NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The Warren Easton Eagles missed out on their third straight state championship game in 2020 after losing to Edna Karr in the semi-final round of the Class 4A playoffs.
This fall, a hungry Eagles team returns 10 starters including Junior quarterback Keddrick Connelly.
“He did pretty good last year being that it was his first year being a true starter. He has a year under his belt now and we’re really counting on him to run the offense. So hopefully, he takes a huge leap. We’ve been working hard this summer and the spring, and he’s been getting better,” says Warren Easton head football coach Jerry Phillips.
Head Coach Jerry Phillips says Connley has help, with a stable of talented backs and electric playmakers like Leon Elloie.
“They’re going to take a lot of slack off of him. We are going to run the ball a lot this year until he really gets his field under him and understands what we are trying to do on offense. Then like you said, we have Elloie. He can go deep. He’s going to touch the ball a lot this year. In the backfield, get it to him fast and let him do his thing,” says Phillips.
Defensively, Warren Easton returns a plethora of experience from the defensive line to the secondary.
“Ronald Lewis is going to be good for us. Our sophomore corner, Wallace Foster. My two linebackers, Jireh Johnson and Johnny Taylor are pretty good. And, our defensive line is going to be solid also. We have Renell Ruth who’s a four-year starter who is going to anchor that and we have Jeremiah Macklin who came on strong last year. So, the whole defense is going to be pretty good this year,” says Phillips.
A tough road schedule awaits the Eagles, but one that will have them ready for another deep playoff run in 2021.
“We start off in Navarre, Florida who’s a 6A team, week one. Then we go to Baton Rouge three weeks in a row. We have to play Woodlawn, Catholic of Baton Rouge, and Scotlandville who are three good teams. We have Edna Karr week six,” says Phillips.
A game that never disappoints and one that decides the fate of district 10-4A.
