The 2016-2017 school year has been a historic year for PHS athletics. This year was the first year that every team sport qualified for the playoffs.

Athletic director Jennifer Burks said, “This year, we made it the farther into the playoffs with more teams than we ever have. So as far as how deep we went, this year was the most successful year in Perry athletics.”

The strength of PHS athletics has steadily grown throughout the years. Over the past decade, Puma athletics has seen its team sports make several runs at a state title, and this year has certainly been the best in school history.

PHS is still waiting for its first state title even though many teams have come close. To date, there have been three different teams that have made it to the state finals: baseball (2011), girls’ soccer (2013) and boys’ volleyball (2016)

Burks said, “I feel we have always had a shot at a state title every year. Everything has to come together and be in the right place in the right time and right now we are just waiting for our opportunity.”

For the 2016-17 school year, every team sport made it the post season – this is the first time Puma Nation has ever achieved that feat.

Here is each team’s story:

Football:

The football team has made the playoffs seven out of the last nine years. The farthest they have gone was this year when they made it to the final four this year.

Girls Volleyball:

The girls volleyball team has made the playoffs four of the last nine years, all of which have been in the last four years under head coach Fred Mann. The last three years the Pumas have made it to the second round of playoffs and the program continues to grow.

Boys Basketball:

The basketball team has made the playoffs six of the last nine years, including a No 19 seed in the 6A tournament. Their most recent run at a title was in 2013 when they reached the division-I final four.

Girls Basketball:

The Pumas have made the playoffs six of the last nine years as well. For the past couple years the girls have made it to the first round of the playoffs, including a No. 12 seed in 2016-17.

Boys soccer:

The boys soccer team has made the playoffs four of the last nine years. In 2013, the boys made it to the quarterfinals, which is the closest they have ever come to a title.

Girls soccer:

The girls soccer team has made the playoffs seven of the last nine years, five of which have been consecutive from 2012 until present. The farthest they have made it was back in 2013 when they fell one goal short in the division-I state championship game.

Baseball:

The boys baseball team has made the playoffs five of the last nine years. Each of the last two years the Pumas have been a top-6 (or higher) seed, and in each year they have made it to the quarterfinals. The baseball team was the school’s first to play for a state championship, when they made it to the title game in 2011.

Softball:

The softball team has made the playoffs seven of the last nine years. This year, the Pumas were a No. 5 seed in the 6A playoffs and made it all the way to the state semifinals. In many ways, 2016-17 was the program’s most successful year.

Boys volleyball:

The volleyball team has made the playoffs five of the last nine years. Last year, PHS made it all the way to the state finals. In 2016-17, the team reached the quarterfinals for the fourth year in a row.

Sand volleyball-

The girls’ sand volleyball team made the playoffs during their inaugural season this year. Only five of the other team sports made the playoffs during their inaugural varsity season, dating back to 2008-09.