LITTLE ROCK — Tim Perry said he wasn’t looking for another job last fall when he was Harding University’s offensive coordinator.
But Perry said the chance to coach Class 4A powerhouse Nashville was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
His boss at Harding, Ronnie Huckeba, agreed.
“This sounds kind of bad, buthe encouraged me to pursue it for this reason: He said the Nashville program is very unique and so different from a lot of places,” Perry said. “In his evaluation, it’s one of the top, if not the top, programs to coach at in the state. He said I had a job here as long as I wanted, but an opportunity likeNashville doesn’t come along very often.”
Perry applied for the job and on New Year’s Eve was named to succeed Billy Dawson, who, in five seasons, led the Scrappers to a 65-4 record and state championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Dawson announced last summer that he would leave coaching after the 2009 season to become a full-time minister.
One of Dawson’s rare losses at Nashville came at home in 2007 when Central Arkansas Christian, coached by Perry, ended the Scrappers’ 33-game winning streak, 38-28.
Perry led the Mustangs to a 68-21-1 record from 2001-2007, highlighted by a Class AAA state championship in 2004.
CAC reached the Class AAA title game again in 2005,but was beaten by Nashville.
Perry resigned after the 2007 season to return to Harding, where he was standout wide receiver in the late 1970s.
“I enjoyed coaching at Harding very much,” said Perry, whose receiving records at Belle (W.Va.) DuPont High School were broken by NFL standout Randy Moss. “Can’t thank Coach Huckeba enough for the opportunity. But I missed high school football. I’d go and scout games on Fridaynight and missed it.”
Unlike CAC, which hadn’t had a winning season from 1994-2001, Perry inherits a program with towering tradition, robust player numbers, facilities that rival many colleges and high expectations each season.
The Scrappers won 118 games during thepast decade.
“Absolutely, I feel pressure,” Perry said. “I felt pressure when I was first asked if I might be interested in coming to talk to them. I understood, when I was on the opposite sideline, very clearly what the expectations are, the history and tradition of that program. [Pressure] is there every day. Now, I don’t shy away from that. It’s motivating, but it’s also reality.”
The Scrappers return 10 starters from a 12-1 team, including strong-armed senior quarterback Cole Moore.
Moore, who was named the outstanding quarterback at last month’s Shootout of the South 7-on-7 passing tournament, completed 198 of 310 passes for 2,953 yards and 25 touchdowns last season.
Sports, Pages 37 on 07/25/2010