Warrenton head football coach Jason Koper hopes an influx in young talent and a substantial roster size increase will lead to success for the Warriors on the football field this season.
Koper was impressed with the Warriors’ first week of practice earlier in August. He specifically cited the team’s roster size, which sits at 70 this season. They had about 40 players last season. With the drastic increase in depth, the Warriors had competitions earlier this month at multiple positions, including quarterback, running back and offensive and defensive line. They have not had this quality of depth in a long time, Koper said.
With the increased depth, the Warriors want to play as many players one way as possible. Some players will still play both offense and defense, but the goal is to limit this to a few players.
Koper hopes this will also help the underclassmen on the Warrenton roster perform at a high level.
“The goal going into the offseason was to try to get our guys to be one-way players,” Koper said. “We’re going to be young still in a lot of positions. So we knew that if we had a lot of one way players, that would help out the young side of it just because they’d be fresh.”
The Warriors will still have players who play both offense and defense. Koper anticipates Colton Brosenne, Cameron Faerber, Troy Lundy and Mitchell Williams to all play both offense and defense. Their experience alone will override Koper’s preference to have players only play offense or defense.
Koper said the weeks of practice prior to the season opener and the Jamboree all were used in part to evaluate who will play in the Warriors’ week one game. They built in-game situations throughout practice to see how players respond to the competition and pressure. Koper said the players know with the depth the Warriors have this year, there is a player behind them wanting to claim their spot.
Koper anticipated last week’s Jamboree helping the coaching staff evaluate who is ready for game action starting this week. They faced strong competition in Washington High School. They also faced Wright City and St. Francis Borgia, which Koper believes are similar programs to Warrenton.
“Getting these guys where they’re actually going up against somebody that’s from a different school, that’s where we’re going to see the competitive side from them and hopefully see who’s going to be able to perform on Fridays,” Koper said.
Koper said the younger players on the team are hungry to get varsity reps and play during games on Fridays. Koper has seen it in their conditioning and maximum effort throughout practice.
Koper is counting on the veteran leaders to help the underclassmen adjust to high school football. He is looking to the juniors and seniors to help Koper and the staff build the football program. He wants the veteran players to help coach the underclassmen and help get them ready to play.
“With 70 guys and four coaches, that’s a lot of bodies to try to get through reps. And sometimes we miss it,” Koper said. “So having those juniors and seniors stepping up like that is going to be a big contributing factor for us.”
Overall, Koper’s goal for the Warriors is to improve each week. He stressed every team wants to win a conference championship. However, he noted the Warriors’ unknowns and number of players with limited experience.
“The goal is to get better every week,” Koper said. “We’re going to be starting a lot of sophomores on the line. If they progress like I think they’re capable of, we should have a really good, solid season.”
Warrenton finished last season 3-7. They finished 2-2 in GAC North play.
They will begin the 2022 season with a home game against Ft. Zumwalt South. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.