Coaches take over new teams

last month at Perry of the City League when Rod Rutherford was named coach. Rutherford is a former Perry football and basketball star who went on to do big things as a quarterback at Pitt. Rutherford also spent time on the practice squads of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and Steelers.

Rutherford’s name brings some attention to City League football, but the league is much different than when Rutherford played for Perry.

“It’s obviously not the same, just with the closing of schools,” said Rutherford. “You can say whatever, but I always felt years ago that a Westinghouse, Perry, Peabody or one City team could probably play somewhere else in Western Pennsylvania and do well. Now it’s definitely not the case, in my opinion.”

Rutherford, 36, was a twotime Post-Gazette Athlete of the Year winner (1998-99). He has worked at Perry since February as a project assistant, mentoring students and also helping in community outreach.

But Rutherford has coaching experience. He was an assistant at Saint Vincent College for a year, a graduate assistant at Pitt for two years under Dave Wannstedt and an assistant at IUP for five years. He was out of coaching last year.

Perry has had four consecutive losing seasons. This from a program that won 13 City League titles from 1986 through 2012 and played in two PIAA championship games. But the Commodores have fallen on hard times lately.

“My goal is to really instill confidence,” said Rutherford. “A lot of these young men, their norm is so dysfunctional, they have no confidence and they do whatever they can for attention. My first goal is to rebuild their mindset.

“There are kids in the [Perry] building who could go further in life than I did, through athletics or whatever else. I think it’s our responsibility to help them.”