Pioneers have new coach but big goals
ROGERSVILLE – West Greene football became a winning program again under the direction of head coach Rod Huffman.
The Pioneers evolved from no wins in 2015, Huffman’s first season, to a playoff qualifier in 2017, and finally, to Tri-County South co-champions last season.
The team has unfinished business to take care of this fall, but Huffman won’t be on the sidelines, as he resigned in the offseason.
Enter Brian Hanson, who spent the last three years as a head coach in Sailsbury, Md. While Hanson is inheriting a program that lost key players, such as wide receiver Nathan Brudnock, the outlook is positive.
Leading West Greene’s returners is senior running back Ben Jackson, who is already one of six players from Greene County to accumulate more than 4,000 career rushing yards. Jackson has played a leading role in the Pioneers’ renaissance, and Hanson is looking to find new ways to challenge his standout running back.
“He’s a big kid,” Hanson said. “He has really good speed. He’s a powerful runner. What we’ve been trying to do is challenge him. It’s tough sometimes when you have a really good player, keeping him challenged, finding new ways to challenge Ben and continue to maximize his talents.”
In particular, it’s on defense where Jackson will have to adjust. While he’ll still be playing outside linebacker, which he’s been doing for three years, Hanson said the senior will “put his hand in the ground” on the defensive line. While Jackson hasn’t played defensive end since the sixth grade, he believes he’s capable of handling the transition.
“I think I have the speed. I think I have the strength,” Jackson said. “I just need to learn the position a little bit more. Once I gain that knowledge in my head, I’ll feel very confident.”
Also returning for the Pioneers are junior quarterback Gavin Scott, along with senior linemen Brock Bedillion and Gregory Staggers. Bedillion is a player to watch because Hanson thinks he has the attributes necessary to be the best lineman in the conference.
“He’s about 6-1, 300 pounds, and he’s a fantastic athlete for that size,” Hanson said. “He has great quickness and he’s a skilled kid.”
While West Greene continued to grow last season, finishing with a 7-4 record, the Pioneers struggled against other winning programs. Three of their losses, including a 52-14 playoff defeat to Rochester, were to teams that qualified for the WPIAL postseason. In order to catch up to programs such as powerhouses like Rochester and Clairton, Hanson has placed an emphasis on offseason weightlifting, believing that it’s power, not athleticism, that will be key in getting to the Pioneers to the next level.
“I’m a firm believer that if you control the line of scrimmage, then you’re gonna have a chance to win a football game,” Hanson said. “We have to get stronger on the line of scrimmage. We have to get stronger on the defensive line in order to beat some of those good teams.”
West Greene’s first game is scheduled for Aug. 26 – a Monday – against Cameron (W.Va.) at home. For Jackson, the two biggest games are Sept. 20 at Monessen and Oct. 4 at home against California. The Greyhounds and Trojans shared the Tri-County South title with West Greene last year.
“Really, to get that championship, we’re going to have to beat California this year, (and) beat Monessen,” Jackson said. “Those are the two key teams that are in our conference. But really we just need to go week by week and see what we can do from there.”
Should West Greene qualify for the postseason, it’s next goal will be to have the postseason that it last had in 1993, when it played in the WPIAL Class A championship game.
“We’d like to be playing at Heinz Field at the end of the season,” Hanson said. “We’re gonna see what we can do. If we’re playing our absolute best football, then we’ll let our chips fall where they may. That’s a goal of ours to get to Heinz Field and see what happens after that.”