By Jim Fryar

jfryar@joplinglobe.com

Tyler Parrigon has a new role for the McAuley Catholic football team.

On the field, it won’t be so obvious. Opponents still will see Parrigon lined up at tight end and defensive end.

But on the practice field, new head coach Brenden Gubera sees Parrigon in a different role: team leader.

“He’s never been in that role before, but he’s the go-to guy,” said Gubera, who assisted with the Warriors the past two years. “We’re asking him to be a leader and a role model for the younger kids.”

Parrigon is one of just three seniors on the McAuley roster. He’s the lone four-year player in that small group.

“He does a great job of keeping kids motivated,” Gubera said. “He’s been the first one in line any time we do a drill. If someone doesn’t do it right, he lets them know about it.

“You have to have people on the team for the younger kids to look up to.”

Parrigon, at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, certainly fits that role, both in performance and physique.

The motivation for Parrigon is to match McAuley’s success of the past two seasons. The Warriors were 9-2 in 2005 and 8-3 last fall but are 0-1 to start the 2007 campaign after falling to St. Vincent-Perryville 27-7 on Friday.

“It’s hard to replace 14 guys (graduated seniors) who pretty much started the program,” Parrigon said. “But we’re getting some new faces out there. Everyone is working pretty hard. We should be all right.

“I think we just want to prove to everyone that they weren’t the only class that could play. We’re still out there, and we work just as hard as they did.”

Gubera expects Parrigon to become a bigger part of the McAuley offense, after catching 30 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns in 2006.

“We’re going to look to get him the ball five to 10 times a game, which is quite a bit for a tight end,” Gubera said. “Obviously, the more the better. In certain sets, he’s spread out as a wide receiver. We’ll try to get him matched with a corner.