Robservations: Time to hit the gridiron
It’s been a hectic week here in the stately offices of your friendly neighborhood sports department.
“Tab week,” as we like to call it, is always a busy time. Your dynamic duo of sports reporters has to hustle around the county, pulling together schedules, rosters, team photos and stories for the annual Fall Sports preview section, then get it together and back to the boys in the pressroom in time to land it on your doorstep the morning of the first Pioneer football game.
We made it, again — barely. Hope you enjoy the effort.
And furthermore, here’s to hoping we all enjoy some successful fall sports programs here in Warren County.
Soccer and golf have already gotten started, and here’s hoping they have as much success in their 2004 campaigns as they can.
But today’s Friday, which means tonight is for football.
It’s been a long time since there was a winner up on Rebel Hill — a winner which didn’t leave on its way home at the end of the game, at any rate. Could this be the year the Pioneers turn things around?
Who knows? But, seriously, I believe this could be the year that turnaround we’ve all been waiting for begins.
For one thing, take a look at the staff. From the varsity head coach, all the way down to the middle school program, former Pioneers are sprinkled liberally through the coaching ranks.
These guys wore the Pioneers’ colors, they played on the Pioneers’ field, and they have seen the ups and downs of high school football.
If nothing else, they can put themselves right in today’s players’ shoes: They’ve been here, they’ve done it, and they know what it will take to get it done again.
And with this new staff there comes a system of order and discipline. It may not be fully in place, but it’s coming together more and more with each passing day. Leadership from the coaches has been strict, but fair, and leaders among the older players are emerging — including some, I’ll admit, who this writer never thought would find themselves in that role.
But to most fans, in fact, nearly every fan, only one thing matters — victory.
And that’s the one thing the Pioneers haven’t seen since the 2001 season opener.
I’ve repeated the statistics of the WCHS losing streak time and again, and I’m not going to take the space or time to repeat them now. But remember this one fact: No player taking the field tonight for the varsity Pioneers has ever won as a member of the WCHS football team.
They’re as far down in the rankings as they can get. Meaning there’s only one direction for them to go.
Let’s kick it off, fellas, and let’s get out there and get it done.
• Looking inside today’s section, you’ll find two new Friday features: The “On the Line” football picks challenge, and our new syndicated “SEC This Week” page. Take the time to check them both out, I think you’ll like them.
And as for Duane Sherrill’s “OTL” picks this week, they were done by going against the majority of the rest of the panel, since he’s on vacation. Here’s hoping he has a bad week, and the rest of us build a good lead on him heading into week two.