Pioneers open 2005 campaign tonight

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

The Pioneers’ first-team defensive unit surrounds Brandon Rich during drills earlier this week at the WCHS practice field. Warren County will hope its defense can stop Bradley Central in tonight’s season opener. (Rob Nunley photo)

There’s nothing left to do but play the anthem and toss the coin.

The 2005 Pioneer football season begins tonight, with Warren County playing host to Cleveland’s Bradley Central.

Both programs in tonight’s game will be looking across the field in the hope of finding the cure for lengthy losing streaks. For the Bears, who finished 0-10 a year ago and have lost 12 straight, a successful showing against the Pioneers would not only stop their slide, but give them some much-needed momentum heading into their Aug. 26 game against local rival Cleveland.

For Warren County, however, a win would bring so much more.

To begin with, a victory over Bradley — or anyone else, for that matter — would end a streak of 39 consecutive losses, dating back to Aug. 17, 2001. Turning in a strong showing would also be evidence that the months of hard work attempting to turn around the struggling WCHS program have paid off.

Pioneer head coach Chris Madewell said earlier this week both he, and his players, are confident they can hold their own against the Bears tonight.

“With the athletic ability we have at our skill positions,” he said, “and with the kids we’ve got, I feel like we can match up with anybody.”

While Madewell is beginning his second year as the head of the program, for the Bears tonight’s game will be the debut of new coach John Allen.

No stranger to taking over struggling programs, Allen’s previous position was as head coach at Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe (Ga.), where he turned a struggling Warrior program into a double-digit winner before he left.

With the Bears, he now begins the arduous task of turning around a program which has won just eight of its last 40 games and averaged just 3.7 points per game in 2004, finishing as shutout victims seven times.

Earlier this month, however, the Bears gained a bit of confidence, as they played a tough scrimmage against private school power Knoxville Catholic.

Bradley fell in that scrimmage 28-14, but got a touchdown pass from Josh Heffington to Mark Gibson, and Heffington called his own number for their other score, running a keeper out of the Bears’ wing-T set to the end zone.

Kickoff tonight at Nunley Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.