The Brewer High School football team will host the second annual Ken Perrone Witches Classic this upcoming Saturday, against the defending champion Salem Witches from Massachusetts.
United in name and history, Brewer and Salem are two of just three high schools in the country with the Witch mascot, and both football programs rose to prominence under the leadership of Connecticut native Ken Perrone.
The Witches Classic was originally conceived by Salem Athletic Director Reilly Christie last year, and Brewer made the trek down to Massachusetts in August 2023 to battle for the Cauldron Cup. Gates open on Saturday at 11:45 a.m., and Perrone will lead the Brewer players and cheerleaders down Acme Road to Doyle Field at 12:30 p.m. Doyle Field’s press box will be dedicated to Perrone at 1 p.m., followed by kickoff.
“There are hundreds of people that made this possible. It’s their honor,” Perrone said. “These are two great programs, two great schools and two great cities with great people. My players and coaches are my richness on this earth.”
Perrone started his coaching and teaching career at Dixfield High School in 1960, and later led John Bapst to back-to-back Class B football state championships in 1964 and 1965.
From 1967 to 1973, Perrone guided Brewer to two Class A football state championships and three baseball conference championships. His 1970 football team was ranked No. 1 on the East Coast and No. 5 nationwide.
He moved to Danvers, Massachusetts in 1973 and took Salem High School’s football coaching position. He led Salem to numerous conference championships and two state title games — colloquially known as “SuperBowls” in Massachusetts — up until his retirement in 1994.
Perrone attributes his decorated coaching resume to his successful recruiting campaigns and the strong relationships he built with his players and assistant coaches.
“I just started knocking on doors. It was our ability to get players to come out and keep them out. We had an army of 120 players marching down Wilson St. every Friday night,” Perrone said. “I have tremendous ties with all my ballplayers, and they’ve been awfully kind to me. I love them all, and will never forget them.”
To this day, many of the coaches and players involved with Brewer and Salem football have direct ties to Perrone.
Brewer assistant coaches Dana Corey and Dennis Kiah both played for Perrone in the 1960’s. Corey was a captain, quarterback, defensive back and kicker on Brewer’s 1968 undefeated state championship team, and also pitched on Perrone’s baseball teams. Kiah was a guard and linebacker for John Bapst’s 1964 football state championship team, and won multiple baseball conference championships with Perrone as his catcher.
On the Salem side, star slot back Rocco Ryan is the son of one of Perrone’s former players, and head coach Matt Bouchard played linebacker for the Witches’ 1994 state runner-up squad. The 1994 Salem team made national news for their improbable playoff run in the midst of a teachers’ strike, when Perrone defied orders from the school superintendent to cancel the football season, risking his job to continue running practices and lead his team to glory.
