The 2012 season was an historic one for the Warren East Raiders. They set the school mark for wins in a row at 13. They completed not only the first undefeated regular season in school history, but also became the first school in the Warren County Public School system to ever accomplish that feat. The only black mark on the season was the resounding thud it ended in - a 58-7 drubbing by Collins in the state semifinals. The Raiders will be looking to wipe that taste out of their mouths in the 2013 season. They'll also be looking to a new head coach to lead them to their ultimate goal of not only reaching the state championship game, but winning it as well.

 

Ben Bruni stepped down as head coach of the Raiders following 8 years that saw them win the first two region titles in school history. He was the third longest tenured coach in program history, finished with the second most wins, and compiled the best win percentage of any coach at Warren East ever. Following that pedigree is a tall task but the Raiders pulled in a man with an impressive history of his own. New HC Steve Long spent 18 years from 1977-1995 at Bowling Green as an assistant coach, the last seven as associate head coach and defensive coordinator, culminating with the 1995 state championship. He has worked as head coach at Allen County-Scottsville and been on the staff at Warren East as defensive coordinator the past two seasons. He provides continuity to the program and a strong track record of winning - just the man the Raiders need.

 

The Raiders lost 22 seniors from last season, including big two way lineman Mitchell Cook and wideout Chase Bryant, the team's leading receiver last year. They also must cope with the loss of QB Jimmy Burns, a 2100 yard passer that moved to Butler County during the offseason. But the cupboard is far from bare for Warren East. Leading the way will be stud RB/LB Eli Brown, an all-state selection in his sophomore season and a recent Vanderbilt commit. He'll be the best player on the field in every foreseeable game the Raiders will play this year, a huge advantage to have. The key to Warren East's success in 2013 may be new QB Austin Pagel. He has the big shoes to fill with the loss of Burns and his ability to run the new Warren East offense may be the difference in improving on last year's strong run. Pagel did not throw a single pass for the Raiders last year, nor did any player on the roster this season.

 

The 2013 schedule features a few tweaks from that of the past two years, but continues to have a balance of strong opponents with expected wins. The toughest game on the schedule may be the very first game when they take on the South Warren Spartans. This game was part of Bowling Green's Rafferty's Bowl the past two years, but this year the teams will keep the gate themselves, moving to a home and home affair, starting out at South Warren. The Spartans are led by recent UK commit DL Adrian Middleton, and are expected to be a top 10 team in 3A. Warren East will also continue their series against Monroe County, which after South Warren provided them their closest test of the 2012 regular season, with the Raiders escaping with a 26-18 win. But both of those are returning opponents. The highlight of the new games is a trip to 6A Meade County. The Green Wave is notoriously tough to handle at home, and had several strong showings in 2012 in close losses to Henderson County, Warren Central, and Collins - who they lost to by only 7 in contrast to the 51 the Raiders fell by. In-district, the toughest tests should as always come from Allen County-Scottsville and Franklin-Simpson. Each of those teams advanced to state finals in the last three seasons, and have historically been thorns in Warren East's side, last year notwithstanding. With the loss of Lone Oak on the other side of the playoff bracket, maintaining dominance over District 2 is key for the Raiders' postseason hopes by postponing a potential matchup with expected region favorite Owensboro until the finals.

 

The 2013 season will be about maintaining momentum in the program. They came from 17 wins in 7 seasons to 55 in 8, but they never could accomplish what their district mates did in reaching a state title game. Coach Long will be looking to check that box right out of the gate.

 

Players To Watch

• Eli Brown – RB/LB - 6'2", 190 lbs - Junior – You and a whole lot of other people will have your eyes on Eli Brown. He verbally committed to Vanderbilt during the summer to clear his recruiting prior to the season, but a host of coaches may not be ready to give up on the long and athletic Brown. As a two way player and the team leader on both sides of the ball, there will be few if any plays that his fingerprints are not on.
   
   
  
• Austin Pagel – QB – 6’0”, 178 lbs – Senior – His first pass of 2013 will be the 10th one he has thrown in a varsity game since the second game of 2011. He’s an unknown quantity at this point with a career line of 4/9, 38 yards passing, but it can be argued that no player will be more important to the Raiders.
   
   
  
• Josh Yoebstl – DL – 6’0”, 187 lbs – Junior – Yoebstl will be a co-leader on defense with Brown. He turned in a strong sophomore campaign when he recorded 79 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
  

Coach Long will have the Raiders ready, but South Warren may play spoiler in their opening game. The Spartans will be hard to beat this year.

Ready to see the post-Bruni era of the Raiders.