Freshmen win big over Red Raiders
|
The Pioneer freshman team started a bit slowly, but gathered momentum quickly Thursday night, dispatching Coffee County with a 33-8 romp at Nunley Stadium.
Although Thursday’s game was the season opener for both teams, familiar foes were going head-to-head for much of the night. As eighth-graders, many from both the Pioneers and Red Raiders clashed twice last fall, in a regular season contest and then in the Central Tennessee Conference championship bowl game.
Warren County came out on the winning end of both those affairs, and the trend continued Thursday thanks to three Michael Thrower TD runs, a 90-yard scoring scamper from Caleb Northcutt, a bull-rush into the end zone by Robert Harris and a stifling defense which took the ball from the Raiders four times.
The first of those takeaways happened on the first play of the game, when Thrower intercepted a Bryson Simerly pass to give the Pioneers the ball at their own 40. Their drive would reach the 5-yard line, but stalled thanks in part to an illegal procedure call on fourth-and-goal which was the second of an eventual nine penalties against the home squad.
The Pioneers were penalized five times in the opening half and turned the ball over on downs on three possessions ‘ facts head coach Andy Evans attributed to some first-game rust.
‘We were very sloppy in the first half,’ he said, ‘but at halftime I challenged them to stop making silly mistakes, and they answered the call.
‘Overall they did a great job, and I’m very, very proud of them. This is just one game, and it’s a long road to the end of the season. But it’s great to come out and get things started with a win.’
After a scoreless first quarter, the Pioneers got things going early in the second, when Caleb Northcutt streaked around the right side of the line for a 90-yard touchdown run.
After a failed WCHS possession, Northcutt showed his defensive skills, intercepting Simerly at the Raider 41-yard line, where Thrower needed just one play to score on an option keeper. Ivan Barrera added the PAT, and the Pioneers led 13-0 until the final 18 seconds of the half, when Coffee County scored on a 2-yard plunge from Ethan Myers and tacked on a 2-point conversion pass.
The scored came after CCHS took over on the Pioneers’ 6-yard line, following a bad snap on a WCHS punt attempt from the 25.
WCHS took the ball to open the third quarter, and two long runs from Harris helped the Pioneers move downfield before Thrower scored his second TD of the night, going off left tackle after a fake handoff to Harris.
Tyler Glenn picked off a pass on Coffee County’s first play of the ensuing drive, and seven plays later Thrower scored on a 23-yard run, and Barrera’s kick put the home squad up 27-8.
Late in the game, the Pioneers took over on downs at their own 18, and put together one last successful drive, moving 82 yards in 12 plays, the last being a 7-yard score from Harris. The kick was blocked, but with 10 seconds to play Coffee County fumbled the ball, and the Pioneers’ McKennon Robbins recovered, allowing the offense to take a knee and preserve the win.
Northcutt’s 90-yard TD contributed to a whopping 164-yard night on just eight touches, while Thrower finished with 112 yards on 14 carries and Harris had 11 attempts for 69 yards.
‘Michael and Caleb both did tremendous jobs using their athleticism to make big plays, and Robert pounded the ball all night, and did everything we needed him to do on offense,’ Evans added. ‘I was also very pleased with the defense. The only score we gave up was after messing up that punt attempt, and they kept Coffee County in check the rest of the night.’
The win came with a bit of bad news for the Pioneers, however, as tight end Landy Curtis had to leave the game with what was believed to be a fractured wrist. Curtis hauled in a 6-yard catch early in the game, and just missed a touchdown catch on the team’s first possession before having to leave the field.
The Pioneers return to action Thursday, with a road game at Cookeville.