Beau Jackson knew the time was right for him.
When Brian Hanson decided to take the head football coaching position at South Allegheny High School last month, Jackson found an opportunity to add something to his bucket list.
Jackson became the new head coach at his alma mater, West Greene, where he and his twin brother, Bray, played together on the same football field, where his brother Benjamin ran like no other tailback in the school’s history, and where his father, Brian, is superintendent in the school district after walking the sidelines as head coach at one time.
“I’ve always wanted to be head coach at West Greene,” said Jackson. “I grew up here and I went to school here. So a natural fit would be a good way to describe it.”
The 25-year-old Jackson spent three seasons as defensive coordinator and one season as the head coach of the junior high team.
“I also spent my whole teaching career here,” said Jackson.
Coming off a 2-8 season, Jackson has his sights set on the offseason workouts. He will be looking for two characteristics in his players.
“I think for any team to have success, and especially for us, the two things we’re going to need are dedication and leadership,” said Jackson. “So I’m really going to turn to this senior group and lean on them and, hopefully, they can show a good attitude and good leadership. That kind of ties right in with dedication because I don’t think you can be a good leader without dedication.”
All eyes will again be on tailback Colin Brady.
Brady, who will be a senior this upcoming season, rushed for 1,897 yards and had a total of 2,132 yards last season, an average of 237 yards per game. He also scored 27 total touchdowns.
Lane Allison, who heads into his junior season at quarterback, only threw for 580 yards on 80 attempts as he settled into the position last season. He completed 43 percent of his passes and threw for six touchdowns.
“The running game didn’t transfer into wins. No,” said Jackson. “When you talk about the team, the defense was really poor last year. That’s one thing we have to work on. The running game wasn’t an issue at all but we’re going to try to dress things up, maybe protect players a little bit better and develop a passing game around that.”
Billy Simms, the athletic director at West Greene, is optimistic about the job Jackson can do.
“He was a good player for us,” Simms said. “He went to Waynesburg University and played some. He’s always been a student of the game. With this team, he coached them when they were in the seventh and eighth grade. That gives him a leg up on knowing this set of kids real well. And I think he benefited working under Mr. Hanson, too.”
Jackson must still fill out his staff but don’t expect twin brother Bray to be on it right away. He is working in Mechanicsburg and is committed for a couple years.
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