Robservations – WCHS fans get ready for 1st ‘big’ game

It’s true, we’re only three weeks into the high school football season.

(Technically, it’s ‘Week 2’ tonight, since Warren County and about half the other schools in the state play a ‘Week 0’ game. I know, that makes no sense. But let’s continue.)

And I know, the Pioneers are only playing their first Region 3-5A opponent out of five they’ll take on during the year.

But tonight’s game against Franklin County still brings with it some of the type of anxiety you’d normally associate with a mid-October tilt.

It’s been touched upon more than once how important region games are, especially in 3-5A. The long and short of it is: Win two, and you’re in the playoffs. One of those wins can be chalked up tonight, if the Pioneers stick with their game plan and find the same success they’ve found over the past two contests. But there’s more than postseason potential fans can look for tonight, when they pack Nunley Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Here are a few more pregame notes you can ruminate upon while preparing for the Pioneers’ clash with the Rebels.

‘ STREAKIN’: Right out of the gate, let’s talk about the undefeated thing. Yes, it’s very early in the season. VERY early. So early, we shouldn’t talk about it. But let’s talk about it anyway.

The Pioneers are gunning ‘ or, more accurately, running ‘ toward a potential 3-0 start. Should they defeat the Rebels tonight, they will become the first Warren County team to begin its season with three straight wins since Ray Barnes and his 1990 squad won three in a row en route to an 8-3 season.

Now players and coaches aren’t allowed to look ahead, but we sure can. So if, IF, Warren County tops Franklin County tonight, and picks up a win over Sparta next week, they’ll be 4-0 for the first time since 1980. That’s Nineteen EIGHTY.

One word: Wow.

‘ WELCOME HOME: Warren County’s official homecoming isn’t for another few weeks, but tonight is a homecoming of sorts for one former Pioneer.

Franklin County head coach Steve Britton played his high school ball right here in Nunley Stadium, as part of some of those great teams of the early ’80s. And, as many of you who’ve followed recent teams will recall, his name was batted around quite a bit as one of the front-runners for the Pioneers’ head coaching job a few seasons back.

He opted instead to head to Winchester, and is coming home for his second meeting with the Pioneers tonight. It’ll be a shame to send a Pioneer back home with a loss, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of a few. Sorry, Steve. Good luck the rest of the season.

‘ WHAT THE?: Finally, let’s provide a little bulletin-board material for the Pioneers tonight, and for you Red-and-Blue faithful up in the bleachers.

How do you pick Franklin County to finish ahead of the Pioneers, when the Pioneers have defeated the Rebels twice in a row?

I don’t know, either, but that’s what happened when the region’s coaches voted in their preseason poll. The Rebs were picked to take the fourth playoff spot, and the Pioneers were picked to end up on the outside looking in.

That hurts my feelings a little bit, and I’m not even going to be out there butting heads tonight. Wonder how it feels to the guys who are.