State championship team recognized

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Pictured are, from left, Ronnie Brown, Jimmy Walker, Bobby Cox, T.J. Christian, J.W. Holt, Brandon Lowry, Heath Morris, Zac Sain, Brandon Smartt, Brent Whitlock and Brandon Yates. (Rob Nunley photo)

Warren County’s baseball program held a special ceremony before Friday’s game honoring the 1992 TSSAA State Championship team.

Several players were on hand for the event, and took the opportunity to reflect on their run toward a state title while seeing what this year’s version of the Pioneers had to offer.

“It’s good to see those guys,” said head coach Jimmy Walker, who served as an assistant on the 1992 team. “And it’s good for our players to see some of them, because they hear a lot about them sometimes in the motivational speeches we give.”

Walker, as well as three other members of the 1992 squad, were on hand for more than just the afternoon’s nostalgia.

Current Pioneer assistant coaches J.W. Holt and Brent Whitlock both played for the state champions, as did Brandon Lowry, who is currently the head coach at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences, the opponent for Friday’s game.

Also on hand were former head coach Ronnie Brown — who threw out the ceremonial first pitch — and former assistant Bobby Cox, as well as players T.J. Christian, Heath Morris, Zac Sain, Brandon Smartt and Brandon Yates.

“They’re a special group, and a group Warren County can be proud of,” Walker said. “It was great to have them here.”