The Perry High School football program is looking for a new head coach. Former star offensive lineman Zach Slates has been removed as the coach of the Panthers after four years. Slates confirmed his departure Tuesday night in a message to the Repository seeking comment. Slates was coming off his most successful year as a […]
The Perry High School football program is looking for a new head coach.
Former star offensive lineman Zach Slates has been removed as the coach of the Panthers after four years. Slates confirmed his departure Tuesday night in a message to the Repository seeking comment.
Slates was coming off his most successful year as a head coach. The Panthers went 6-6 this season and ended the year on a high note, winning their last two regular season games and a first-round OHSAA playoff game over Northland (34-6). Perry went on to lose 35-24 to eventual state semifinalist Big Walnut on the road in the second round.
It was the third consecutive year Slates guided Perry to the playoffs. The Panthers reached the postseason in 2023 with a 4-7 record and a 35-14 first-round loss to Lake in the OHSAA playoffs. Perry also had a 4-7 record in 2022 with a 48-7 first-round loss to Massillon.
Slates went 2-8 in his first season as the head coach. His overall record was 16-28, 1-3 in the playoffs.
“I understand this is part of coaching and I knew that when I took this job,” Slates wrote in a message to the Repository. “I feel like we did a lot of good things and believe the alignment of the youth moving up has gotten to the point where it needs to be finally. … We have our youth in the league with other Federal League schools. That was something I worked on getting accomplished from when I started and finally got it done this year. I felt I had a chance to finally fill out staffs this year and get that where it needed to be.
“Unfortunately I won’t be able to see all that through, but I am grateful for the opportunity that was given to me. Love these kids and this community.”
The move will end an attachment to a program that began long before Slates was a head coach. He was a Stark County High School Football Hall of Fame lineman as a player for Perry in 2000-02. Perry went 29-7 in those years, and Slates helped the Panthers reach a state semifinal in 2000 and a regional semifinal in 2002. He was recruited by a number of Division I college programs before choosing Pittsburgh.
Slates was not out of the area long. He returned after one year and began his high school coaching career in 2003 with his former Perry High School head coach Keith Wakefield at St. Vincent-St. Mary. Slates returned to Perry as an assistant in 2010 under Keith Boedicker and stayed on staff when Wakefield returned as head coach in 2013.
Slates was eventually tasked with filling the shoes of Wakefield after he retired as head coach after the 2020 season.
Wakefield, who was back as the defensive coordinator under Slates this year, remains the gold standard for head coaches at Perry. Wakefield won 222 games and 15 league titles in 29 total seasons as head coach split between two stints from 1982-2003 and 2013-20.
Repository sports writer Mike Popovich contributed to this story.
Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com
On X: @chickmanREP
