Simmons Says August Mailbag
Football, elections and lessons from legends
The mailbag is back, and August certainly didn't leave us searching for things to talk about. Football is back, fall sports are going full throttle, Warren County went to the polls and over at Studio 605, we've spent the last month getting history lessons from some of the people who helped create some of the greatest eras of Pioneer athletics.
As always, these are questions I've either had submitted or have been asked while working on The Warren County Way, hosting Simmons Says or doing the Warren County Sports Authority.
Thanks for reading. Let's get rolling.
Q: One game in, what do you really think about the Pioneers?
I think it's honestly way too early to tell.
Though it's never an excuse the coaching staff will use, I thought last week's matchup in Smithville showed just how damaging it was to lose a pair of preseason scrimmages. Some of the things the Pioneers probably kicked themselves over for 72 hours after coming home were routine issues that likely could've been cleaned up in film work or practice if those miscues were put on display in a dress rehearsal instead of an actual game.
So making any knee-jerk calls about the team based on an OT loss - which felt like it was seven yards away from going Warren County's way before things went haywire - would be idiotic.
Then again, it's also kind of my job. And I've been called much worse than an idiot before, so I'll dive in.
Offensively, the Pioneers have to find a way to take some of the load off AJ Whitman. Yes, he's going to touch the ball every play, but that doesn't mean he has to MAKE every play.
Brent Carden photo - AJ Whitman quickly realized he’s going to be surrounded by defenders every time he goes to run.
The Pioneers are still in search mode for more weapons to surround him. Carter Lee seems like an obvious choice after his long catch-and-run Friday, while a jitterbug like Christian Munoz may be super helpful once his hand is completely healed.
Defensively, you can't really hate what the Pioneers did Friday.
They created three turnovers, including two with their backs against the wall that helped keep DeKalb County scoreless until the fourth quarter. The third came when Warren County desperately needed the ball back late while trailing. The defense also created a handful of long down-and-distance situations by controlling the line of scrimmage on first down and generally did more than enough to escape with a road win.
As for special teams, I'm still waiting for the time Kayden Solomon really gets loose in the open field on a return. There was a glimpse of his speed on a sweep where I think his inexperience probably overwhelmed his athleticism, but there's something there.
I bet it gets unlocked soon.
Big improvements are made between Game 1 and Game 2 - sometimes the biggest improvements you'll see all year - and the Pioneers are coming back to town for three straight weeks.
I expect an immense amount of improvement before they're back on the road again.
Q: What did you learn from the August elections?
The county was extremely comfortable with its leadership.
There's really no other way to explain it.
Every county commissioner who wanted to get back in their seat did, while Terry Bell got more votes in a four-person race in 2026 than he did in a two-horse race back in 2022. Jackie Matheny also dramatically improved his win total to earn another term as sheriff.
Add in Matt Colvard's win in the DA race - where he was as "incumbent" as anybody could be in a race for a vacated position - and you can safely assume everybody in town decided the status quo was good enough.
Personally, my ballot and the final results were pretty close, so I guess you could say I'm happy as well.
Now we turn our attention toward November.
We'll have a few city races, where we're definitely going to get at least one new alderman, and I think it'll be interesting to see if the county's appetite for stability carries over to the city.
And, of course, we'll get some direction from the state of Tennessee as well.
One topic that probably gets very heated between now and November will be the Education Freedom Act. I've seen it brought up plenty on social media locally and I think that's a drum that will keep getting banged over the next two months.
If I was a betting man - and I'm not (anymore) - I'd still put my money on red in Tennessee.
When asked about a new Golden Age of girls athletics in Warren County, Jeff Simmons stopped to remind people 2020-23 could be hard to top. Pictured are Sable Winfree, Kyra Perkins, Madison Hollis, Lauren Slatton, Ally Beneke and Katie Toney - all standouts in WC and at the college level. (Photo credit to Concord University and Tennessee Tech Athletics).
Q: Are Warren County girls sports entering another golden age?
When this was posed to me, I had to step back. Because let's be honest, if we're talking about a "rebirth," then there had to be an original birth - a golden age.
And I wonder when the community would say we were in a golden age of girls sports in Warren County?
The most obvious time to point to would be the 1979 girls state championship basketball team. Or, less heralded but no less impressive, you could cite the 1992 girls state championship golf team.
Regardless, I think there's definitely a case that we're back on a potential upswing across local girls sports, with the instant success of the flag football program leading the way.
I don't know if I'd go as far as saying we're officially entering another golden age though, especially when we're not too far removed from having some absolute heavy hitters on campus at the same time.
I hope my timeline is right here, but think about that 2020-23 range.
Warren County had Lauren Slatton (a Division I golfer and state champion), Kyra Perkins (still playing D-1 basketball), Katie Toney (became the first Division I soccer signee in program history) Madison Hollis (went Division II in softball, where she's putting together a Hall of Fame-level college resume at Concord University) and Sable Winfree, who was a JUCO freshman of the year just last season.
And that's not close to everybody who signed a college scholarship during that stretch.
I've made this argument before, but just between Slatton, Toney and Hollis, there's a legitimate case that the Lady Pioneer GOATs of three different sports were walking the halls at the same time.
Slatton is almost a no-brainer in golf if not for Jennifer Haley and that 1992 championship team. Toney left as the all-time leading scorer and became the program's first Division I signee. Hollis was in the circle for every region win and multiple district championships while also leaving second in career home runs.
Then there's Perkins - who is still a school record holder in track too. If you want to throw her name into the Lady Pioneer basketball GOAT conversation when you factor in what she's done at the college level, I'm willing to listen.
