Pioneers skin Tigers: WCHS gets first shutout since 1993

Saying good-bye was the zero in the win column of the WCHS football team?s record, as they scored a road victory over the DeKalb County Tigers. And in collecting that win, the Pioneers brought back a zero which hadn?t been seen in over a decade, notching their first shutout win since the 1993 season.

?We got the shutout, which was one of our goals,? said head coach Chris Madewell, who had just wrapped up his high school playing career when the Pioneers scored their most recent previous shutout, topping Oakland 7-0 in 1993.

?Anytime your defense comes out and hangs that goose-egg on the scoreboard, you can?t ask for anything else.?

Goose eggs were the main item on the menu through the opening period of Friday?s game, however, as neither the Pioneers nor the homestanding Tigers were able to get on the board in the first quarter. Both squads? offenses were stopped on would-be fourth-down conversions or forced to punt, and the second quarter began with the teams locked in a scoreless tie.

Forced to punt on what would prove to be their only offensive possession of the second quarter, the Pioneer defense kept DeKalb pinned on its half of the field late in the first half, then came through with the game?s first scoring play as intermission drew near.

On third-and-10 from its own 24-yard line, DeKalb tried a backward pass to the left side of the field, but the toss from quarterback Josh Howe was dropped, and Brandon Rich, who was moving in to make the tackle on the play, picked up the fumble and sped 22 yards into the end zone. Tony Garibaldi?s kick gave the Pioneers a 7-0 lead, and after once again holding the Tigers in check, the Pioneers carried their narrow edge into halftime.

DeKalb County had to punt on its opening drive in the second half, and Kyle Mullican fielded the ball on the bounce and found open ground, sprinting 67 yards for what appeared to be a Pioneer touchdown. But the play was called back after WCHS was flagged for an illegal block, giving the Pioneers possession at the midfield stripe.

While Mullican?s first ?touchdown? was waved off, the junior field general led his offense through Tiger territory as the drive continued, and three runs from Justin Bouldin combined with an 11-yard connection to Chase Officer moved WCHS to the 5-yard line, where Mullican closed out the drive with a QB sneak for a touchdown.

The third quarter closed with the Pioneers on top 14-0, as their next drive ended prematurely when an exchange from Mullican to Rich on a third-down draw play was fumbled away.

The Pioneer defense came through once again, however, getting the ball back on downs just prior to the end of the period. The offensive unit?s possession stalled at the Tiger 21, and Garibaldi was called upon to attempt a 38-yard field goal, but DeKalb?s Billy Fuson burst through the middle to block the try.

DeKalb County took to the air on its next possession, with Josh Howe finding Ryan Childers for a pair of long passes. But on second-and-15 from near midfield, a blitzing Todd Dunn forced Howe to rush his throw, and Chase Officer out-leapt the intended receiver to haul in an interception.

The Tigers had to punt the ball away yet again with just over four minutes to play, and Warren County concentrated on using as much time as possible, feeding its hosts a steady diet of Bouldin runs, with a 9-yard pass from Mullican to Andy Southard thrown in to keep the defense on its toes.

Bouldin broke a play up the middle for 15 yards, setting up a first-and-goal situation, and scored the Pioneers? final touchdown with 37 ticks remaining on a 1-yard plunge.

Bouldin finished as his team?s leading rusher, with 77 yards on 16 carries, while Rich had 28 yards on 12 attempts and Mullican carried the ball five times for 15 yards, and completed 4-of-10 passes for 47 more.

Mullican credited the play of the Pioneer offensive front with the team?s success.

?It feels good to get the win,? said the junior, who was playing his second game as the team?s starting quarterback. ?A lot of the credit has to go to the offensive line. They worked hard all week, and stepped up tonight and got the job done.?

Madewell, who expressed concerns about line play after his team?s season-opening loss at Bradley Central, said he was very pleased with the improvement they showed at DeKalb.

?They were picking up their blocks tonight, and did a good job opening things up for our running game,? he said. ?I was really proud of the way they played.?

Childers led the way for the Tiger offense with 129 total yards, including 101 rushing yards on nine carries. Howe completed four of his 11 passes for 34 yards, and was intercepted once.

While Childers was the exception, as a rule Friday night the Pioneers? defensive front dominated Smithville?s ground game, allowing just seven more yards on 24 additional attempts and stopping the Tigers for either no gain or negative yardage on 13 of DeKalb?s 55 offensive plays.

Warren County?s first home game of the 2006 season, and its first contest against a Region 3-5A foe, is scheduled for Friday night at Nunley Stadium against Lincoln County. The Falcons were picked by the region?s coaches as the preseason favorite to win the league championship this fall.

?We?re going to enjoy this win over the weekend, then it?s back to work,? Madewell said. ?We?ll come back next week, and get busy getting ready for Lincoln County.?