New coach, system set to lead Golden Flashes
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CHAMPION -- Sometimes starting over can be a good thing.
Such is the case for the Champion Golden Flashes football team, as the 2024 campaign begins.
Longtime coach Ken Parise, with expertise spanning more than four decades as a coach, is set to lead the Golden Flashes as he was named head coach in January of this year.
His outlook for the 11 seniors on his team is simple. Parise wants to use the talented class in the best way possible. When speaking about his coaching style, Parise said he is a coach that cares, but has steep expectations for his 11 men on the field.
"I'm a caring coach who is there for the kids, but I'm also very demanding from the standpoint of doing the right things," Parise said. "I believe in a theory called gold pride. What that means is I want my kids to be a good person first, a good student second and then a good football player."
For over four decades, Parise has spent 27, now entering his 28th, seasons as a head coach. In that time, he said his goal has never changed for the athletes on his team. He calls it the "four-40 rule."
"What the seniors do in their four years of high school, they will remember for the next 40 years.," Parise said. "So my goal is to make sure that over the next 40 years, they will have something to look back on and say 'wow, my high school experience in football was outstanding.' The wins and losses will fall accordingly. What you do in your four years in high school, you'll remember for the next 40, so give it your all."
Parise said so far he believes the biggest strength of the team has been the competition happening in practice. What stands out more is the camaraderie he's seen from his team.
"It's starting to come together and that really helps when you're going through a long season and all the ups and downs and trials and tribulations," Parise said. "I'm starting to see 'the want to,'"
The "want to," as Parise describes, is an intangible that kids on the field either have or don't. Essentially, he longs to have the kids on the field who want to be there rather than those who feel they have to be on the field.
"We have a lot of 'want to' kids, especially the senior and junior class," he said. "Right now, it's so important to have those kinds of kids. Occasionally you'll see them slip back into that losing mentality, but that's the job of myself and my coaches to keep them on a positive front."
Heading into his first season at the helm at Champion, Parise said his offensive and defensive plan of attack differs from his predecessor Tom Conrad, who stepped down at the end of 2023. Most notably, the offensive scheme will shift from Conrad's spread offense to Parise's Wing-T offense.
"We have three running backs and a quarterback that can get the ball at any time, plus a wide receiver and our tight end. I'm a Wing-T coach and you have to go by what you know and what you enjoy coaching," he said. "This is my 44th year and I've been doing (the Wing-T) for a long time and really enjoy the aspects and challenges of it."
With the new offensive scheme, Parise said his team is adjusting very well.
On the other side of the ball, Parise explained he runs a multi-front defense. Something he appropriated from a former LaBrae head coach and one of Parise's assistants when he coached in Conneaut.
"We run a multiple front to where we're in six or seven different alignments and it seems to be very effective for us," he said. "We're trying to get the best athletes we can on the field. Judging by the size of our kids, we're going to have to make adjustments. We're still trying to figure out each kid and figure out where we're at defensively because the offense is a structured thing. Defensively, it's about finding what each kid has and what he can give, so we're still trying to figure out what we'll do exactly."
OFFENSE
Leading the offense this season, Parise said, will be junior quarterback Zack Morris. Last year, Morris and now-senior Christian Williams split time under center. Parise said Williams will transition to a running back role with Morris as the lone signal caller.
"We nicknamed (Morris) Flutie as he has the same qualities and abilities as Doug Flutie. Morris is the type of Wing-T quarterback and so is his backup Morris Rukman," Parise said.
Sharing the load in the backfield with Williams will be seniors Michael Sanders at fullback and Kalyelle Gray. Also in the mix will be Jayden Caldwell and Kyle Kolat. Having depth at running back, according to Parise, has been impactful.
"They share the load. There's no big egos," he said. "I say that one fake is as important as two blocks and if they don't block, they don't get the rock. There could be a different rushing leader each game depending on the deception that goes on. I haven't heard a word from them about 'me, me, me' so that's what I'm happy about. They're willing to share the load."
Up front for the Golden Flashes will be a host of juniors and seniors. In the preseason, Parise is looking at seniors Eric McIntyre, Michael Miller and Dominic VanNiel. The juniors who will see playing time are Keegan Clifford, Carter Pernice and Matt Wilkes. Parise said he and his coaching staff are working hard on the depth up front.
"We look at the depth chart daily because we need more depth up there," he said.
Rounding out the offense in the skill positions are Carter Boggs, Ethan Abruzzi, DeAgo Baez and Collin Cope at wide receiver. For tight ends, Parise is looking at Tyler Reiter and Dylan Morrow to be effective when the season rolls around.
"We have some really good skill kids, we're going to have a smaller offensive line compared to Champion teams of the past, but in the Wing-T, you don't need big offensive linemen. You need quick, tough and fast offensive linemen," he said.
DEFENSE
With the style of defense Parise wants to run, he said the strength of his defensive unit is his linebacker core. He's been extremely pleased with what he's seen of his eight potential starters, and he said it all starts with one person.
"Sanders leads the band," he said. "The strength of our defense is our linebackers. The key to that, however, is our seniors McIntyre, Sanders and VanNeil."
The final piece in the quartet of inside linebackers will be Kolat. For the outside linebackers, Parise is looking at Caldwell, Morris, Morrow and Rukman. He added that the depth and leadership at the group's core is what will help the defense in the long run.
The front Parise intends to go with defensively will be a combination of Miller, Clifford, Pernice, Wilkes, Reiter and Cody Upshire, but with most of his linemen playing both ways, Parise said a lot of the kids on his defensive front will alternate.
Rounding out the defense at the skill position, the three key components of his defensive back positions will be Gray, Williams and Boggs. Filtering around those three will be Abruzzi, Baez, Cope and Ryan Ingles.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Handling the responsibilities for kickoffs, field goals and extra point attempts will be Cope with Pernice handling all long-snapping duties. Returning the ball for Champion will alternate between Gray, Boggs and Williams.
The Golden Flashes open the 2024 season on Aug. 23 at home against McDonald.
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