ROBSERVATIONS: Pioneers set to face true rival tonight

“Cookeville.”

It’s just 10 letters, but use the right intonation around the halls of Warren County High School, and it’s almost like saying a four-letter word.

In the five years since I’ve been occupying this desk at your friendly neighborhood sports section, there’s no area team which has caused such frustration by delivering losses, and such joy by being defeated.

The highlights seem like they happened just yesterday. Matt Cotten nailing three free-throws with no time left; that souvenir ball floating onto the court, drawing a technical foul and costing WCHS a game; and the Pioneers rallying around “Old Glory” before taking the field just days after 9/11, only to suffer a heart-wrenching loss are just a few.

Put simply, these two schools just don’t get along. They’re rivals in the truest sense of the word, at least from the Warren County point-of-view.

Sure, we’ve got Sparta, and we’ve got Manchester. But ask any athlete whose taken on the Cavaliers in recent years, and they’ll tell you: Nothing feels as good as topping Cookeville — especially at its home school.

Now, imagine how good that would feel tonight, with the Cavaliers picked by everybody as not only the powerhouse of Region 3-5A, but as one of the upper-crust programs in the entire class.

Make no mistake. Warren County traveling to Cookeville and coming away with a win over the Cavs would be a tremendous upset.

But the key word there, is “tremendous.”

After last week’s loss, it was obvious some of the early season fire had cooled on the Pioneer sideline. It wasn’t unanimous, but you could tell that heads were starting to hang, and that old “here we go again” attitude was rearing its ugly head. Nothing would bring a quick halt to any backsliding attitudes like a win — or heck, even a competitive showing — against Cookeville.

Looking inside today’s section, you’ll see just two out of the six panelists in this newspaper’s prediction contest took the Pioneers to win. But the other four agonized over their decisions, I can assure you. And they’d be tickled to be proven wrong.

So find that fire, Pioneers. Take the past games against the Cavs, take the history of bad blood between the two schools, or even take the fact four of us — myself included — don’t think you’ll come out on top tonight. Take it to Cookeville, and take it to the Cavaliers.

You proved two weeks ago you had it in you. Let’s see it come out again.