AS THE RAIDERS’ HEAD COACH.
(Editor’s note: This series offers a quick look at high school football teams in South Central Kentucky. Coming soon: Allen County-Scottsville.)
TANNER HALL BELIEVES RAIDERS CAN BUILD ON 12-1 SEASON
Warren East quarterback Dane Parsley was spinnin’ it on Monday morning on the blue turf at Jim Ross Field.
Two weeks and change from now, he’ll be doing it for real against Daviess County High School in the nightcap of the J Allen Builders Bowl doubleheader, on the Warren East campus.
The site of some memorable moments in 2022.
Since then, Tanner Hall has succeeded Jeff Griffith as the Raiders’ head coach, while the Warren East coaching staff went to work replacing the likes of Isaiah Ghee, Simon Ghee, Quinton Hollis and Dratavyn Barber, all major contributors to a 12-1 season that ended with the KHSAA Class 4A quarterfinals.
“The taste of success last year has been motivation for our team, throughout the offseason and the summer,” Hall said. “We now have the expectation that we can, and should, be in the fight for the district championship. Several great players have left, but we do return 15 seniors, with eight of them being guys who started playing quality (varsity) minutes as freshmen.
“That experience will be something we can lean on.”
SURVEYS THE FIELD IN PRACTICE.
The 6-foot-8 Hall was Griffith’s animated offensive line coach before moving into the head coaching position. He’s a fiery leader, a coach who can relate to his players, and he welcomes the challenge in front of the Raiders over the next three or four months.
“We’ve got some weapons to work with,” Hall said.
It all starts with Dane Parsley, of course, but also includes seasoned skill-position players such as senior wide receiver Tray Price (a team-high 46 receptions, 838 yards, 12 touchdowns in ’22), sophomore running back Chris Taylor and sophomore wide receiver Brayden Lightfoot.
“We like to open up the field,” Parsley said. “We have a young receiving corps, but they’re working hard, and we’re hoping Tray Price can put up big numbers like he did last year … I think the offense is going to be pretty special.”
IS A DUAL THREAT AT QUARTERBACK.
Parsley’s presence paid significant dividends last year, his second full season as the Raiders’ starting quarterback. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior has a tough act to follow, after passing for 1,880 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was only intercepted five times in Warren East’s 13 games.
Not only that, but Parsley led the team in rushing, finishing the season with 1,562 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Parsley rushed for 170 yards and two second-half touchdowns as the Raiders finally knocked off longtime nemesis Franklin-Simpson, claiming a 36-21 victory on the blue turf.
Parsley will be operating behind a revamped offensive line this season, with the notable exception of Ka’ Jarius Barber, a strapping 6-foot-5, 310-pound offensive tackle.
There’s a chance, however, that Barber will take most of his snaps on defense, at least early in the season. The Raiders tend to have versatile athletes who compete in multiple sports at Warren East.
“It’s getting better every day,” Barber said.
JURI BARBER (LEFT) AND MATTHEW COLES.
The Raiders’ defense also returns the likes of senior linebacker Maddox Tarrance, senior lineman Matthew Cowles and senior lineman Josh Collins, who led the team with 80 total tackles last season.
“I think we’ve got to push ourselves harder, in practice,” Tarrance said. “We’ve got to stay in the weight room. You have to know what you want, to go get it.”
Tarrance and Tray Price are standout players on Wes Sanford’s Warren East baseball squad, and the Raiders usually have good speed on the flanks and in the secondary.
Hall brings energy and enthusiasm to the practice field, and he’s keeping an eye on the battles for starting roles on the Raiders’ offensive line.
THE RAIDERS AFTER MONDAY’s PRACTICE.
“We’re evaluating, on the offensive line,” Hall said. “The only full-time starter we return is Jari Barber. We have high expectations for guys like Ethan Richardson and Jacob Dearmond, who have been guys on the (offensive line) rotations.
“We’re looking for some other guys to separate themselves from the pack.”
Warren East dominated several opponents last season, winning its first nine games, including the Franklin-Simpson tilt, by two touchdowns or more. The Raiders squeezed out a 49-48 victory over Class 6A Daviess County to close regular-season play, and then trounced Hopkins County Central 46-0 before eliminating Madisonville-North Hopkins 28-17.
That set the stage for a matchup with powerhouse Franklin County, which caught fire in the second half to bounce the Raiders, 49-21, in the state capital of Frankfurt.
A decisive defeat, after one blowout after another, has given Warren East’s players some fuel for the grind of the 2023 season. The Raiders will compete in the revamped KHSAA Class 4A, 1st District, which now includes Calloway County, Allen County-Scottsville, Hopkinsville High School and tradition-rich Paducah Tighlman.
“You can’t get too ‘high and mighty,'” Cowles said. “None of us have forgotten that (loss to Franklin County).”
Dane Parsley looks at the setback another way. The football culture at Warren East is clearly on the upswing, and Parsley believes that’s something the Raiders should embrace, going forward.
“Franklin County was a really good team, all around,” Parsley said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and we were right in it, into the third quarter. (Franklin County) did a lot of different things, defensively.
“We’ve just got to be tougher, mentally.”
ON AUGUST 18 AGAINST DAVIESS COUNTY.
EAST BROKE THROUGH
AGAINST FRANKLIN-SIMPSON, 36-21
