Perry beats Stockbridge 38-27 for first football state title

The Perry High School football team captured its first football state championship Tuesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, beating Stockbridge 38-27 in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAA title game.

December 12, 2023

Tucker Sargent,

Kevin Smith Celebrates — Perry coach Kevin Smith holds up the championship trophy after his Panthers beat Stockbridge 38-27 in Tuesday's GHSA Class AAAA Championship game. (Photo: Godfrey Hall)

ATLANTA (41NBC/WMGT) – The Perry High School football team captured its first football state championship Tuesday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, beating Stockbridge 38-27 in the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAA title game.

The Panthers led 17-14 at halftime before pulling away in the second half. Stockbridge scored in the final minutes to close the deficit to 11.

The Panthers finish the season 13-2.

It was Perry’s first appearance in a state championship game. The program appeared in the semifinals in 1959 under coach Herb St. John but fell to Brooks County. The school’s football stadium is now named after St. John, who was the school’s first coach and led the program from 1954 to 1968.

Coach Kevin Smith is now a state champion. He took the head coaching job at Perry in 2017, missing the playoffs in his first season as coach but leading the program to the postseason every year since.