Perno did receive support this season from his coaches and players. Similar to the way Perno described Henderson, math department teacher and varsity running back coach Aaron Cavin describes Perno as someone who understands the needs of his players.
“He is very balanced. He knows when to mash the gas and really lay it to the player and he also knows when to pull back and connect with the player. Everyone knows his expectations, and if they are not met, we deal with it. He communicates well and he knows where we stand,” Cavin said.
Senior Byron “Memphis” Spraggins has been a part of the football program all four years of high school, and is currently a starting linebacker for the varsity team. Spraggins feels personally connected his new coach.
“When he first got here, he called a meeting with a couple of seniors. I was in the meeting and ‘leadership’ is the first thing he said,” Spraggins said. “He said it starts with the seniors because the younger guys look up to the older guys, so he taught me how to be leader, and how to lead by example and not by words.”
Spraggins speaks highly of Perno, praising his knowledge of the sport and abilities to lead the team this season.
“No matter what sports he has coached, he knows the game of football, he knows how to coach, he knows how to lead, he knows how to win, and he knows how to show the kids the right thing to do,” Spraggins said. “It’s not just about football with him. He has relationships with his team and he cares about his team. It is not all about meetings with coach Perno, it is about making us better men.”
Though the regular season has ended, it is only the beginning for Perno, as he will continue to instill his values in his players and coach the sport he was always meant for.
“Football to me is about uniting people, and it’s always been that,” Perno said. “This is just about bringing kids together, getting them to lean on each other, to believe in each other, to trust each other and create that environment to be successful as a team. It had such a positive impact on shaping my life that I want to try and return the favor.”
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