This Week in Sports: Sept 8-12
September is here and the goals are starting to change for Warren County's fall sports teams.
For some, the focus is shifting toward what needs to happen when the postseason arrives. WCHS volleyball got a weekend measuring stick against high-level competition and now begins its trip through the district schedule again, while WCHS golf is quickly running out of regular-season opportunities to find its best scores.
Others are trying to capitalize on what's already been built. The WCHS soccer team enters a huge district week at 5-1, while WCMS football will put its perfect 4-0 record on the line during an unusual Tuesday morning matchup at Coffee County. The middle school soccer and volleyball teams, both well into their seasons, will also have multiple opportunities to add to their strong starts.
WCHS football will be back at Nunley Stadium Friday night as well. The Pioneers, coming off their first victory of the season, will welcome Franklin County for a 7 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.
District race takes center stage
The Lady Pioneers spent the weekend finding out where they want to go. Now it's time to start working toward getting there.
Warren County will begin its second trip through the District 7-AAA volleyball schedule this week, traveling to Wilson Central Tuesday and LaVergne Thursday before returning home Friday for an afternoon matchup with Van Buren County.
Coach Erin Blalock's team enters the stretch with a much clearer picture of both its potential and what still needs to improve after spending two days at the Choo Choo Classic.
Warren County opened the tournament Friday against two formidable opponents, falling in straight sets to Bradley Central and Ringgold, the 2025 Georgia Class AA state runner-up.
Saturday provided a response.
The Lady Pioneers swept Boyd Buchanan twice and battled their way into the Silver Division championship. Warren County also faced Sale Creek twice, including in the championship match. The Lady Pioneers pulled out a 26-24 opening-set victory in the finale before Sale Creek responded with 25-10 and 15-5 wins to claim the title.
For Blalock, seeing Warren County compete against teams like Bradley Central and Ringgold provided exactly the kind of measuring stick she wanted.
"We definitely need to change our trajectory from the past couple of weeks," Blalock said. "We got to see some pretty decent competition this weekend and I know it can help us moving forward. Playing against teams like Bradley and Ringgold, Ga., gives us opportunity to play big competition and provide a measuring stick of where we want to get to."
There were also signs Warren County had already made progress in one area that had been frustrating the Lady Pioneers.
"We were able to close out a few close sets against Boyd Buchanan and Sale Creek, which was a huge struggle for us last week, so that was encouraging," Blalock said.
Saturday tested Warren County in more ways than one. The Lady Pioneers played four consecutive matches in a cramped gym without air conditioning during the recent heat wave, then still managed to push the Silver championship to three sets.
Blalock believes the physical challenge showed something about her team. Now she wants the same toughness mentally.
"We know we have the weapons it will take to be competitive, but we have to be more consistent in every aspect of our game," Blalock said. "We also need to be mentally tougher than we've been the last couple of weeks. If we can improve those things, we'll take care of the close sets that we've struggled with so far."
That process resumes Tuesday at Wilson Central. Warren County then travels to LaVergne Thursday before hosting Van Buren County Friday at 1:30 p.m.
The goal isn't simply to be better this week.
"We've got to be playing our best ball in the postseason, so that's what we are working toward," Blalock said.
Early start, same goal for Pioneers
WCMS has played at night, endured long bus rides, dealt with a delayed arrival and even had a game postponed. Tuesday brings something new: morning football.
The undefeated Pioneers will travel to Coffee County for an 11 a.m. kickoff looking to improve to 5-0 in a season that has already featured a little bit of everything.
Coach Ben Matheney isn't looking to reinvent the Pioneers' routine for the unusual start time. His goal is to make Tuesday feel as normal as possible.
"Just try and keep everything as normal as possible and keep the team focused," Matheney said. "Thankfully this one is closer and we are getting there with plenty of time to have a normal warm up."
There has been one adjustment. WCMS moved its practice time earlier in preparation for playing several hours before its usual kickoff.
