September is starting to feel a little different for Warren County's fall sports teams.
For three Warren County Middle School teams, this week will provide an opportunity to celebrate the eighth graders who have helped build successful seasons. The WCMS soccer and volleyball teams will hold eighth-grade night Monday, then the unbeaten Pioneer football team will get its turn Tuesday at Nunley Stadium.
There will still be plenty at stake once the ceremonies end. The WCMS soccer team enters Monday at 8-3, the volleyball team has won three straight to improve to 12-5 and the football Pioneers will put their perfect 5-0 record on the line against EO Coffman.
At the high school level, the calendar is beginning to push teams closer to the postseason. WCHS volleyball has three important district matches, the Lady Pioneer soccer team hits the road twice and Warren County's runners will have more opportunities to build momentum. WCHS football will also be on the road Friday, traveling to Hixson for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Warren County Way will have a full preview of the matchup later this week.
Every weekend, Security Federal Savings Bank presents This Week in Sports, a look at what's ahead for Warren County teams and the complete local sports schedule for the upcoming week.
One more night to celebrate
Sally Willmore has watched most of this year's WCMS eighth graders grow up on the soccer field. Monday night, she'll get an opportunity to celebrate just how far they have come.
The Lady Pioneers will recognize their eighth-grade class before hosting Cumberland County at 6 p.m. The ceremony will begin at 5:15 p.m.
“I have been lucky enough to coach most of them for the last three years and have thoroughly enjoyed watching them develop not only as players but also mature as young people,” said Willmore. “It’s very rewarding to see their growth.”
There has been plenty of winning along the way too.
WCMS enters eighth-grade night with an 8-3 record after splitting two matches last week. The Lady Pioneers fell 1-0 at Prescott in a match Willmore believed was her team's best performance of the season despite the result, then responded by overwhelming DeKalb County 8-0 Friday.
Finn MacDonald recorded a hat trick in the victory, LB Guthrie and Jensi Griffith scored twice each and Shanti Hernandez added a goal.
Now the focus turns toward giving a successful eighth-grade group its moment at home.
“This eighth grade class has had a lot of success and a great career for our program,” said Willmore. “I love being their coach!”
Lady Pioneers get another shot at Algood
A three-match skid started against Algood for the WCMS volleyball team. Three straight wins later, the Lady Pioneers will get another shot at the team that started it all on eighth-grade night.
Warren County will host Algood Monday at 5:30 p.m. with plenty of momentum restored. The Lady Pioneers enter the rematch 12-5 overall and 7-5 in district play after picking up victories over Cannon County and Cumberland County last week.
WCMS swept Cannon County 25-14, 25-13 Thursday, two days after winning a tight road match at Cumberland County 25-21, 27-25.
Those victories followed a difficult stretch where Warren County lost consecutive matches to Algood, Prescott South and Stone Memorial. Algood started the skid by rallying to beat the Lady Pioneers 21-25, 25-23, 15-13, snapping what was then a six-match WCMS winning streak.
Coach Bethany Mesaros has liked the response from her team.
“The girls are definitely coming back from their slump that we were in,” said Mesaros. “We struggle with road games, we are trying to change that culture on this team. We only have one more road game, so I am looking forward to having them push all the way through.”
Monday starts a busy three-match week for the Lady Pioneers. After hosting Algood, WCMS travels to Westwood Tuesday at 5 p.m. before returning home Thursday to face Prescott at 5:30 p.m.
For Mesaros, the goal as the season moves forward is simple.
“I am looking for them to just be consistent,” said Mesaros. “Consistency is definitely key, I am looking for them to find open spots and move our own feet to make sure nothing touches the floor.”
Unbeaten Pioneers honor eighth graders
The wins have continued to pile up for WCMS football, but Ben Matheney sees something bigger happening with this year's eighth-grade class.
Warren County enters Tuesday's eighth-grade night against EO Coffman with a perfect 5-0 record after rolling past Coffee County 44-6 last week. The Pioneers have scored at least 30 points in every game this season and will try to keep their unbeaten run going when they kick off at 6:30 p.m. at Nunley Stadium.
For Matheney, the success is another sign that the foundation being built within the program is carrying from one class to the next.
“I feel like this group has been another big step for the program,” said Matheney. “They’ve been able to see success from the group before them and made the decision to build on what they observed from the previous players. They have bought in to being leaders, and that is great for the younger players.”
Tuesday will bring plenty of excitement, but also potential distractions. Eighth-grade night will take place with the Warren County A&L Fair underway nearby, creating an atmosphere that will be anything but an ordinary game night.
Matheney and his staff have adjusted the team's normal pregame routine to make sure the eighth graders can enjoy their recognition without allowing the Pioneers to lose sight of what they are trying to accomplish on the field.
“The message is we’ve got to keep our focus and understand our goal,” said Matheney. “The fair and everything around 8th grade night can be distractions. We have adjusted warmups so we can still prepare properly, but still allow these 8th graders to be celebrated as they should.”
Fans unable to make it to Nunley Stadium can watch the game live on the Warren County Sports Authority Facebook page.
Time to turn the season around
There was no mistaking Erin Blalock's message to the Lady Pioneers after Friday's day game. If WCHS volleyball is going to become the team it believes it can be before the postseason, the turnaround needs to start now.
Warren County finally generated some momentum at the end of last week, winning a five-set battle at LaVergne Thursday before returning home Friday and sweeping Van Buren County 25-9, 25-12, 25-12.
The victories were a welcome response after a difficult stretch where close sets and inconsistent play had repeatedly gone against the Lady Pioneers.
