East Palestine’s Sherry earns national honor

December 19, 2017 at 12:05a.m.

EP QB honored by MaxPreps, Marine Corps

EAST PALESTINE

Parker Sherry isn’t done collecting accolades.

After collecting All-Northeast Ohio and All-Ohio honors in November, the East Palestine junior quarterback was named the MaxPreps Semper Fidelis High School Athlete of the Month for December.

The award, which is the creation of the national high school sports website and the United States Marine Corps, honors athletes for being well-rounded performers on the field, in the classroom and in the community. One male and one female athlete get the monthly honors.

“It’s great. As soon as the principal and my mom called me down to the office, it was crazy,” Sherry said. “I was shocked that I was lucky enough to get picked.”

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Patrick Kurzenhauser and Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Xavier Grimble visited East Palestine High School on Monday to present the trophy to Sherry.

He’s been the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback since his freshman season, and he’s helped deliver three winning seasons and two playoff appearances in his tenure. Off the field, Sherry is his school’s class president, volunteers in area youth sports, works as a peer tutor and as a food bank volunteer.

Sherry accounted for more than 3,000 yards of offense and 41 touchdowns this past fall as the Bulldogs went 8-3. They won the first Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference title on an eight-game winning streak that ended with a 39-20 defeat to Mogadore in the opening round of the playoffs. The game doesn’t move as fast for him as it had after winning the QB gig in 2015.

“Everything has been slowing down. My coaches have been helping me a lot with slowing down the process while watching film with [offensive coordinator Will Franklin] and my dad [Zach],” Sherry said. “If I’m just sitting at home or doing homework my dad will call me over and say, ‘Hey Parker, watch this.’ They’ve done a lot to help me progress as a player.

“[My dad has] been coaching me since I was very young and we used to butt heads a lot, but him coaching me at that age is helping me out a lot now because I understand how to take his criticism and he can understand when I need to tell him something.”

Sherry, who has played basketball and runs track, is taking a break from winter sports this season to focus on building strength in his arms and legs for football, he said.

With ownership of every East Palestine passing record heading into his senior year, there’s one last box for him to check: winning a game in Week 11.

“We haven’t been able to do that as program for a while, so it’s a big goal for us,” Sherry said.