By Clyde Hughes
D3sports.com
Long-time Hanover coach Wayne Perry tried really hard to sound convincing about his new role next school year as the athletic department’s chief fundraiser after prowling the sidelines as the Panthers head coach for 26 seasons.
He is sincere when he says he wants to help Hanover College in all sports, not just football. Athletic director Lynn Hall called him the most recognizable face in Hanover athletics over the past two decades.
As the winningest coach in the history of collegiate football in Indiana (172-83-2 including this season), his reputation is known statewide and regionally. His eight conference titles and nine playoff appearances since 1989 speaks for itself.
As the clock ticks on his final season leading the Panthers and after more than a quarter-century calling the shots for Hanover, Perry said it’s still hard to walk away from.
“I have mixed emotions,” Perry said Monday. “It’s really tough because I still love the game. This is all I’ve been doing since I’ve been a second-grader. But I realize there might be a time for change. We have a new administration at the college. There’s still some fire burning here, but I think there are some other needs that I can accomplish here away from the sidelines.”
Perry joined the Hanover staff as the offensive line coach in 1979 and replaced Pete Compise as head coach in 1982. He’s been named NAIA District 21 coach of the year seven times and the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference coach of the year six other times. If you’re counting, that means he’s been considered the top coach in his conference 13 of the past 26 seasons.
His team has the HCAC’s only victory in the current Division III playoff format, a 20-3 victory against Hope in 2000.
“(Perry) does stand for success,” said Hall. “That’s why we want to use him for fundraising. We’ll miss him in the role of football coach. The great thing is that he’s not leaving us. He’s just moving into a different role.”
Perry and Hall said Hanover is in need of a serious makeover for many of its athletic facilities. The need for a new football complex is at a crossroads. Perry said he heard the cost could range about $6 million, half of that for the new football stadium.
He doesn’t doubt either that he could be effective in drumming up the support needed to bring Hanover the money it needs for its athletic department.
“I know time is of the essence,” Perry said. “We need a new stadium. What was state-of-the-art here is no longer state-of-the-art. It’s not just the football program but also the rest of the athletic department. The sooner I can do that the better. I can do it quicker if I wasn’t on the sidelines.”
But the burning question is who will be on the sidelines next season? It’s not everyday when you are trying to replace the winningest coach in the state.
Hall said advertisements will not go out until October and she hopes to have a new coach named by January. She said the importance of making the right decision for Hanover is not lost on anyone at the school.
“It’s very important for Hanover,” Hall said. “The football coach comes in contact with so many recruits and is such an integral part of our male population that it is a critical position.”
As Perry prepares for nationally ranked Washington and Jefferson this week, he said he would like to go out a winner, and maybe even another HCAC championship, even though he knows the going will be tough. Hanover is coming off consecutive 4-6 seasons and is 0-2 this season.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries,” Perry said. “We’re playing with a true freshman quarterback and we’ve lost nearly our whole secondary to injuries over the first two games. Winning (the HCAC) is always a goal of ours.”
When asked about his more memorable wins, he thinks about the last one, beating heavily favored and defending HCAC champs Mount St. Joseph 41-35 in overtime in 2005 when the Lions were opening their new stadium in Cincinnati. That win gave him the Indiana collegiate football record.
Perry said he doesn’t know if his team has that kind of magic, but it won’t come from a lack of trying to come up with the right hocus pocus that would give Perry one last magic carpet ride to end his stellar career.
Midwest Games to Watch
Game No. 1: The St. Norbert Green Knights go for their 20th consecutive regular season victory at home against Lawrence. St. Norbert, the perennial kingpins of the Midwest Conference, haven’t lost a regular season game since dropping a 28-20 decision to conference rival Monmouth at home in 2005. St. Norbert went on to win seven games in a row after the loss and went undefeated in the regular season last year. The Green Knights completed the regular season ranked No. 25, but were humbled by eventual national finalist UW-Whitewater 59-17 in the first round of the playoffs. So far, St. Norbert has cruised to a 2-0 record this season, 1-0 in the MWC, including a 35-13 thumping of Grinnell in the conference opener last Saturday. Senior quarterback Cody Craig, one of the nation’s leading passers last season, leads St. Norbert. He is averaging 271 passing yards per game in his first two contests, has completed 40 of his 70 passes and has seven touchdowns against two interceptions. His favorite target is wide receiver Judd O’Connell, who caught 13 passes for 282, averaging an eye-popping 141 yards so far. In case you’re curious, that rematch with Monmouth comes up Oct. 6 with St. Norbert making the trip to central Illinois.
Game No. 2: No. 10-ranked Wheaton travels to St. Louis to take on an awfully good Washington University team, which is one of the favorites in the University Athletic Association. The Thunder, co-champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin last year, advanced to the second round of the playoffs before bowing to eventual national champion Mount Union 35-3. Washington is averaging 37.5 points a game this season and is 2-0 with wins over Lake Forest (41-28) and Westminster, Mo. (34-3). Wheaton handled Washington pretty easily, 48-7, last year at Wheaton. Washington is hoping to play better defense this time around, behind sophomore defensive back Tim Machen, who tied a school record with three interceptions last Saturday. He now has four on the season.
Big Stat Game: Otterbein had all kinds of trouble dealing with 6-foot-5 wide receiver Luke Dillon on Saturday as he became a one-man wrecking crew in Defiance’s 16-14 victory. The senior caught 17 passes for a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference single-game record 258 yards. He set up Defiance’s only touchdown on a 39-yard pass from quarterback Hans Vetter in the first quarter. Over two games, Dillon has caught 28 passes for 367 yards, best in the HCAC in both categories.
Honorable mention Big Stat Game: Carthage sophomore quarterback Dan DeBoeuf passed for a school record 316 yards in Carthage’s victory over Lakeland Saturday. He was 30-for-42, setting the record for completions as well, while playing for injured starter Brennan O’Boyle.
