WCMS football hopes ‘speed kills’
In his first season at the helm of the Warren County Middle School football program, Matt Turner used a simple offensive philosophy: Give the ball to the biggest guys on the field, and let them bowl people over.
This year, with the “bulldozers” having moved on to the high school level, a different strategy will be needed for the Pioneers to continue the winning ways that have made them the talk of the town for the past several seasons.
“We had two big guys in the backfield last year, and just ran the ball up the middle with power,” Turner said during preseason workouts this summer. “This year we don’t have that advantage.
“But I think we will be a little quicker this year, so we will be able to open our offense up a little.”
Jay Hutchings, who saw significant time at H-back in last year’s offense before being hampered by injury, was the go-to man at tailback through much of the preseason. But an ankle injury during the DeKalb County Jamboree Aug. 13 has sidelined Hutchings for a few weeks, and moved Dakota Taylor up to the starting tailback slot. WCMS coaches have so far been impressed with Taylor’s work out of the backfield, and combined with fullback Taylor Bain, the Pioneers should have a powerful one-two punch, with Taylor and Hutchings’ cutting ability combining with Bain’s raw power to produce positive results.
“It’s amazing what a little quickness can do for you,” Turner noted. “With speed back there, we’ve got that weapon in our holster, plus we can have Bain running over folks up the middle. It just adds another facet to our offense, and anytime you can do that you’re improving your game.”
Not only did the loss of several sizable players change the Pioneers’ offensive game plan, it sapped the strength of the team’s defensive unit somewhat, as well.
Turner noted the Pioneers have been working diligently through preseason drills to improve their tackling techniques and defensive strategies, an important goal to achieve if the squad hopes to come close to last year’s 7-2 mark.
“We’ve concentrated on tackling, and using our speed to get to the ball quickly,” he said. “That’s another area where our speed is going to help us out, but only if we can finish and make the stops when we need to make them.”
The defensive unit stepped up to a big challenge recently, forcing four fumbles in a 10-play stretch against a perennial state power, Murfreesboro’s Central Middle School.
The 2005 Pioneer season, their second as a member of the Central Tennessee Conference, begins Aug. 23 at Franklin County North. Should WCMS finish as one of the top two teams in the CTC standings, they’ll have a chance to return to the league’s season-ending bowl game. Last year, WCMS dropped a heart-breaker to White County in the bowl game, suffering their second loss to the Warriors of the fall. Those two losses should set the stage for a dramatic rematch when the Pioneers meet the Warriors at Nunley Stadium on Oct. 4.
2005 Schedule
Date Opponent Site Time
Aug. 23 Franklin Co. North A 6:30
Aug. 30 Franklin Co. South A 6:30
Sept. 6 Shelbyville Harris H 6:30
Sept. 13 Tullahoma H 6:30
Sept. 20 Coffee Co. A TBA*
Oct. 4 White Co. A 6:30
Oct. 11 DeKalb Co. H 6:30
Oct. 8 CTC Bowl Game**
(* – Coffee County will be a day game, time to be determined.
** – The Central Tennessee Conference Bowl game will pit the No. 2 seed team against No. 1, at the higher seed’s home field.)