WCMS hits the road for 3-way scrimmage
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Taking on Cannon County and the host Tigers from Central, the Pioneers, under the tutelage of new head coach Matt Turner, participated in controlled drills, wherein each team kept the ball for 10-play possessions. By the end of the long afternoon, Turner said he was very happy with the Pioneers’ results.
“I came out pleased,” he said. “I felt good about it. We’ve got a long way to go, but I feel we’re where we need to be right now. We won the battles tackling, and just made a few mistakes in our blocking. But everything we didn’t do well, it all can be fixed.”
WCMS began its day by taking on Central, a team which boasts a roster of nearly 70 players and perennially out-sizes and out-powers its opponents.
But the backfield combination of tailback Morgan Wilcher, fullback Brian Najera and H-back Carzell Robinson set the tone, and moved the ball almost at will against the Tiger defensive unit.
“Morgan, Brian and Carzell were hitting them hard, and getting 8 to 12 yards a carry,” Turner noted. “We were just pounding them with our power stuff, and marched right down the field.
“I think in a game situation, we could’ve punched it on in. But our 10 plays ran out before we could get into the end zone.”
The Pioneers failed to score in their three possessions against the Tigers, who in turn scored on their first play from scrimmage. But the defensive unit from WCMS held tough after giving up the early big play, keeping Central in check for the rest of its opening possession. Turner noted defensive ends Jesse Boyd and Najera played a particularly impressive role in holding Central at bay.
“Overall against Central, it went pretty good,” he said. “We held our own with them, and they’ve got a huge team and some really big kids. They scored three and we didn’t score any, but we ran about 90 plays against them and saw some positives. You just can’t duplicate in practice the kind of speed they had, and that’s what hurt us the most.”
Against Cannon County, however, the tables were turned, as WCMS posted three touchdowns while holding their opponents scoreless.
The Pioneers will take part in the Jackson County Jamboree Saturday, Aug. 14, with three different opponents on tap. Their 2004 season begins Tuesday, Aug. 24, at home against Franklin County North.