"We did change up the practice time Monday, so hopefully the earlier practice can get them somewhat prepared for an earlier game," Matheney said.
Warren County has handled almost everything thrown its way during its 4-0 start.
Dallas Gater has continued making plays at quarterback, Mikhail Wilcher has supplied plenty of power in the running game and Brody Chisam has given the Pioneers another explosive option. Bryson Carroll, Gabe Rowland, Gus Bouldin and others have also found ways to contribute around a group that hasn't needed to rely on one player to win.
The defense has been just as imposing. Warren County enters Tuesday having posted consecutive shutouts, beating Bridgeforth 38-0 and Lewisburg 32-0.
Coffee County now gets its opportunity to try to slow down the unbeaten Pioneers.
The time will be different, but the goal won't be - Warren County wants to leave Manchester 5-0.
Lady Pioneers face huge district week
The WCHS soccer team has spent the opening weeks showing it can beat quality competition.
Now the Lady Pioneers get a chance to turn their strong start into an even stronger position in the district race.
Warren County enters the week 5-1 and will play two District 7-AAA matches in three days, hosting Coffee County Tuesday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Shelbyville Thursday for a 7 p.m. matchup.
The Lady Pioneers couldn't enter the stretch with much more momentum.
Warren County battled Franklin County to a scoreless draw Tuesday before surviving a penalty-kick shootout, then returned home Thursday and handed previously unbeaten Tullahoma its first loss of the season.
Emory MacDonald delivered the deciding goal with approximately seven minutes remaining in the 1-0 victory, while freshman goalkeeper Kinsley Simpson and the Warren County defense made it stand.
It continued an impressive stretch for a Lady Pioneer team that has shown it can win in several different ways.
Warren County has gotten scoring from throughout its lineup, defended at a high level and already shown the composure to survive tight matches when one play can decide everything.
Those traits will be tested again this week.
Coffee County gets the first opportunity Tuesday before Warren County heads to Shelbyville two nights later. With both games counting toward the district standings, the Lady Pioneers have an opportunity to make an already impressive start even more meaningful.
Golfers hit postseason stretch
The regular season is getting shorter and the WCHS golf teams are getting plenty of chances to find the scores they'll need when the postseason arrives.
Warren County played on consecutive days last week, first traveling to WillowBrook Golf Club Monday before returning to McMinnville Country Club Tuesday for another look at two of the teams it will have to contend with in District 9-AA.
The Pioneer boys shot 164 in Monday's nine-hole match at WillowBrook, finishing behind Coffee County's 146 and Franklin County and Lincoln County, which each shot 161.
The Lady Pioneers came away with a much different result. Warren County fired a 92 to edge Coffee County by one stroke, while Lincoln County finished at 107.
The boys returned home Tuesday and faced another tough district measuring stick. Coffee County took the team victory with a 326, Tullahoma followed at 333 and Warren County finished at 351.
Those rounds add to a stretch where the Pioneers have seen plenty of the teams they'll need to measure themselves against when postseason play begins. Noel Davis has continued to set the pace for the Warren County boys throughout the season, while Gabbi Molloy has been the most consistent low scorer for the Lady Pioneers.
The opportunities to sharpen their games continue this week.
Warren County will compete in the Keith Maxwell Invitational Tuesday at 9 a.m. before traveling to Lincoln County Thursday for a 1 p.m. match.
At this point, every round is another chance to find a few more strokes before the postseason leaves no room for an off day.
Runners get another chance
Finding opportunities to race has been almost as challenging as the races themselves for Warren County's cross country teams.
Both WCHS and WCMS were able to compete at the Coffee County Invitational last Monday, but the high school runners never got their scheduled second race of the week. Thursday's Big Soddy Gulf Meet was canceled because of the extreme heat, continuing a season where temperatures have repeatedly forced changes to local cross country schedules.
