Pioneers set to face Pounders
|
Warren County fans will find out tonight, when a tough Chattanooga Central squad visits Nunley Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Coach Gerald Tidwell, whose squad fell to Livingston Academy last Saturday, said a big, strong defense and a hard-nosed rushing attack should be the biggest weapons for the Pounders, who downed Notre Dame 35-0 to open their 2003 campaign.
In that win, senior quarterback Joe Despaux was the driving force for the Pounders, running for three touchdowns and throwing for another. Mike Davenport carried the ball 16 times for 145 yards, as the Pounders put the ball on the ground 33 times against just 11 passing attempts.
On the other side of the ball, Chattanooga Central held Notre Dame to just three first downs and 95 total yards. Jamel Hambrick turned in the game’s biggest defensive highlight, returning an interception 40 yards for a score.
“They look awesome defensively,” Tidwell said. “They’ve got a lot of big people, and range anywhere from 240 to 350 pounds with their front eight.
“They were just awesome against Notre Dame, very big and fast. So we hope we can beat them up front with some double-teams, read somebody free and make the right decisions.”
On decision the Pioneers won’t have to worry about making tonight involves the team’s starting quarterback.
Senior Jonathan Bratcher got the starting nod last weekend, but was replaced late in Saturday’s game by sophomore Josh Paz, who fired a 67-yard touchdown pass for the Pioneers’ only score.
This week, Paz was moved into the No. 1 quarterback slot.
“Monday we moved Paz up, and he was getting most of the reps on Monday and Tuesday,” Tidwell noted. “Then Wednesday, Bratcher came in and quit.
“Our third-stringer, Levi Bain – who is a freshman and a good quarterback — moved to Shelbyville last week. So right now Paz is our No. 1 QB.”
With the departures of Bratcher and Bain, junior Heath Crisp — who saw time under center during spring drills — will be the team’s second-string signal caller.
“Heath’s our backup right now,” Tidwell said. “He hasn’t had many reps, because we wanted him in a starting role in our offense, but he can do it.”