Robservations: Football Fridays here again
Somebody’s got to say it, so here goes: It’s football time in McMinnville, Tennessee.
The Pioneers hit the field tonight, under the lights of Nunley Stadium, as they open the 2003 campaign against Livingston Academy’s Wildcats.
As with any team, in any sport, questions abound at the start of the Pioneers’ season.
But the most-asked question — in fact, the most important question — in many fans’ minds, is a very simple one.
Will Warren County win?
Let’s face it, Pioneer fans. Wins have been tough to come by. They’ve been few, and they’ve certainly been far between. Fifteen wins, 85 losses over the last nine years.
Try this math on for size. The members of this year’s senior class, who are about to begin their fourth year with the program, have walked off the field experiencing the thrill of victory once — once — in their careers.
In contrast, they’ve had three head coaches.
In fact, if you consider the interim coaching job turned in by Chris Madewell during last year’s suspension of head coach Gerald Tidwell, they’ve had four.
But today, you throw those numbers out the window. You forget about the long losing streaks, you forget about the turnover in the coaching ranks, and you forget about where the team’s ranked in Class 5A.
Because tonight, when the Pioneers run through that banner and the 2003 season is officially here, is a time of hope.
So once again, the big question: Will Warren County win?
And the honest answer: I hope.
• This year’s Pioneer schedule has drawn a mixed reaction, based on the football fans I’ve talked to over the summer.
On one end of the spectrum, you have the fans who are tickled pink to see squads like Sparta, Walker Valley and Chattanooga Central on the schedule.
And on the other, you have those fans who wonder what good will come of playing these small schools.
“Even if we beat them, we still haven’t beaten anybody,” they say, “and if we lose to them, we’re sure in bad shape.”
I disagree. Because when you’ve won just three of your last 53 games, a win’s a win. No matter who it’s against.
• Speaking of those small schools, you’ll notice tonight’s opponent, Livingston Academy, wasn’t included on that list.
Not because they’re not a small school. In fact, the home of the Wildcats has an enrollment of 830, less than half the number of students who attend Warren County High.
So yes, they’re another one of these tiny schools that have been added to the Pioneers’ schedule in the hopes of ending that ever-growing losing streak. But a win over the Wildcats would be nothing to sneeze at.
Livingston finished 7-3 in the regular season a year ago, only to fall to Grundy County 35-14 in the first round of the postseason. They lost their first three games of the year, only to battle back and win seven straight and claim one of the four playoff spots in a tough Region 4-3A field.
With an all-state quarterback who’s just a sophomore, the Wildcats also boast a backfield that would make most of the teams in Class 5A jealous. Jamey Vaughn has the starting tailback’s job, for now, with two running backs behind him who both rushed for over 1,000 yards last season.
Defensively, the ‘Cats held their final five regular-season foes last year to a combined 59 points — bad news for a Warren County squad which averaged less than seven points per game in 2002.