WCMS football going strong: Pioneers finish first week of fall practices
With a new head coach, and an almost entirely new roster, the Warren County Middle School football team hit the practice field this week.
Jeff Watson, an assistant with the Pioneers for the past two seasons, took over head coaching duties when Chris Madewell joined the high school varsity staff this summer. Watson’s team began practice Monday afternoon, and by Friday’s session the squad was working in full gear, and was already well into its installation schedule.
“It’s coming along real well,” Watson said of his team’s progress. “We’ve got our core seven plays in, and we’re going to be fine.
“We’ve only got about three or four coming back from last year, so they’re mostly brand-new kids, but they’re hanging with us, and we’re putting them through the wringer.”
While learning the basics of the same offensive and defensive philosophy the high school varsity will be using, Watson said his team has kept a positive, enthusiastic attitude through much of the week — a task he noted was especially difficult through last week’s scorching temperatures.
“At times (their attitude’s) down a little bit, mainly because it’s so hot,” he said. “I can understand that, even though that’s just part of it they have to get used to. But for the most part it’s been really good.
“I couldn’t ask any more of a bunch of kids. They’re working hard, and then some.”
While most of the players from last year’s squad have moved on to the high school freshman team, Watson said he and his staff are excited about this year’s crop of new Pioneers, which includes several players from county elementary schools.
“We’ve got more county kids than we had last year,” he said. “When we went around and recruited at the county schools, we were able to tell them about the good season we had last year, and we ended up with about twice as many county kids, which is a plus.”
Any student in grades 7-8 from any Warren County school is eligible to play for the Pioneers. While practices have already begun, Watson said anyone still interested in joining the squad is welcome to contact the team.
“They can come on out,” he said. “They’ll be a little bit behind, but if they come out we can catch them up.”
The Pioneers have scrimmages scheduled for Friday, with Moore County and perennial power Central Middle School coming to town.
“It’ll be a good early test,” Watson said of Friday’s scrimmages. “I think Central’s only lost one game in about eight years, so we’ll see what we’ve got real quick on Friday.”