WCMS has dealt with similar issues from the beginning. A poorly marked course created confusion at its opening race in Sewanee, then a scheduled middle school race in Cookeville was canceled because of heat.
When the Pioneers finally got another clean opportunity at Coffee County, several runners took advantage.
Seventh-grader Alyssa McCay led the WCMS girls with an eighth-place finish in 18:31. Ella Aycock finished 12th in 19:56 and Claire Jenkins was right behind in 13th at 20:06.
Jonah Gutierrez paced the WCMS boys in 14:17, while Benjamin Banaszak finished 16th in 14:37, Hudson Heatherly was 19th in 14:49 and Lukas Stephens and Zander Hillis crossed consecutively in 26th and 27th.
Coach James Clark has been trying to add races to the schedule to give his runners more opportunities, making every meet that actually gets to the starting line valuable.
Both programs will try again this week. WCHS is scheduled to compete in the Crossville Invitational Thursday at 5 p.m., while WCMS will run in the John Freeman Invitational Saturday at 9 a.m.
WCMS teams stay busy
Two WCMS teams that have piled up wins throughout the fall will look to get back on track this week.
The soccer Lady Pioneers enter at 7-2 after splitting their last two matches. Warren County produced one of its biggest offensive performances of the season against Stone Memorial, overcoming an early 2-0 deficit by scoring eight unanswered goals in an 8-2 victory. LB Guthrie recorded a hat trick, while Abigail Laxson, Shanti Hernandez, Amelia Partin, Emma Kate Lippe and AnnaLee Simpson also scored.
WCMS followed with a 2-1 loss to Franklin County. The Lady Pioneers will look to bounce back Tuesday at Prescott before returning home Friday to face DeKalb County.
The WCMS volleyball team enters the week 10-5 after falling to Stone Memorial last week. Warren County will travel to Cumberland County Tuesday before returning home Thursday to finally face Cannon County.
The Cannon County match was originally scheduled for last Thursday, but was postponed after a freon leak forced the evacuation of WCMS. The makeup match is set for Thursday at 5 p.m.
Lady Broncos get two home opportunities
Boyd won't have to travel this week. The Lady Bronco volleyball teams will get two opportunities at home this week after making the trip to face the TN Heat last Thursday.
The middle school Lady Broncos enter the week 2-6. Boyd picked up its second victory of the season against 931 Academy last Monday before falling to the Heat Thursday. The win over 931 joined Franklin Classical as the Lady Broncos' two victories this fall.
The high school Lady Broncos are still searching for their first win at 0-9 after losses to 931 Academy and the Heat last week.
Both teams will stay home this week, facing Lancaster Christian Tuesday and Lighthouse Christian Thursday. Middle school action begins at 5 p.m. both nights with the high school matches following at 6 p.m.
This Week in Sports schedule
Tuesday, Sept. 8
WCHS golf in Keith Maxwell Invitational, 9 a.m.
WCMS football at Coffee County, 11 a.m.
Boyd MS volleyball vs. Lancaster Christian, 5 p.m.
WCMS volleyball at Cumberland County, 5:30 p.m.
WCMS girls soccer at Prescott, 5:30 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer vs. Coffee County, 6 p.m.
WCHS volleyball at Wilson Central, 6 p.m.
Boyd HS volleyball vs. Lancaster Christian, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 10
WCHS golf at Lincoln County, 1 p.m.
WCHS cross country at Crossville Invitational, 5 p.m.
WCMS volleyball vs. Cannon County, 5 p.m.
Boyd MS volleyball vs. Lighthouse Christian, 5 p.m.
WCHS volleyball at LaVergne, 6 p.m.
Boyd HS volleyball vs. Lighthouse Christian, 6 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer at Shelbyville, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 11
WCHS volleyball vs. Van Buren County, 1:30 p.m.
WCMS girls soccer vs. DeKalb County, 6 p.m.
WCHS football vs. Franklin County, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 12
WCMS cross country in John Freeman Invitational, 9 a.m.
