Cavs win soggy showdown: Cookeville blanks WC in 3-5A tilt
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And although the Pioneers’ effort was described as much improved over their performance from their previous contest, Thursday’s rainy conditions favored the Cavaliers’ stronger running game, and the Cavs prevailed in the contest, 21-0.
“We came out and knew it was going to be rough for us on offense,” Pioneer head coach Chris Madewell said. “We knew our line would have to step up, but one or two missed blocks kept us from some big gains.
“Until we can get our running game going, we’re going have to rely on passing the ball.
That’s where we’ve had our success the past couple of weeks. But on a night like Thursday night, we had to try and run the ball.”
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, and the small group of fans who braved the downpour to cheer them on, success running the ball was hard to come by for the home squad.
Warren County managed just 42 yards on 32 rushing attempts, and attempted just four passes, completing one. The Cavaliers relied on a big night from standout tailback Gus Paxton, who rushed for 175 yards on 25 carries, including a pair of touchdowns.
“We knew if we didn’t stop Paxton, we were going to be in trouble,” Madewell said. “He’s big part of their offense. Their line did good job coming off the ball, and in a game like this if you’ve got a running back that can pound it for four or five yards at a time, eventually you’re going to get into the end zone.”
Jared Phillips was the first Cavalier to find the end zone, scoring from 5 yards out to complete a 34-yard drive. Along the way to their first score, Cookeville benefited from two big plays from Paxton, consisting of a five-yard gain to convert on fourth down, as well as a 20-yard gallop to put the Cavs inside the 10-yard line.
Warren County penalties helped the Cavaliers get in position for their second touchdown.
With Cookeville marching downfield behind Paxton and Justin Sparks, the Pioneers were called for a personal foul for illegal use of the hands, followed immediately by another 15-yard step-off for unsportsmanlike conduct.
“Part of that was being aggressive, and that’s something our defense has to do,” Madewell said. “I’m not going to fault them for that. But sometimes penalties can hurt, especially in that kind of game and in that area of field. We can’t give up that kind of good field position.”
The penalties gave CHS first-and-goal, and Paxton stormed in from the 7-yard line. Chris Randolph’s extra point gave CHS a 14-0 lead going into the halftime break.
The Cavaliers struck for their third and final TD of the night on their second play of the third quarter, when Paxton broke through the WCHS line and streaked down the left sideline for a 63-yard touchdown.
“That was disappointing,” Madewell said of the third Cookeville touchdown. “It should’ve been a 5-yard gain, but we missed a couple of tackles, and it turned into a 60-something yard gain. We’ve got to cut those out, but (Paxton’s) a hard-running guy, and when he gets those legs going, he’s hard to bring down.
“Overall, I was proud of our defense — the way they were flying around, getting to the ball, that’s something haven’t seen in past couple of weeks. Guys stepping up and making plays is something we had worked on all week in practice, and it worked. If we can continue that, and our offense can pick it up — and get drier conditions — who knows what we can do.”
The Cavaliers finished with 245 yards of total offense, all on the ground, while Warren County managed just 54 yards, with 12 coming on a completion from Joshua Paz to Cody Spivey.
Homecoming festivities at Nunley Stadium are scheduled for this Friday night, when the Pioneers play host to Tullahoma.
In on the play for the Pioneers are Joshua Paz (7), Jon Paz (56), Todd Dunn, Chris Rojas (41) and Ben Dunn (8). Homecoming for the Pioneers’ 2004 season is scheduled for this Friday, when Warren County plays host to Tullahoma. Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30.