“We certainly had a rough stretch over the last couple of weeks so it was good to get a couple of wins at the end of the week last week,” said Blalock. “We know, though, that the level of competition this upcoming week will require our level of play to improve in order for us to be competitive.”
There won't be much room for Warren County to ease into the week. All three matches are against District 7-AAA opponents, beginning with Cookeville Monday at 6 p.m. at Charlie Dalton Gym. Smyrna visits Tuesday at 6 p.m. before the Lady Pioneers travel to Lebanon Thursday for another 6 p.m. match.
Warren County has already seen each opponent once, making this week's second trip through those matchups an opportunity to show how much the Lady Pioneers have improved.
“We are confident we have the skill level to play with all three district teams this week,” said Blalock. “Our goal will be to execute that skill every ball and every set.”
Blalock challenged her team after Friday's victory to recognize where it is in the season. There is still time to change its trajectory, but the window to be playing its best volleyball is getting smaller.
“We talked as a team on Friday after the day game about turning the season around starting now and about leaning on and trusting each other and working together on and off the court to be successful as a team,” said Blalock. “It’s important to peak at the right time and we challenged the team that the time begins now as we continue through the second meeting with the remaining district teams.”
Lady Pioneers look to rebound on the road
A long stretch of winning and shutouts finally came to an end for WCHS girls soccer Thursday, but the Lady Pioneers won't have much time to dwell on it.
Shelbyville handed Warren County a 2-0 district loss Thursday, snapping a five-match winning streak and ending a run of three consecutive shutouts. The Lady Pioneers went into halftime trailing 1-0 after surrendering a goal following a corner kick, then struggled to generate enough offensive pressure to find an equalizer in the second half.
The loss came just two days after Warren County had continued its strong run with a 2-0 home victory over Coffee County.
Coach Todd Willmore felt Shelbyville was the more aggressive team and kept the Lady Pioneers under pressure for much of the match, but Warren County continued to battle until the end.
Now the Lady Pioneers will have to respond away from home.
Warren County travels to Macon County Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match before heading to Lebanon Thursday at 6:30 p.m. With the postseason drawing closer, the two road tests will give the Lady Pioneers an immediate opportunity to start another run.
Runners get more chances to shine
After spending much of the early season battling cancellations, heat and disrupted schedules, Warren County's cross country runners are finally getting opportunities to build some momentum.
The WCHS girls took advantage Thursday at the Crossville Invitational, racing to a second-place team finish.
“Absolutely! It was a tough course with more inclines than we’ve seen so far this season,” said Turner when asked if she was happy with the second-place finish. “The girls did a great job competing through the hills and running their way to a second-place finish. We’re proud of their effort and excited to keep building as the season continues!”
One thing to monitors this week will be the availability of junior speedster Emma Woodlee. She had to withdraw from last week’s race and was wearing a walking boot over the weekend to hopefully speed up her recovery from a foot injury. The coaching staff will likely be working to limit Woodlee’s stress before the postseason, with hopes they can at least have her back to full strength before the Tree City Invitational, a home run, being held Saturday, Sept. 26.
For the rest of the team, opportunities to continue building momentum come this week. WCHS will compete in the Woodland Park Meet Tuesday at 5 p.m., then both Warren County programs will head to the Burnett Invitational Saturday. WCMS races at 9 a.m. with WCHS following at 10 a.m.
Lady Broncos face three-match week
Wins have been difficult to find for Boyd Christian this fall, but both Lady Bronco volleyball teams gave themselves something to build on Thursday against Lighthouse Christian.
The high school Lady Broncos played one of their most consistent matches of the season, reaching 20 points in all three sets before falling 25-22, 25-22, 25-20. Boyd enters this week 0-11 overall and 0-8 in TSIAA play, but the young Lady Broncos continue to show signs of progress under first-year coach Emily Davis.
The middle school Lady Broncos came even closer to a victory. Boyd bounced back from a 25-18 loss in the opening set to win the second 25-20 before Lighthouse escaped with a 15-13 victory in the deciding set.
“Their teamwork, communication, hustle and determination were on full display,” said coach Kenny Chisam. “If they continue to play with this kind of heart and intensity for the rest of the season, I truly believe there are great things ahead for this team.”
Boyd Middle enters the week 3-7 after earning its third victory against Lancaster Christian last Tuesday.
Both teams will get an immediate rematch with Lighthouse Monday on the road. The Lady Broncos travel to Cannon County Thursday before returning home Friday to face Highland Rim.
This Week in Sports
Monday, Sept. 14
WCHS golf vs. Shelbyville, 1 p.m.
Boyd MS volleyball at Lighthouse Christian, 5 p.m.
WCMS volleyball vs. Algood, 5:30 p.m.
WCMS girls soccer vs. Cumberland County, 6 p.m.
WCHS volleyball vs. Cookeville, 6 p.m.
Boyd HS volleyball at Lighthouse Christian, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 15
WCHS cross country in Woodland Park Meet, 5 p.m.
WCMS volleyball at Westwood, 5 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer at Macon County, 6 p.m.
WCHS volleyball vs. Smyrna, 6 p.m.
WCMS football vs. EO Coffman, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 17
Boyd MS volleyball at Cannon County, 4:30 p.m.
WCMS volleyball vs. Prescott, 5:30 p.m.
Boyd HS volleyball at Cannon County, 6 p.m.
WCHS volleyball at Lebanon, 6 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer at Lebanon, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 18
Boyd MS volleyball vs. Highland Rim, 5 p.m.
Boyd HS volleyball vs. Highland Rim, 6 p.m.
WCHS football at Hixson, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19
WCMS cross country in Burnett Invitational, 9 a.m.
WCHS cross country in Burnett Invitational, 10 a.m.
