Freshmen cruise to road win
MANCHESTER — The Pioneer freshman team’s reunion with their former middle school coach was a successful one, as Warren County rolled to a 36-8 road victory over Manchester Westwood Junior High.
“I thought they did a good job, and I was proud of the way they played hard,” said coach Chris Madewell, who took over the program Monday, but coached several members of the team at Warren County Middle School last year.
“Our line did a good job tonight coming off the ball, and even though we didn’t always have people doing the right assignments, they all came off and hit somebody, and let our backs use their speed to move the ball.”
Jevon Ramsey provided the lion’s share of the offense for the Pioneers, carrying the ball 18 times for 141 yards and four of the team’s five touchdowns. Ramsey put WCHS on the board on the team’s first possession, gaining 26 yards on one play and going in from the 7 on the next.
Another 7-yard scoring run from Ramsey put the team up 12-0, and he went in on a 2-point conversion to give WCHS a 14-0 edge.
The Pioneers went to the air in their final scoring drive of the first half, with quarterback Josh Paz firing a 35-yard pass to Steven Ehrhardt. A 21-yard Ramsey run got WCHS to the 1-yard line, and Ramsey took the ball in then ran for another conversion to give WCHS a 22-0 halftime advantage.
Ramsey’s final score came late in the third quarter on a 4-yard run, and Paz connected with Ryan McGee on a pass for the 2-point conversion to put WCHS up 30-0.
With a comfortable lead, Madewell was able to let the Pioneer reserves see action, and J.R. Drake picked up right where Ramsey left off, marching downfield almost at will and posting Warren County’s final score on a 12-yard run.
“I was very impressed with J.R.,” Madewell said. “He played for us at the middle school in seventh grade, but didn’t play last year, so I wasn’t sure how he’d do. But he’s gotten strong, he’s got great speed, and it’s nice to have him back there as another offensive weapon.”
Drake finished with 27 yards on just three carries, while Mark Chambers had 22 yards on five attempts. Paz finished with two completions for 51 yards through the air.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to get ready for this game, and there were some mistakes we’ll be able to go back and correct now,” Madewell said. “But I think it helped that we worked with a lot of them last year.
“We put in 12 running plays and six or seven passing plays in one day Wednesday, and they all picked it up pretty well and fell right in to what we want to do. So I was happy to see that, and I was proud of the way they came out and played tonight.”
The Pioneers play host to Tullahoma Thursday at 7 p.m.