While he hasn’t chosen a college destination, Tony Pisoni plans to keep playing football somewhere. And regardless of how much he developed at quarterback the last two seasons, the Fox senior knows he’ll probably play defensive back at the next level.
That wouldn’t be a bad choice for Pisoni, who played in the secondary for the Warriors the past three seasons, recording 214 tackles and 12 interceptions.
But it was on the offensive side that Pisoni excelled this season, leading Fox to a 7-4 record, giving him 19 wins over his last three years under center.
His first two seasons at QB, Pisoni wasn’t exactly a human highlight reel. As a sophomore and junior, he completed 55 of 135 passes, with five touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also ran 92 times for 826 yards.
This season Pisoni got the attention of opposing defenses, and not just as a thrower. The 6-2, 170-pounder completed 49 of 94 passes for 774 yards and had eight touchdown tosses and no interceptions. Even more impressively, he ran 110 times for 1,202 yards and 21 scores.
“Over the summer, all I did was work on my arm strength and footwork,” Pisoni said. “I learned to pass a little more to keep the opposing teams off-guard. And I think I got better reads. Last year I wasn’t the best quarterback, and this year I was able to read defenses a lot better. Once the season ended (with a 49-14 loss to Kirkwood in the Class 6 District 1 playoffs) I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t throw one (interception) the whole year!’”
Pisoni came into the season wanting to work more on his running skills as well, especially with the Warriors featuring a less-experienced backfield behind him.
“I set a goal at the beginning of the season to reach 1,000 yards (rushing),” Pisoni said. “I am quick, but we basically just run the option up the middle most of the time.”
There were times when Pisoni galloped for huge gains down either sideline. In a win over Hazelwood West, in the first half alone, he gained 194 yards on carries of 70, 67 and 57 yards, on his way to a career-best 235 on only 10 attempts.
“I really didn’t know how many yards I had at the half in that game,” Pisoni said. “But again, it’s all about reading defenses better with the option this year. That helped me tremendously.”
Fox head coach Brent Tinker said as Pisoni continued to master the offense, he got more confident and comfortable.
“Once he got a better understanding of the offense, it helped in both his running and passing games,” Tinker said. “And once we did a better job of getting him to understand the concept of our offensive plan, he understood what he was asked to do.”
He was asked to help the Warriors win games, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Tony did a good job of letting the running backs soften the defenses, and then he waited to get outside,” Tinker said. “He was the exact kind of athlete we needed to run this kind of offense, and really fit the mold for what we wanted.
“Tony’s done so much for the coaching staff, the program and the school, because he’s also a great person. And people forget he was an all-state defensive back last year.”
Tinker said Pisoni will be hard to replace, as will all of the Fox seniors who have carved out an identity for the program.
“Whoever takes that (quarterback) job will benefit from what Tony did,” Tinker said. “He’s a great kid, and I will miss him. But we want all of our alums, after they leave and come back, to feel appreciated, not forgotten.”
Pisoni said he won’t forget the last two seasons, in which the Warriors posted a record of 15-7.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “My freshman year we didn’t have that good a year, then we picked up four (wins), and the past two years we’ve had winning records. People see that Fox football is stepping its game up.”