Pioneers hope Brady’s switch to QB pays off
West Greene coach Brian Hanson gives instructions during a Pioneers practice.
West Greene's Colin Brady looks to pass after faking a handoff to Johnny Lampe (29) during a Pioneers practice.
West Greene's Cooper Chambers twists his body around to make an acrobatic catch during a Pioneers practice.
Brian Hanson enters his fourth year as head coach at West Greene.
West Greene's Kevin Thompson is one of the WPIAL's top kickers but will be on the field for more than just special teams this season.
West Greene lineman Kam Tedrow enters his junior season with the Pioneers.
West Greene's Colin Brady throws a pass during a Pioneers practice. Brady, one of the area's best running backs a year ago, will switch to quarterback this season.
West Greene assistant coach Beau Jackson talks with the Pioneers无毛视频� linemen during practice last season. Jackson has moved up into the head coaching position for the Pioneers after the departure of Brian Hanson to South Allegheny. (Photo by Rob Burchianti)
ROGERSVILLE 无毛视频� Brian Hanson has had plenty of success in his first three years as head coach at West Greene.
The Pioneers have won two Tri-County South titles and a playoff game while going a combined 22-8, including 17-3 in conference.
Heading into the 2022 season, Hanson knew he had a top-notch running back returning in 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior Colin Brady but pondered what would be best for his team now that quarterback Wesley Whipkey had graduated.
Brady the quarterback was implemented.
无毛视频淐olin无毛视频檚 a two-year starter, an all-conference player. He无毛视频檚 one of the best running backs in the WPIAL,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淏ut he has a background with playing quarterback. We talked all offseason about maybe having to play him at quarterback.无毛视频�
That will be the plan moving forward.
无毛视频淲e like what we无毛视频檝e seen so far,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淲e think it gives us a good chance at being productive on offense.聽We无毛视频檝e got some receivers.
无毛视频淐olin has got a real strong arm. He无毛视频檚 a little raw just because he无毛视频檚 coming off two years of playing straight tailback. We无毛视频檝e got to get his mechanics a little tighter.无毛视频�
Quarterback or not, Brady will still likely be tucking the ball in and running a lot.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檒l run him,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 an athlete. We无毛视频檙e going to build our offense around him.无毛视频�
When Brady does hand the ball off to someone else, West Greene had plenty of capable running backs, including a trio of juniors.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 nice to see some of our others guys being able to play those roles in the backfield where one night it could be Billy Whitlatch (5-6, 155), one night it could be Seth Burns (5-7, 130) or Johnny Lampe (5-9, 211),无毛视频� Hanson said.
无毛视频淟ampe will be our bulldozer, like Corey Wise was last year. He无毛视频檚 a real strong kid who无毛视频檚 had a great summer. He无毛视频檚 athletic and tough. So are Billy and Seth. They无毛视频檙e not the biggest guys in the world but really, really tough.
无毛视频淪eth无毛视频檚 a great wrestler. Billy, we had that Tri-County Powertown meet and he was probably the most dominant guy there pound for pound. He was one of the smallest guys there but everybody was talking about him.无毛视频�
Up front the Pioneers are led by 5-8, 270-pound junior Brian Andrew Jackson.
无毛视频淏rian is going to be repping guard and center,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淗e played guard as a freshman, center as a sophomore. We无毛视频檙e going to start him out at guard this year.
无毛视频淐olin Whyte (5-11, 220), who无毛视频檚 a freshman, is going to be a very good player once he gets his feet wet, a big, strong kid. Kam Tedrow (5-11, 201) will be a junior this year who played some reserve defensive line for us last year. Levi Smith (6-1, 185, sophomore) is a really hard-working kid, probably one of the toughest kids on the team. And Colton Negley (6-1, 255, sophomore) will probably round out our five on the line.无毛视频�
Two other players Hanson is high on are 6-1, 155-pound sophomore Parker Burns and 5-9, 180-pound junior Morgan Kiger.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檝e been working their tails off this summer,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淧arker, you无毛视频檒l see him play some tight end and receiver for sure. Morgan is a three-sport athlete and he无毛视频檒l be in the mix at linebacker and he might even win a position on the starting offensive line. He无毛视频檚 got to get his snaps up a little bit.无毛视频�
Whitlatch will be a leader on the defense.
无毛视频淏illy led our team in tackles,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a ball of energy, runs to the ball. Billy and Seth really complement each other. They play safety for us. Seth ended up starting last year towards the end of the season. Johnny Lampe, another returning starter, is at linebacker. He无毛视频檚 a high-motor guy. Brian Jackson and him will be our anchors.无毛视频�
The Pioneers also have a big edge in the kicking game over almost all their opponents in 5-8, 148-pound senior Kevin Thompson, who无毛视频檚 drawn the attention of sever college scouts.
无毛视频淲e feel confident from 50 yards in Kevin can score points for us and when he无毛视频檚 his normal self he puts his kickoffs out of the end zone,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淣ot only that but Kevin无毛视频檚 going to be playing some running back, receiver, defensive back. He无毛视频檚 one of the best athletes at our school.无毛视频�
Like most Class A schools, West Greene will feature a slew of two-way players.
无毛视频淨uite a bit. I would say at least seven guys will go both ways,无毛视频� Hanson said.
Hanson sees the Tri-County South as well-balanced.
无毛视频淚 think the conference is going to be really tough,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淢apletown has been waiting for this team and I think they无毛视频檙e going to be pretty tough. They无毛视频檝e got a lot of kids returning, good talent. California graduated a lot but we saw them in seven-on-seven and I was impressed with their athletes. A dark horse is Monessen. They were a young football team last year. If they get clicking they无毛视频檙e going to be a real tough team.
无毛视频淧eople are really high on Beth-Center. They无毛视频檝e got a good running back. Carmichaels is a lot like us with some senior leadership that graduated. But Carmichaels has a proud tradition. They无毛视频檝e got football players.无毛视频�
The Pioneers, who have only three seniors on their roster, would like to reach the postseason for the third time in four years under Hanson.
无毛视频淲e want to compete for a playoff spot,无毛视频� Hanson said. 无毛视频淥ur goal this year is to be the best version of ourselves we can be. I do think we无毛视频檙e going to be a team that无毛视频檚 going to be a really tough out. But we无毛视频檝e got to take it one day at a time.