Barton College’s Shane Perry and Matt Smith picked up the moniker “Thunder and Lightning” while hounding opposing ball-carriers the past few seasons from their linebacking spots.
The dynamic duo combined for a whopping 200 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss and two forced fumbles last season, both receiving all-South Atlantic Conference recognition.
This year, Thunder is gone, playing down the road at East Carolina. But Lightning returns. And that is great news for a Barton team reloading at a number of other positions.
North Carolina Football News turns its player spotlight today on Smith, who starred at Raleigh’s Wakefield High before becoming a mainstay on the Barton defense the past four years.
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Smith is Barton’s lone pick on the SAC’s preseason all-Piedmont team, released Friday. He finished second for the Bulldogs in tackles in 2023, with 98 stops. For his career, he’s amassed 239 total tackles, including 15.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
Head coach Chip Hester hopes 2024 brings more of the same from his returning linebacker — frequent Lightning strikes.
“I think defensively it starts with Matt Smith,” Hester told The Wilson Times after his team’s spring game. “He has had just a wonderful spring. He is flying around. He’s taking that leadership role … He has stepped up a notch.”
Barton opens its season on a Thursday night, Sept. 5 at home against West Virginia State. The Bulldogs then visit Chowan the following Saturday before jumping into their final loops through the South Atlantic (the football program will join Conference Carolinas in 2025).
Barton has been picked to finish ninth in the SAC by league coaches, a bit off the radar. But the presence of a player of Smith’s caliber should help keep the ‘Dogs in contention in league’s tough Piedmont Division.
“Shane Perry will be missed, but Matt Smith is a DAWG,” D2Football.com writer Ryan Gladwin posted on X over the weekend, assessing the league’s preseason all-conference release.
Matt Smith
- Height: 5-11
- Weight: 225
- Class: Senior
- Hometown: Raleigh
- High School: Wakefield
2023 Highlights: Collected All-Piedmont Division honors after finishing second on the team in total tackles … Recorded 41 solo stops and seven tackles-for-loss… Reached a season high for tackles with 13 against Wingate … Added 12 stops against Catawba and 10 at Tusculum.
Other Barton Highlights: Had a pair of 14-tackle games in 2022 (against Wingate and Davidson) … Ended the season with 81 hits and four tackles for loss … Returned an interception 88 yards against UVA Wise … Earned 49 tackles in 2021 and 11 hits in his debut as a true freshman in 2020.
High School Highlights: Played linebacker and fullback for Wakefield and served as a team captain … Recorded 91 tackles as a senior, previewing the prolific tackling ability he has shown at Barton … Also competed on the Wolverines’ varsity baseball team.
