H.S. FOOTBALL: Parker’s experience increases his role at TCA

Trinity Christian Academy senior wide receiver Eli Parker is looking forward to his final season of high school football.

He said when he walks out of the TCA fieldhouse after his final game, he wants to be able to do that with no regrets knowing he’d done everything he could in the preceding weeks and months to help the Lions be successful.

That’s probably pretty similar to the last three years when he’s done the same. After an initial season that garnered him All-West Tennessee Freshman of the Year accolades, Parker was among the area’s receiving yards leaders while being one of the go-to players in the Lions’ prolific offense.

“It seems just like yesterday when Coach [Blake] Butler gave me a shot at starting my first game against South Gibson my freshman year,” Parker said. “I’d been playing just as much the first few games before as I did when I started, getting in the game and giving guys like [2014 TCA senior James Bond] a breather.

“I’d almost been working like a utility player backing up every receiver to that point. But I was given an opportunity I wasn’t expecting and took as much advantage of it as I could.”

Since then, Parker has been a reliable target for former quarterback Kyle Akin and now his successor, Tristan Bonnstetter. Parker said Bonnstetter is settling into his role nicely, and he’s becoming close with the rest of the team, which Parker said is a big reason for the team’s success.

“This team isn’t about wins or losses,” Parker said. “It’s about coming together and being a brotherhood that buys into continuing progress together.

“Kyle was more than our quarterback or teammate, but our friend. And the connections we had on the field were because of the connections we had off the field. No one ever worries about whether or not anybody else is doing their job, because we’re all committed to making this team better each week.”

Parker said Bonnstetter is fitting into his place in that group.

“Tristan will be a great quarterback for us,” Parker said. “He’s learning how to be a leader, and I’ve seen a lot of improvement in him since he joined the team.”

For the past three years, Parker has been a member of a group of receivers that have been hard to stop or even slow down at times. The past two years he’s been the second-leading receiver in the group behind Chase Diggs in 2013 and Grant Reviere last year. Diggs was a senior two years ago, and Reviere graduated last year along with other receivers Ryan Smith and Landon Ross.

With Parker being the only one from that group still on the team, Parker said he doesn’t expect to get all of the passes thrown to him as new receivers have improved this offseason to fill the roles left open by graduation.

“How we’ve done in 7-on-7s have shown that we have a lot of guys who’ve stepped up this offseason and will be quality receivers for us,” Parker said. “Tyler Thomas and Sergio Pagoaga we knew would be good last year. They just had to wait for their time.

“Ty Layman has shown he can step up and catch some passes as well. Everybody has figured out their roles in this offense, and mine is changing this year as I will move over and be that receiver that Diggs was my sophomore year.”

Parker said he also knows his role as a leader within the group will increase more since he’s the one who has the in-game experience and has stepped on the field in big games against teams like Adamsville, St. George’s and Evangelical Christian — who are on the Lions’ schedule again this year.

“I’m looking forward to all those games this year because they were fun games to be a part of, and they will be again this year,” Parker said. “I’m just looking forward to the season and hoping to do things to continue this run we’ve been on and get a little further than we’ve been and play for a state championship.”

Brandon Shields, 425-9751

Parker’s numbers

Height: 5-11

Weight: 155

Bench max: 175

Squat max: 250

40 time: 4.6

GPA: 3.6

Vertical: 36