The Friday night lights and field goals are nothing new, but Wando might be finding a future full of touchdowns and Gatorade dumps. After football coach Rocco Adrian stepped down following the 2023 football season, coach Isaiah Perrin took over the program. Perrin is the former Stratford High School football coach who is also accredited to be highly qualified and respectable for his new position.

Athletics director Mark Buchman finds Perrin to have an exciting personality that accompanies his new job as the head coach.

“He likes people. He is very motivated, very excited, very hard charging. To me, it just kind of boiled down to experience and getting to know him,” Buchman said.

Buchman’s description of Perrin explains a new path where intense relationships and confidence can be instilled into the players from this new coaching perspective.

Buchman’s thoughts on Perrin’s personal and professional achievements also shines a positive light on the future of Wando Football.

“He was at Stratford High School where he was the offensive coordinator. They were successful. They had a very tough schedule, and they were competitive… They wound up winning the last games and they actually won the region. He was successful at Wilson High School in Florence… he was also a golf coach, so he has had a lot of coaching experience,” Buchman said.

With great experience comes great responsibility, and Perrin is already heading in the right direction. His professional past experience with teaching history and coaching strengthens the Wando football program in a multitude of ways. Perrin began his football career in the offensive line during his sophomore year of high school. Along with starting offense in high school, his first job was on the basis of that.

“I started out as just an offensive line assistant coach at the very beginning… as I have gone to different places my role has changed,” Perrin said.

Perrin’s beginnings might be reflective of his current position, but as a head coach, his job tasks include both the defensive and offensive line.

“I probably will focus more on offense just because… I have always been an offensive line guy… I am constantly studying offense, but I know all aspects of the game are important, so special teams and defense… I am definitely going to still have my hand in everything as the head coach,” Perrin said.

From focusing on both sides of the game, Perrin has had a lot of time to experience the feeling of coaching.

“When I went to Lower Richland I was a running game coordinator, offensive line. At Swansea I was a co-offensive coordinator. At Wilson I was the running game coordinator then I became the offensive coordinator. Then, at Stratford I became the coach and offensive coordinator the last two years,” Perrin said.

With a late start in football as a sophomore in high school, Perrin has made up for it in his work ethic. Players become more comfortable with coaches who show involvement which is exactly what junior Landon Miller seeks for in a coach.

“I like the way he interacts with everybody in the community. I think he has some good ideas to bring up the tune,” Miller said.

As a coach, Perrin comes to the weightlifting sessions after school every Monday through Thursday during football’s offseason. The current involvement of the new Wando head coach is reflective of the hopes he has for the next season.

“I hope that he can lead us to be a better team overall, [and] get some new players coming out. Just lead us to be a successful team this year,” Miller said.