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鈥� 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 鈥� 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.
鈥淐olin鈥檚 a two-year starter, an all-conference player. He鈥檚 one of the best running backs in the WPIAL,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淏ut he has a background with playing quarterback. We talked all offseason about maybe having to play him at quarterback.鈥�
That will be the plan moving forward.
鈥淲e like what we鈥檝e seen so far,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淲e think it gives us a good chance at being productive on offense.聽We鈥檝e got some receivers.
鈥淐olin has got a real strong arm. He鈥檚 a little raw just because he鈥檚 coming off two years of playing straight tailback. We鈥檝e got to get his mechanics a little tighter.鈥�
Quarterback or not, Brady will still likely be tucking the ball in and running a lot.
鈥淲e鈥檒l run him,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 an athlete. We鈥檙e going to build our offense around him.鈥�
When Brady does hand the ball off to someone else, West Greene had plenty of capable running backs, including a trio of juniors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 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),鈥� Hanson said.
鈥淟ampe will be our bulldozer, like Corey Wise was last year. He鈥檚 a real strong kid who鈥檚 had a great summer. He鈥檚 athletic and tough. So are Billy and Seth. They鈥檙e not the biggest guys in the world but really, really tough.
鈥淪eth鈥檚 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.鈥�
Up front the Pioneers are led by 5-8, 270-pound junior Brian Andrew Jackson.
鈥淏rian is going to be repping guard and center,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淗e played guard as a freshman, center as a sophomore. We鈥檙e going to start him out at guard this year.
鈥淐olin Whyte (5-11, 220), who鈥檚 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.鈥�
Two other players Hanson is high on are 6-1, 155-pound sophomore Parker Burns and 5-9, 180-pound junior Morgan Kiger.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been working their tails off this summer,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淧arker, you鈥檒l see him play some tight end and receiver for sure. Morgan is a three-sport athlete and he鈥檒l be in the mix at linebacker and he might even win a position on the starting offensive line. He鈥檚 got to get his snaps up a little bit.鈥�
Whitlatch will be a leader on the defense.
鈥淏illy led our team in tackles,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 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鈥檚 a high-motor guy. Brian Jackson and him will be our anchors.鈥�
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鈥檚 drawn the attention of sever college scouts.
鈥淲e feel confident from 50 yards in Kevin can score points for us and when he鈥檚 his normal self he puts his kickoffs out of the end zone,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淣ot only that but Kevin鈥檚 going to be playing some running back, receiver, defensive back. He鈥檚 one of the best athletes at our school.鈥�
Like most Class A schools, West Greene will feature a slew of two-way players.
鈥淨uite a bit. I would say at least seven guys will go both ways,鈥� Hanson said.
Hanson sees the Tri-County South as well-balanced.
鈥淚 think the conference is going to be really tough,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淢apletown has been waiting for this team and I think they鈥檙e going to be pretty tough. They鈥檝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鈥檙e going to be a real tough team.
鈥淧eople are really high on Beth-Center. They鈥檝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鈥檝e got football players.鈥�
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.
鈥淲e want to compete for a playoff spot,鈥� Hanson said. 鈥淥ur goal this year is to be the best version of ourselves we can be. I do think we鈥檙e going to be a team that鈥檚 going to be a really tough out. But we鈥檝e got to take it one day at a time.