Defensive MVP Perry set tone with work ethic

By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor

VILLE PLATTE – There wasn’t a time of the 2023 football season where Sacred Heart and head coach Jacob Aguillard didn’t have their full faith in Parish Defensive MVP Ike Perry.
Perry, who’d been a contributor to Trojan football since he was a sophomore, doesn’t fit the archetype of dominance.
At under six-feet-tall and under 170 pounds, Perry doesn’t cut the cloth of a two-way player built for the pounding of playing a full-48 minutes of football.
Yet throughout 2023, Perry had his nose in the trenches as he led the Trojan defense. He was dropping his shoulder as a key part of the Sacred Heart running game. He handled kicking duties as both the team’s punter and kicker.
In short, Perry did everything asked of him. But, it was ultimately his defensive prowess that propelled him to a spot on the Louisiana Football Coaches’ Association 2nd-team All-State list and as a result, Evangeline Parish’s Defensive MVP.
“This wasn’t something I was thinking about at the beginning of the year now that I have achieved it, it’s just something I’m very grateful for,” Perry said.
Perry’s breakout senior season was a long-time coming. For one, he’s always been a part of the plans at Sacred Heart. As a sophomore and junior, Perry played primarily defense and was an important part of both of those squads.
But, it was this senior season where he proved himself. With the Trojans playing a tough schedule, he was tasked with showing up and bringing his best game on a weekly basis.
He did exactly that, rarely taking much of a breather or even missing time. It was a resilience built over the summer.
“I just spent a lot of time in the weight room,” Perry said. “Just a matter of getting stronger and getting bigger to face those bigger people but we weren’t a very big team.
“During games, just staying hydrated was a big part of it. Just trying to stay at my best and stay healthy during games.”
Aguillard knew his reliance on Perry would be a big one, so when those breathers came they did so rather oxymoronically.
“When he’d rest, we’d tell him to rest fast,” Aguillard said. “He was one of our foundation guys that showed others what it would take to be successful for years to come.”
What made Perry a special player both alike and very different, according to player and coach.
“He’s such a smart kid,” Aguillard said. “He invested a lot of time in watching film and anytime we’d see a certain formation he’d be able to diagnose that or call it out and make plays.
“I saw him do it multiple times this season. He might miss a gap or assignment here or there but you always found him around the football. He always tended to make himself right, even when he was wrong.”
And Perry’s perspective?
“I just love hitting people and it was fun to go out there and play at full-speed. As a senior, I knew how to read plays and that helped a lot. Just not having to second-guess myself.”
It goes back to that full faith. In his preparation, his capability of taking care of himself and putting others in the right place.
They were qualities that set Perry up for success both on and off the field, and as Aguillard said, qualities that set the tone for future Trojans.