To say that Stephenson’s Darian Perry is the real deal would be an understatement.

The Jaguars standout continues to add notch after notch onto his wrestling belt.

“He deserves everything he gets,” said Stephenson coach Phillip Noble. “That kid just works very hard.”

Perry won individual county and area titles en route to a top 10 finish at the GHSA state tourney last year.

For an encore, the crafty senior is out to duplicate that success — as evidenced by his gold medal and overall MVP performance in the 170-pound weight class at the DeKalb County championships over the weekend.

“He’s a very aggressive, but technical wrestler,” said Noble. “He’ll try to dictate the action … but he’s also technically sound enough to counteract what you’re trying to do to him.”

Having already made a name for himself in prep wrestling circles, the path that he’s carving out with each memorable one-on-one battle on the mat has served the club well.

“He’s a team leader — one of our more outspoken leaders,” Noble added.

As Jaguars coaches will attest, physicality and savvy round out Perry’s mat game.

With intangibles like his and a skill set many wrestlers aspire to possess, it’s a safe bet that the accomplished wrestler is just scratching the surface of his potential.