Pioneers focus on tackling

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Senior Davey Britton levels fullback Mikey Perkins during Monday afternoon’s Pioneer football practice. (Rob Nunley photo)

Over the weekend, Pioneer head coach Chris Madewell and his staff had the chance to study the tape of last Friday’s scrimmage against Grundy County.

Studying the Pioneers’ performance against the Yellow Jackets helped the WCHS staff realize where the team needed the most work, and they began that work on Monday, with an afternoon practice session devoted mainly to improving the team’s blocking and tackling techniques.

“That’s what scrimmaging is all about,” Madewell said after Monday’s practice. “We saw on film that we weren’t doing what we needed to be doing as far as our hitting and tackling, so we came out today focussed on improving that part of our game.”

Working on the basics of tackling was the focus of much of Monday’s session, with Pioneers going all out during individual position groups, as well as full 11-on-11 team drills.

“We hit pretty good today,” Madewell said. “I think with a two-day break after the scrimmage, everybody had their legs back under them, their energy was back, and I was impressed with the way they came out and hit.”

Over recent preseasons, the Pioneers have avoided an overabundance of full-contact drills for fear of practice-induced injuries affecting their already small number of available players. But Madewell noted improved offseason conditioning has kept injuries to a minimum this summer.

“The weight room has a lot to do with that,” he said. “They’ve come out in better shape.

“We’ve had a few bumps and bruises, but that’s expected when you’re doing a lot of hitting like we’re doing. So far, we’ve been fortunate and haven’t had any really serious injuries.”

Currently, only a few Pioneers are unable to go through full-contact drills. Sophomore Zeke Reedy has been unable to dress out due to a preexisting medical condition, while Cody Spivey has been working to regain strength in his hamstring after injuring it during the spring.

On Monday, Pioneers Isaac Slatton and Evan Moran had to come out of drills during the afternoon session after taking some hard knocks, but according to Madewell neither suffered a serious injury.

The Pioneers were slated to travel to Murfreesboro for a scrimmage against Siegel High School on Tuesday. Thursday’s scheduled scrimmage at Sequatchie County has been canceled, but as of press time Tuesday WCHS was searching for a new opponent to take on Thursday evening.

The 2004 season opens Friday, Aug. 20, at Livingston Academy.