Sam Perry’s time spent around the Columbus North football program extends well beyond the three years he has spent as a starting safety in the Bull Dogs’ defensive backfield.
Perry grew up on the sidelines as a ball boy at North games while his father Jason, now an assistant athletics director, was an assistant coach for the Bull Dogs. The younger Perry developed a high football IQ, and that has served him well since he became a fixture in North’s secondary.
“He’s played a lot of football for us, and he’s seen so many different looks from offenses that he just recognizes things,” North coach Logan Haston said. “He’s a smart football player, and it’s great.”
Sam Perry
Perry broke into the Bull Dogs’ lineup as a sophomore and stayed there as a junior along side Haston’s son Jackson, who now is a freshman playing at Franklin College. Seniors Kaleb Urquidi and Joey Stockey are filling the other safety role this year, while senior Macario Mendez and junior Davonte Degraffenried are returning starters at cornerback.
“As a captain, I see myself as a leader, and I need to be able to keep everybody’s composure, make sure everybody is in line to doing their job,” Perry said. “It’s not just me back there. We have lots of leaders back there on the defense.”
Perry and the Class 6A No. 10 Bull Dogs are off to a fast start this season. They opened with a 49-7 win against Whiteland, then toppled crosstown rival Columbus East 52-7 Friday.
“Sam has been a phenomenal communicator really his entire high school career,” Logan Haston said. “I think last year, with him and Jackson on the back end, he was able to learn a lot. This year, he’s really stepped into that leadership role. Two weeks in a row, we’ve had success defensively because of his willingness and ability to be an effective communicator.”
A veteran of travel baseball, Perry will be entering his third year as starting catcher on the North baseball team in the spring. After graduation, he plans to go to trade school and become a plumber.
“This year will be my last year of football, so I have to make in count,” Perry said.
The Bull Dogs, who went 8-2 last season, will try to start 3-0 when they host Southport Friday. The schedule gets tougher after that with back-to-back road trips to 4A No. 5 Roncalli and 6A No. 6 Carmel in Weeks 4 and 5 and a home game against 5A No. 5 Bloomington South in Week 7.
“We had a great season last year, so a really successful season this year would be awesome, a great record,” Perry said. “We play a tough Roncalli team, a tough Carmel team, a tough B-South team later in the season, and we’re hoping that we can succeed and play pretty well against them.”
