Pioneers slam Jets: Points pile up in final home game
|
Chase Officer accounted for three Warren County touchdowns, and the Pioneers racked up nearly 600 all-purpose yards, as they cruised past a winless Cumberland County squad on Senior Night for their first region victory of the season.
?It feels good to get back on the winning side,? head coach Chris Madewell said, ?and I was especially proud of these seniors. They?ve had some tough nights on this field during their careers, so I really enjoyed the way they were able to end their playing days on Nunley Stadium with a win.?
Friday marked the first Senior Night win for the Pioneers since the 1990 season, and was the Pioneers? second-largest margin of victory since a 48-0 decision over Clarksville in 1988.
After ceremonies honored the team?s 14 senior players ? as well as senior band members, cheerleaders, Pioneerettes and JROTC cadets ? prior to the game, the Pioneers (2-5, 1-2 in region play) quickly went to work on offense, starting at their own 25-yard line and scoring three plays later when Officer leapt up to take a Kyle Mullican pass away from the (0-6) Jets? Josh Potter and zipped 71 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.
The pass was the first of five connections between Mullican and Officer, who finished with 167 yards on receptions and 76 on punt returns for an all-purpose total of 243 yards, a career high.
?That was a great throw and catch,? Madewell said. ?I?d love to see more of that in the future, and they?re both juniors, so that?s a good sign. So I hope we see a lot more out of them not only this year, but next year.
?Chase had a big night. We needed some guys to step up and make some big plays for us, and Chase is definitely one of those guys who has stepped up. I?m proud of the way he?s done it, and I hope he can keep it up the rest of the year.?
Cumberland County, which had posted just one touchdown in its previous five games this season, was able to answer the Pioneers? opening score thanks to a defensive takeaway.
On second down from their own 36, the Pioneers handed the ball to Justin Bouldin, but the junior tailback fumbled shortly after receiving Mullican?s handoff. The Jets? Shawn Alcorn quickly scooped up the ball, and went into the end zone untouched, allowing T.D. Schlafer to tie the score at 7-7 with his extra point kick.
Junior kick returner Taylor Holton made sure the game wouldn?t stay tied for long, however, fielding the ensuing kickoff at the 14-yard line and weaving his way through traffic 86 yards to the end zone. Tony Garibaldi?s extra point made it 14-7, and after forcing a three-and-out, Officer returned the Jets? next punt 37 yards then hauled in a 15-yard pass, moving the Pioneers deep enough into CCHS territory for Evan Moran to eventually score on a 5-yard plunge.
Up 21-7 after a quarter, the Pioneers quickly padded that advantage on their opening drive of the second, a four-play, 68-yard possession which was capped by a 58-yard pass from Mullican to Officer.
Cumberland County used a 35-yard pass from Logan Crabtree to Frank Purcell to move onto Warren County?s half of the field later in the quarter, but missed a chance to put more points on the board when Schlafer?s 36-yard field goal attempt came up short.
The Pioneers took over at their own 20, and needed just one minute and 34 seconds to score again, this time on an impressive catch from Holton that turned into a 32-yard TD.
With time running out in the half Cumberland County elected to go to the air, but Crabtree?s first-down offering was picked off by Officer, who streaked 24 yards into the end zone to give his team a 41-7 halftime lead.
The Pioneer defense held Cumberland County to a three-and-out on the first Jet possession of the second half, and took over near midfield. From there, they needed just seven plays before scoring on an 18-yard run from Bouldin, who dove across the goal line on his fifth carry of the possession to put his team on top by 40 points. Garibaldi added the PAT, and the Pioneers led 48-7 entering the final 12 minutes of the contest.
With victory all but assured, Warren County was able to clear its bench on both sides of the ball for most of the fourth quarter. And although the Pioneers didn?t tack on any more points to their already lopsided lead, the defensive reserves held their ground as well, faltering just once late in the contest when Crabtree found Brandon Lindsey for a 35-yard pass which proved to be the game?s final touchdown.
Mullican had the biggest night of his varsity career, completing eight of his 10 passes for 213 yards. Holton had another triple-digit yardage total, amassing 173 all-purpose yards, and Bouldin led the ground assault with 83 yards and a score on 13 carries. Nine different players carried the ball for WCHS, which finished with 10 first downs and 349 offensive yards, as well as 228 more on kickoff, punt and interception returns. The defense held Cumberland County to three first downs and 152 offensive yards, and forced six punts, as well as a fumble which was recovered by Terrell Mathis.
The Pioneer varsity will have a bye this Friday night, but the junior varsity will see action at Nunley Stadium, when it plays host to Crossville?s new high school program, the Stone Memorial Panthers. Kickoff is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m., but could be moved up to 6 p.m. later this week.
The next varsity action for the Pioneers is scheduled for Oct. 13, when they hit the road to take on Franklin County.