MASSILLON, Ohio — It’s boys' high school basketball state championship weekend in Dayton.

Fourteen teams are heading to Dayton this weekend hoping to bring home a state title. One of those teams is Massillon Perry, the Cinderella story of this year.

What You Need To Know

  • Massillon Perry High School has the chance to win its first ever state title

  • The Panthers only won nine regular season games this year, before going on a five game win streak in the post season

  • Perry beat North Royalton 66-63 in the state semifinal game to punch their ticket to Dayton to play in the state championship game

The Panthers only won nine games in the regular season. One of the seniors on the team, Luke Wolf, said people counted them out.

“Not many people believed in us, but inside the locker room we had that belief. We had that goal from the beginning of the year and we took it one game at a time and here we are going to Dayton now,” Wolf said.

The team went 9-13 in the regular season and had a five game losing streak in December and January, but they found their stride in post season. The team won five games straight and now they are on their way to play for a state title, which would be their first one in program history. Panther’s head coach, Matt Voll, explained what changed for the team in postseason.

“In between the regular season and the postseason, our kids made a commitment. They stuck together, and they just wanted to finish and go through the finish line strong,” Voll said.

The team’s strength was put on display in the state semifinal game against the 25-1 North Royalton team. Perry won the game 66 to 63.

“We knew we were the underdog going in and we used that to our advantage. The other team had the pressure because they were supposed to win the game so we just came out and played our best basketball and played together,” Wolf said.

The semifinal game was played in the historic Canton McKinley Field House, which is miles away from Perry High School and was filled with Perry fans.

“The Fieldhouse, full gym, 3,000 Perry fans or more than that. Loudest gym I’ve ever been in. It was just an awesome game to play in,” Wolf said.

Coach Voll said playing in that Field House was special.

“That’s just a Mecca when you get to high school basketball and the facility that they have. So it was awesome, Perry showed out. Love the fans, (they) fueled a tremendous effort for us to come back in that game,” Voll said.

The team is hoping for one more win to finish an unlikely run.