And the argument for that 2020-23 range gets even stronger when you remember Ally Beneke. She was a co-op athlete from DCHS who represented the Lady Pioneers, won back-to-back state championships in the high jump and went on to sign a Division I scholarship.
So yeah, what is the Andy Bernard quote - “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.” We had some good days - and I think we’re going to continue to see more.
OK, sorry. I kind of got off track from the original question. My apologies.
WCHS volleyball will have plenty of reason to smile in 2026.
But yes, I do think we're seeing big steps being made in a multitude of sports right now, particularly in the ones where the feeder programs seem to be in lockstep with the high school. Volleyball and soccer immediately stand out, and not just because they're playing right now.
Do I think we're about to have another run of Division I athletes like we had just a few years ago? I don't know.
But the potential team success across the board is extremely promising. We could realistically see a school year where volleyball, soccer, basketball, flag football, tennis and softball all put together winning seasons at the same time.
Then you add Emma Woodlee most likely heading back to state in cross country for the third time - and fourth overall after also making state in track as a freshman - along with the chance Maya Reagan makes a huge run under Andi Jones in girls wrestling this winter, and suddenly you're talking about a potentially huge 2026-27 school year for Warren County girls athletics.
And there's that team I coach hoping to make it back to the state championship game for the fourth straight year. Shameless plug.
Q: After sitting down with so many Warren County sports legends lately, what's the biggest thing you've learned about why Warren County used to win so much?
Honestly, if I had to pinpoint one common theme after hearing Jimmy Walker and Bobby Luna both talk in the last month about Pioneer sports, I'd lean on one word: Community.
If we want to get back to those heights - and yes, Pioneer sports could definitely argue 1989-94 was THE golden age - it's going to take full community buy-in.
And honestly, I have my doubts.
I've expressed this many times, but when I think about the number of people who are truly invested in the totality of Warren County athletics - not just the people who get involved when their kids are involved - I think it's a much smaller number than people could ever imagine.
That's what struck me listening to Walker.
He talked about growing up around Bernard School and William Biles Playground, where basketball was seemingly always being played. Kids weren't just dropped off for organized practices. They were around the games. They were around the older players. They were constantly around competition.
His conclusion was pretty simple: "It's got to be grassroots."
Walker also talked about why he got into coaching in the first place. When he interviewed for a teaching job in Warren County, he said his mission was to give local kids opportunities because somebody had once done the same for him.
"That was my whole mission of coaching, to help somebody. Because somebody helped me.”
That's community.
He also made another point that's probably even more important today: "What better thing you can do is to have the young kids at your basketball game looking up to those kids playing for you."
And while I think Warren County still has enough strong-willed people who care that they could affect major change if organized and deployed correctly, when is that going to happen?
Sullens hit on it during his epic rant Wednesday night on the WCSA.
At some point, people are going to have to declare their intentions, a plan must be put in place and everybody needs to get behind making sure it happens.
Because talking about what could be done, talking about plans for things to be done or talking about what plans need to be in place for things that need to be done just keeps us spinning our wheels at square one.
At some point, you have to actually do something.
Sullens threw down the gauntlet Wednesday night: Stop talking around this or talking about it in the shadows. Get out in the open with this and let's get to work.
And that's another thing that stood out listening to Luna and Walker.
Luna wasn't waiting around for somebody to hand him a plan. He was 25 years old when Warren County gave him his first head coaching job. Five years later, he'd won 90 games and built a program that produced four straight 20-win seasons.
Years later, the coaches who followed him were still using what Luna built as the standard.
Luna and Walker weren't guys waiting for somebody to give them a five-year plan or hoping something would eventually start happening for them - They hit the ground running.
Maybe that's the biggest lesson I've taken away from having all these legends walk through Studio 605 lately. Warren County doesn't need another conversation about what Pioneer athletics could be. We've had those conversations.
At some point, somebody has to decide what we're going to be, put the plan on paper and start doing the work. Then the community has to decide whether it cares enough to get behind it.
That's how you build something that, 30 years from now, people are still calling a golden age.
Q: Be honest: How much do you actually enjoy being this busy during fall sports season?
Being busy is a lot better than being bored.
I've had that belief as a sports guy since I started and really settled into the job during my second year. When it's slow, you feel like you're searching for things or "making up" things to talk about, and that's the antithesis of my style of sports coverage.
I'll leave that up to the ESPN talking heads to banter about things and flip-flop their opinions 75 times a year. It's dumb.
When the schedule is packed, I know where I have to be, what I need to get done and I can just start checking things off the list.
Last week, I was sitting on the front row of a volleyball game getting video highlights with my laptop beside me because I was writing a cross country story. And that'll continue throughout the fall anytime the weather cooperates - and thankfully, it mostly has since we kicked things off this month.
Now, are there times when I'm going to look rundown or go to bed forgetting I haven't eaten?
Well, yes to the first question and no to the second. I'm going to eat.
But honestly, yeah. I get tired. I get worn out. But this isn't work.
Sullens slides out from under giant trucks and comes flying into the show covered in grease. Trev is crunching numbers or, sometimes unfortunately, is probably dealing with disasters on somebody's worst day. Ans is trying to corral hundreds of kids every day and probably crossing her fingers that every one of them retained at least one morsel of information she taught before she goes home to be a mother of two.
Me?
I watch sports. I talk about sports. I photograph sports. Then I sit in front of a camera and talk about sports some more, including once a week when I get to sit down and just chat with my dad.
Seriously, I'm never complaining. Thanks for reading.
Have a question for the September Simmons Says Mailbag? Email wcsportsauthority@gmail.com. Sports, county government, journalism, Warren County history and just about anything else is fair game.
If it's interesting enough, it'll probably make the next mailbag.
