Pioneers fall short in 2002 debut: ‘Pezz’ turns in 3-TD second half
Friday night, violent thunderstorms delayed the beginning of the Pioneer football team’s 2002 season.
Saturday night, a storm of offense by the Centennial Cougars delayed the Pioneers’ first win, as well as the first victory of the Gerald Tidwell era.
But all was not gloom and doom on the Pioneer sideline after the game, as a strong second-half surge by WCHS turned a 28-0 halftime deficit into a 35-20 setback that the team felt confident it could build upon.
“We won the second half and that’s a positive we can take away from this game,” Tidwell said. “That’s something to build on.
“We grew up a little bit in the second half.”
The first half, however was fraught with mistakes on the Pioneer side of the ball, and Centennial was able to capitalize for four unanswered touchdowns.
The Cougars got on the board as the first quarter ended on a 7-yard run by Tommy Buchanan which was set up by a Pioneer fumble.
Another fumble on the Pioneers’ next possession gave the Cougars the ball in Pioneer territory and CHS put up its second touchdown on a 18 yard-run by Phillip Bates.
A 50-yard pass from QB Al Veach to Brandon Meggs put Centennial up 21-0.
The Pioneers got the ball back but fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, setting the stage for a Travoda Dixon TD reception that sent Centennial into the half with a 28-0 lead.
Tracy Beech went in from the 2 midway through the third quarter to give CHS a healthy 35-0 edge, and allowed the Cougar coaches to bench many of their starters for the rest of the contest.
The Pioneers had made a change of their own, however, with the insertion of Mario Pezzimenti into the backfield.
Pezzimenti ran the ball almost at will against the Centennial line, and knocked the goose egg off the Pioneer half of the scoreboard late in the third quarter with a 4-yard TD run.
A botched snap on a punt attempt gave the Pioneers possession at the Centennial 7, and Pezzimenti scored after two charges up the middle to make the score 35-14.
Pezzimenti’s third and final TD came with just under two minutes to play, and although the Pioneers’ Greg Cotten was able to recover the ensuing onside kick, Warren County was unable to gain a first down allowing CHS to take back the ball and run out the clock.
“We saw some good things in the second half, things we can point out on film and build upon,” Tidwell said. “But the part we’ve got to work on is the mental game – believing we can win, and believing we can be a great football team.”
Pezzimenti finished with 78 yards on 14 carries, all of which came in the second half.
The Pioneers travel to Shelbyville Friday. For stats and more from last night’s game, see Wednesday’s Southern Standard.