In last year’s Mayor’s Cup, Damarion Perdue rushed for just 16 yards on seven carries as the Patrick Henry High School football team was blown out by William Fleming. He did score both of his squad’s touchdowns, but they came on brief 2 and 3-yard rushes.
On Friday night, the senior running back put that rivalry game performance behind him. Bigger and better than his 2024 self, Perdue powered his way to 116 yards and again scored both of his team’s touchdowns as the Patriots beat the Colonels 14-2 to return the Noel C. Taylor Classic trophy back to Grandin Court.
Perdue was named MVP of the game.
“It’s special,” Perdue told The Roanoke Times. “Coming from last year, transferring, not getting in that much and then coming in this year and doing what I’ve got to do. Coming from a loss last year, too, it’s good to get it back. It feels good.”
Perdue transferred to PH after a sophomore season in the private school ranks with Roanoke Catholic where he was no stranger to 200-yard outings. The VHSL ranks, including the River Ridge District, is much more difficult, however, especially for a Patriots unit that was young and underdeveloped last year, resulting in a subpar 7-4 season and first-round playoff exit.
But this season is different, and Perdue is flourishing with the purple and gold. Transitioning from a speed back to a power back, he has become a key component for a Patriots squad equipped with a dynamic offense. After Friday’s victory, they’re 4-0 after a 2-2 start last year with all winnable games lining the rest of their schedule. The program’s last undefeated regular season came 30 years ago.
“From not starting, to working hard in practice and working with my teammates, being in the classroom and getting our grades right,” Perdue said of his growth this season.” Just having chemistry with our team, building that up, getting my starting spot and just never looking back. Always grinding.”
On Friday night, Perdue received a heavy dose of 26 carries, a new season-high and his second straight 20-carry game. He averaged an efficient 4.4 yards per attempt against a large Fleming defensive front. He bulldozed his way for a 14-yard touchdown to get PH on the board, breaking three tackles and finding the end zone standing up, then after stopped short of the end zone on a third-and-1 run from the 4-yard line, he used his left to stay up and stretched the ball over the goal line with his right for his second score.
He even showed off his pass-catching prowess by hauling in a one-handed pass from Jake Painter on a fourth-6 and rumbling forward to move the chains, never using another hand to secure the catch.
“He’s our guy,” Patriots head coach Alan Fiddler said. “He’s going to get the majority of the carries, and he did a good job of getting first downs when we needed to and getting us the scores.”
The 210-pound Perdue has largely transitioned from a speed back to a power back after bulking up this past offseason. Through four games this season, he’s rushed for 395 yards on 73 carries and accounted for six of Patrick Henry’s 13 total touchdowns.
That’s an average of 98.8 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry. Friday marked his second straight 100-yard performance and third of the year. He has scored five touchdowns over the past two weeks.
“Weight room in the summer we were going crazy. Everybody got bigger, stronger, faster. All that,” Perdue said. “It’s hard for them to tackle me. That’s really it. It’s hard for them to tackle, I just look up to my line, let them block, find my hole and do what I’ve got to do.”
Contact Matt Case at mcase@roanoke.com
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