WCMS passes early test

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Nathan Patterson slips out of a would-be tackler’s grasp on his way to the end zone. (Rob Nunley photo)

After just one day in full pads, Warren County Middle School football coach Matt Turner thought his team’s work-day with Smith County on Tuesday would probably be an “eye-opener” for the Pioneers.

By the end of the day, however, Turner said it was his own eyes which were opened, as his Pioneers turned in a solid performance against the Owls, who had been in full-contact workouts for two weeks.

“I really didn’t have very high expectations going in,” said Turner, who is beginning his second year at the helm of the WCMS program. “I didn’t know if we were where we needed to be, so I was kind of shell-shocked, to be honest, that we were able to hold our own with them so well. But our kid played tough, and I was tickled to death to see that.”

Tuesday’s joint practice began with the Pioneers and Owls holding passing drills on one end of the field, while running goal-line drills in the opposite end zone. During the goal-line drills, the Pioneers scored five touchdowns while holding Smith County to just one, while their pass defense kept the Owls in check, as well.

Hitting the field for a controlled full-team scrimmage, the Pioneers once again prevailed, allowing just one touchdown in a normal game situation and a second after a minor defensive breakdown near the goal line.

Turner said he was most impressed with the play of the Pioneer defensive unit, a facet of the game he and his staff have stressed so far through the preseason.

“We’ve been really working with our defense,” he said. “Our philosophy is J.O.P. — Jump On the Pile. That’s all we preach.

“So we had kids flying to the ball, and forcing Smith County’s No. 1 running back to put it on the ground, where we recovered four fumbles.

“We hit hard, and knocked them around pretty good, and I was really pleased, especially with us just being in our second day in pads.”

Offensively, the new speed-oriented Pioneer offense proved successful, out-scoring their guests six touchdowns to two.

“Offensively, we haven’t got those big bulldozers like we had last year,” Turner said. “We’ve got a lot of ‘skill’ guys now, and a true tailback in Jay Hutchings who can make cuts, rather than just running over people.

“But it’s amazing what a little bit of quickness can do for you, and even though it’s a different game plan than we used last year, I think it’s going to work pretty well for us.”

The Pioneers are scheduled to travel to Murfreesboro’s Central Middle School Tuesday, for a three-way scrimmage with the Tigers and Rockvale Elementary. Next Saturday, they’ll take on York as part of the DeKalb County Jamboree.