River Bluff found its next football coach.

The Gators officially announced that Perry Parks would become the school’s next head football coach after Blair Hardin resigned from the job. Parks becomes the school’s third head coach in history, joining Hardin and former Coastal Carolina coach David Bennett. 

“The foundation here has been set,” Parks said during his introductory press conference. “We're going to build upon that. Our program priorities are going to be education and family first and foremost … We're going to have fun with football, but we're going to base our priorities and our foundation on education, family and community.” 

Parks also has ties to Coastal Carolina. He played there under Bennett when he was the head coach, before eventually returning and serving as the school's wide receivers coach for the past two seasons. 

Before his time at Coastal, Parks coached at Charlotte. He is also an experienced high school head coach, having led both the Ridge View and Lakewood programs in the past. 

Parks turned Ridge View into a consistent playoff team, going 44-24 during his six years there. During the 2019 season, he led the Blazers to the 4A Upper State championship game. In 2016, he was named state 4A Coach of the Year. 

Parks was a standout player at Sumter before heading to Coastal. Once he got to college, he went from walk-on to team captain and helped the Chanticleers win multiple conference titles. 

Leadership at River Bluff believes Parks' playing and coaching experience made him the best fit to take over a Gators team coming off one of its best seasons in program history. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Perry Parks to River Bluff High School,” River Bluff athletic director Andrew Peckham said. “His leadership, experience, and commitment to excellence align perfectly with our vision for the football program. We are confident that he will inspire and develop our student-athletes both on and off the field.”

The Gators finished last year with a program-record 10 wins and advanced to the third round of the SCHSL football postseason before losing to region rival Dutch Fork. 

A few key pieces are set to return on both sides of the ball, including starting quarterback Brayden Moore and running back Hayden Myers. 

Parks believes River Bluff has the pieces and resources to compete, despite playing in one of the hardest regions in all of football. He said his teams will focus on learning fundamentals and understanding each situation that can arise. 

“We are going to be true football junkies to where we can be masters of situational football,” Parks said. “We want to be able to understand the game and be students of the game.” 

Parks said the team will spend a good chunk of the offseason working in the weight room as well to get stronger and more physical. 

“We're going to build a toughness like never seen before in Lexington County,” he said. “We want to build a program that's a championship caliber program to match the championship caliber academics that this school has.”