RAIDERS IMPROVE TO 4-3 WITH VICTORY OVER CROSSTOWN RIVAL
Warren East coach Jeff Griffith turned to freshman quarterback Dane Parsley after the Raiders stumbled out of the gate with a 1-3 start.
Suffice it to say Parsley, who won’t turn 15 years old until next March, has been a quick study.
Parsley seems to be the dual-threat quarterback Griffith was looking for, which was certainly the case on Thursday night as the Raiders overpowered homestanding Warren Central 41-14 at Joe Hood Field.
Parsley passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more as the Raiders improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in district play. Warren Central dropped its 54th consecutive game, falling to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in district play.
“Dane Parsley is a very mature young man,” Griffith said. “He handles himself well in the huddle, and he’s a respected kid in the locker room. Defensively, I thought we played really well in the first half. We had some turnovers, though, and some penalties, and that’s something we’ll have to work on, moving forward.
“Defensively, I thought we bottled up their speed really well. I thought we were solid in the kicking game, until the last few minutes of the game. This is the kind of game we can build on, going into our open date.”
Mark Nelson, Warren Central’s personable first-year coach, turned to a freshman quarterback himself in the second half. The Dragons’ Zarionte Howard threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to teammate Omari Glover, accounting for the final 41-14 margin.
“We’re a young team. We’ve got six seniors,” Nelson said as the Dragons filed into their locker room. “The skill positions, we’re seeing some progress. We’ve got good kids up there, on the offensive and defensive lines. They come to practice ready to work. That’s the way we have to look at it, the program … We’ve got to look at the big picture, where we’re going as a team.”
The Dragons will play host to Green County, an unbeaten KHSAA Class 2A squad, next Friday, before resuming district play with a road trip to Franklin-Simpson on October 15.
Warren Central’s Malik Ferguson recovered a first-quarter fumble for the Dragons, which led to an early opportunity in the red zone for Nelson’s squad. Warren Central turned it over on downs, inside the Raiders’ 10-yard line, before Parsley quickly took Warren East downfield for the game’s first points. Parsley hit East teammate Ahmad Alexander for the game’s first points, a 20-yard touchdown pass with 2:25 left in the first quarter.
Parsley and Warren East running back Quinton Hollis took turns finding big holes in the Dragons’ defense, with Hollis’ 2-yard scoring run putting the Raiders in front 14-0 in the opening moments of the second quarter.
Parsley used his feet to avoid the Warren Central pass rush before finding Raiders teammate Tray Price in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass that made it 21-0 with 3:30 left in the first half.
Hollis’ third-quarter, 5-yard touchdown run pushed the Raiders’ lead to 28-0, with Parsley adding two short scoring runs to leave the Dragons with a 41-point deficit.
Deangelo Patterson’s 47-yard kickoff return gave the Dragons good field position before Howard got Warren Central on the scoreboard with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Glover.
On its next possession, Howard found Kangakole Jean Aime for a reception that covered 50 yards, allowing the Dragons offense to set up shop inside the Warren East 5-yard line. Two plays later, Howard and Glover teamed for a 4-yard touchdown pass that accounted for the final margin.
Warren East offensive lineman Dratayn Barber, a 250-pound junior guard, said his teammate Dane Parsley has settled into his role as the Raiders’ starting quarterback.
“(Parsley is) a freshman, but he’s a role model out there,” Barber said. “Guys look up to him. With our team, the first goal is the district championship, but we’ve got to take it game by game.”
That’s exactly what Parsley has in mind.
“Coach Griffith tells me to go out there and relax,” Parsley said with a smile. “He told me, ‘It’s OK to be nervous,’ but once we start playing, you really don’t think about it. It’s pretty much second nature, go out and play your best.”
