Mallard Creek coach bets on QB Perry Justice to lead both offense and defense
Mallard Creek coach Kennedy Tinsley plans to do a little something different this season, at least at the highest levels of N.C. high school football.
He’s going to play his starting quarterback, senior Perry Justice, on defense, too.
“Sometime during the spring we looked at it and we felt like it would be best,” Tinsley said. “(Justice) is the best or one of the best at two positions.”
Tinsley said he knows it’s a bit of a gamble.
Mallard Creek plays in the state’s toughest conference, a league that has produced 16 state champions in the past 24 years, and a league that has two nationally ranked teams in it.
But he thinks Justice, who is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, is ready to handle it.
“If there’s an issue, we can back off and do something different. But he’s been handling it really well. It’s been a flip of a switch,” Tinsley said.
To get ready for his Travis Hunter experience, Justice has increased his cardio workouts and gone a little harder with his weight training. On defense, he’ll start at safety.
“I knew about it before spring ball, and when I found out I was excited,” he said. “I don’t think it’s really hard. I’ve played all over the field since I was little. I don’t think it’s really challenging for me.”
The Observer spoke to three area coaches, who all expressed the same concern, saying that Mallard Creek — ranked No. 5 in The Observer’s preseason Sweet 16 poll — plays at the highest levels of N.C. football, against teams with very large teenagers on both sides of the ball, and against players who will mostly be two-platooning.
A fourth coach, Palisades’ Jonathan Simmons, said it’s common to see linemen play both ways and it’s common to see a wide receiver play defensive back, but he said asking that kind of double from your quarterback is a very high demand.
“It’s a little high-risk, high-reward,” Simmons said. “When you double the snaps, you take the added risk of him getting hurt. Now he can get hurt just playing QB but that (risk) is kind of expected. But if he goes out there on defense and goes to make a tackle and gets a stinger, and he’s out three weeks, there could be a little regret or hindsight … I couldn’t see myself doing it.”
Mallard Creek is coming off a 10-3 season, the school’s 16th straight winning season and fifth straight under Tinsley. In its history, the Mavericks are 174-54-1 with three state championships.
This year’s team, however, is going to be young and inexperienced, Tinsley said.
Mallard Creek returns five starters: senior receivers Khalil Price and Mason Kelley, senior linebackers Deuce Midgett and Askia Mustafa — along with Justice, who may only come off the field when the punters and kickers come on.
“We’re young, but I’m excited about this team,” Tinsley said. “I think it’s going to be more challenging because it is a younger team and we’re counting on a lot of young guys to play big roles, but I’ve seen enough flashes to know that we can be good. In my mind, I would not be shocked if this is a very good team late.”
Midgett said that the challenge for the Mavericks to get to where they want to go is to master the small stuff.
He said the talent is there.
“We just need to be more consistent, both on and off the field, with leadership and getting everything right, and we’ll become a way better team,” Midgett said. “We’ve just got to lift each other up and help each other out.”
They’ll also have to look at for the guy who may be the most important Maverick this season. But Justice, for his part, thinks he’s more than ready to have a big year.
“I can do it,” he said of playing both ways all season. “I’m excited. I love defense. I love hitting. I love to hit and get it. I’m just planning to ball out.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
