Slow start dooms Pioneers
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Twenty-eight second-quarter points, all of which came on passes from Cavalier quarterback Zac Hennigan, helped produce a dominating first-half performance for the Cavs — who came in ranked No. 9 in Class 5A and improved to 4-1 with the win.
“Going in, I felt like we could compete with this team,” WCHS head coach Chris Madewell said during his Saturday morning radio show. “But we’ve got to execute, and we’ve got to cut out giving up big plays. If we can do that, we can play with anybody.”
In a game which truly was a tale of two halves, Cookeville got off to a strong start, with Tyler Wolf scoring from 44 yards out to give his team an early edge.
WCHS (2-3) went three-and-out, but the Pioneer defense held Cookeville to a 31-yard Blake Walker field goal, as CHS took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.
Hennigan completed all six of his pass attempts in the second period, including a 4-yard strike to Rob Winningham early in the period. Winningham ran in on a fake PAT to give the Cavs an 18-0 lead.
Another Pioneer punt was returned 43 yards by Wolf, and on third-and-5, Hennigan was flushed from the pocket by the Pioneers’ Todd Dunn, but found a wide-open Dan Curry in the end zone.
Taylor Stearman streaked 73 yards after snagging a pass in the middle of the field for Cookeville’s next TD, and with just three seconds left in the half, Hennigan found Cameron Wilson for his fourth and final TD pass of the game, which allowed the Cavs to carry their more-than-comfortable advantage into the halftime break.
Down by such a hefty margin, Madewell said he challenged his team to regroup after a first half which saw them net just 18 offensive yards.
“I talked to them (at halftime) about how in life, and not just in football, you’re going to be knocked down and have bad things happen to you,” he said. “I challenged them to come out and win the second half, and I was proud of the way they came out and played hard.”
A 26-yard run from Josh Paz moved the Pioneers into Cookeville territory on their first possession after the break, and Mikey Perkins took the ball in the Pioneers’ new “power” set, going in from 8 yards out to paydirt.
A bad snap on a punt attempt by the Cavs allowed Kyle Mullican to bring down punter Dan Curry for a 23-yard loss, and the Pioneers took over at the CHS 28, needing just five plays before Perkins posted his second TD, this time from 3 yards out.
Ethan Womack intercepted a pass on Cookeville’s final drive of the quarter, and the Pioneers went into the fourth trailing 38-14. But a pair of big offensive miscues stalled any further attempts at a comeback.
On third-and-1 from the Cavalier 26, WCHS attempted an option pitch, but Paz’s toss went over the head of Jevon Ramsey, and was scooped up by Wolf near midfield. The senior went all the way for his team’s final TD, putting Cookeville on top by what would prove to be the final score.
Warren County took back over, and once again drove into Cookeville territory, but Paz’s pass on second-and-6 was well over Adam Wood’s head, and intercepted by Grant Cooper, who returned the ball 45 yards.
The Pioneer defense held tough, stopping the Cavs on fourth down to take over deep in their own territory, but time ran out on the final drive, and Cookeville came away celebrating its second region win of the year.
WCHS finished with 225 total yards of offense, despite its anemic performance in the first two periods, while Cookeville ran for 133 yards and passed for 197 more.
Wolf had 106 yards on the ground and 28 more through the air, and went well over the 200-yard mark in total yardage. Hennigan completed nine of his 12 attempts for 169 yards.
The Pioneers were led by Paz’s 59 yards on 10 carries, while Ramsey added 50 on 14 attempts. Ben Dunn caught three passes for 27 yards, as Paz and Mullican combined to complete six of 16 passes for 85 yards.
The Pioneers travel to Tullahoma this Friday.
WCHS-Cookeville Statistics
Cavaliers 45, Pioneers 15
WCHS 0 0 14 0 — 14
CHS 10 28 0 7 — 45
First Quarter
CHS – Tyler Wolf 44 run (Blake Walker kick), 9:09.
CHS – Walker 31 field goal, 4:59.
Second Quarter
CHS – Rob Winningham 4 pass from Zac Hennigan (Winningham run), 10:31.
CHS – Dan Curry 7 pass from Hennigan (Walker kick), 6:51.
CHS – Taylor Stearman 73 pass from Hennigan (run failed), 1:56.
CHS – Cameron Wilson 14 pass from Hennigan (Chris Randolph kick), :03. “““
Third Quarter
WCHS – Mikey Perkins 8 run (Tony Garibaldi kick), 9:53.
WCHS – Perkins 3 run (Garibaldi kick), 5:56.
Fourth Quarter
CHS – Tyler Wolf 48 fumble return (Randolph kick), 9:27.
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Team Statistics
Team WCHS CHS
First Downs 12 12
Rushes-Yds 35-140 39-133
Passing Yds 85 197
Return Yds 21 123
C-A-I 6-16-1 10-13-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Punts-Avg. 6-27.5 0-0
Pen.-Yds 5-35 4-25
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Individual Statistics
Warren County Rushing: Josh Paz 10-59, Jevon Ramsey 14-50, Mikey Perkins 3-14, Shane Wilcher 1-9, Nick Cantrell 2-6, Evan Moran 2-2, Kyle Mullican 3-0.
Cookeville Rushing: Tyler Wolf 14-106, Jared Phillips 8-27, Dustin Langford 4-24, Moyinoluwa Ojo 3-9, Rob Winningham 2-3, Cameron Rodgers 2-(minus-2), Zac Hennigan 5-(minus-11), Dan Curry 1-(minus-23)
Warren County Passing: Josh Paz 4-12-1 57, Kyle Mullican 2-4-0 28.
Cookeville Passing: Zac Hennigan 9-12-1 169, Rob Winningham 1-1-0 28.
Warren County Receiving: Ben Dunn 3-27, Jon Creek 2-25, Jevon Ramsey 1-33.
Cookeville Receiving: Taylor Stearman 2-85, Chuck Karlosky 2-47, Tyler Wolf 1-28, Cameron Wilson 2-22, Dan Curry 1-7, Rob Winningham 1-4, Josh Jones 1-4.