WCMS win was one to remember
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I’ve also covered my fair share of shellackings, drubbings, nail-biters, heart-breakers, edgings, clippings, wallopings and whippings.
I’ve seen losses described every way possible, and I’ve used more terms for wins than anybody should be able to remember.
But Tuesday, there was an easy way to describe what I saw. Because what the middle school team accomplished on the road at Tullahoma was the most exciting football game, at least involving a Warren County team, that I have ever seen.
Hopefully, one day a game will beat it. But standing on that sideline as the Pioneers rallied over a seven-minute span, the same thought kept coming to mind: “Boy, am I glad I’m here.”
I’m sure the 150 or so Pioneer fans that made the trip were glad they were there, too, because they saw one for the ages.
By the way, that’s just an estimate on the number, there may have been more of less of them up in those stands. But it sounded like an army when the Pioneers turned things around in the fourth quarter.
And how did they do it, you ask? What made them right the ship, when it seemed to be just barely hanging on above water?
One word — PRIDE.
You could see it, standing down there. From every sixth-grader cheering on his older teammates, to the most important players on the field, you could see pride in their eyes.
That pride made them want to keep their winning streak — which increased to 4-0 for the season — alive. And when that streak looked to be in jeopardy, when it looked like the Pioneers might actually lose a game, that pride turned to determination.
You could almost hear their thoughts: “Lose? No, I don’t think so. Doesn’t sound fun to me.”
These young Pioneers haven’t dealt with losing that often. They don’t really know how to lose. But one thing’s for sure, they don’t like the thought of losing.
When Tullahoma pounced on a Pioneer fumble to open the second half, it wasn’t “over.” When the Wildcats scored to start the fourth quarter, it still wasn’t “over.”
But when Zack West returned that next kickoff to well past midfield, and Morgan Wilcher broke through for a 37-yard TD a play later, it was over. The Pioneers hadn’t won yet, they weren’t even ahead — but as far as Tullahoma was concerned, it was all over but the shouting, because Pioneer pride had taken over.
Coach Matt Turner, and those boisterous fans in the stands, who gathered along the side of the THS field to greet their boys, let the team know that pride wasn’t just something that happens on the field, either.
“We’re proud of you, this community is proud of you, too,” he said. “Go and enjoy this one, and come back tomorrow ready to go back to work.”
And they will, you know. They’ll get back to work, and get ready for their next game with the pride of remembering a job well done, and the pride of preparing for the jobs left to do.
It’s not arrogance, it’s confidence. It’s pride. And they have an abundance of it, with good reason.
“Winning is a habit,” Vince Lombardi once said. “Unfortunately, so is losing.”
Hopefully, nights like Tuesday will become the habit around here before long. And hopefully, it will be a hard habit to break.