The Nurseryman's Bowl made a memorable return to Warren County last fall, giving the Pioneers a chance to celebrate a winning season, rewrite the school record books and send their seniors out in style. Now coach Eric Belew is hoping the revived postseason tradition can provide another special night at Nunley Stadium.
Warren County will welcome LaVergne on Thursday, Nov. 5 for the second straight edition of the revived Nurseryman's Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., giving the Pioneers an additional game following the conclusion of their regular season.
The bowl has a history stretching back more than 50 years. Originally established in the 70s, the Nurseryman's Bowl was a postseason football tradition in McMinnville until its final game in 1992. Warren County last participated in the original bowl in 1990, defeating Cumberland County to complete an 8-3 season.
Changes to Tennessee's high school football playoff format eventually made postseason bowl games much less common. With more teams qualifying for the playoffs, the pool of winning programs available to accept bowl invitations shrank and many of the state's traditional bowls disappeared.
That changed locally last November when the Nurseryman's Bowl returned to Nunley Stadium for the first time in more than three decades. The Pioneers made sure the revival was worth remembering.
Warren County dominated Community 64-0, closing Belew's first season as head coach with a 6-5 record and securing the program's first winning campaign since 2020. It was the first time the Pioneers had scored at least 60 points in a game since 1980.
The additional game also provided an opportunity for two Pioneer seniors to leave their names in the record books.
Quarterback Brady Swallows completed 21-of-25 passes for 250 yards, breaking Warren County's single-season completions record. Receiver Isaiah Robledo caught 15 passes and scored twice, setting the school's single-season receptions record with 60 catches while also surpassing 1,000 career receiving yards.
For Belew, those opportunities are a major reason to continue the tradition.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for our players to get more experience, a great fundraiser, another chance for our community to see our players, and more opportunities for our players to get film out there for recruiting,” said Belew.
But Belew admits his biggest motivation for bringing back the bowl is more personal.
“The main reason I wanted to get it done personally is to have another week with the players. I love this senior group,” said Belew. “Every year it’s always the same conversation with myself that I wish we had one more week with them. It’s just a no-brainer for us.”
The game will double as a welcome back for LaVergne coach Chris Johnson. For four years, Johnson served on his brother Tommy Johnson’s staff at Defensive coordinator, a run that lasted the 2010-13 seasons.
Currently, LaVergne is 0-8 while battling several of the ‘Boro schools, including coming off a 42-0 loss to Oakland last week. The Wolverines will close the season with matchups with Smyrna and Siegel before coming to McMinnville.
LaVergne has experienced its share of difficult seasons. The Wolverines last won Oct. 13, 2023 against what was a young Green Hill team that fall. Since then, the Wolverines have dropped 30 games in a row, including back-to-back 0-10 seasons. Next year, LaVergne will join Warren County as one of a handful of public schools which have decided to opt out of region scheduling by the TSSAA and instead focus on crafting their own non-region schedules against public schools of their choice.
The choice to go non-region, which Warren County has been the last two seasons, means no chance at the playoffs, but the return of the Nurseryman's Bowl has created another opportunity to finish the year with something positive. Last season for Warren County, it meant a winning record and individual milestones. This year, with a strong finish, the Pioneers can try to bring home back-to-back winning season for the first time in over 40 years, while also extending a season nobody is wanting to see end just yet.
And for both programs, it’s just a few more days to continue building.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to continue to improve for one more week,” said Belew.
