Youth Pioneers pick up two wins
Brent Carden photo
Before they can become the stars of Friday night, they have to earn their stripes on Saturday. That’s what the youth Pioneers did last week as the future of Warren County football was on display during the season kickoff in Manchester. The Warren County Pioneers had to wait a little longer than expected to take the field against the Red Raiders, but the delay proved to be worth it.
With heat indexes rising north of 110 degrees, games originally scheduled to be played during the day were pushed back to a late-afternoon start. The schedule change ultimately gave Division 2 and Division 3 a chance to play under the lights on the road, and both Pioneer squads made the most of their nightcaps by coming away with victories.
The D3 Pioneers had the most dominant performance of the day, rolling to a 36-0 victory over Manchester. The Pioneers controlled the game on both sides of the ball, piling up points offensively while their defense completely shut down the Red Raiders.
Gabriel Rodriguez and Jacob Harris did much of the damage on the scoreboard, each finding the end zone twice in the blowout victory. Warren County’s defense was equally impressive, forcing three turnovers while keeping Manchester off the scoreboard from start to finish.
Rodriguez joined Wyatt West and Nathaniel Johnson as the Division 3 Players of the Week following the shutout victory.
Division 2 also got to celebrate under the lights after beating Manchester 21-12. Zaccheaus Locke powered the Pioneer offense with two touchdowns to lead Warren County to the nine-point victory. Jax Hutchings got the scoring started for the Pioneers, reaching the endzone on a hard-nosed run early.
Locke was named the Division 2 Offensive Player of the Week, while Marcus Martin earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Brecken Thomas was selected as the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Division 1 battled Manchester throughout a low-scoring defensive struggle before ultimately falling 6-0. Warren County surrendered just one touchdown and remained within striking distance throughout the game.
Baylor Smithson was selected as the Division 1 Offensive Player of the Week, while Xavier Jones earned Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The Pioneers will have another altered schedule this Saturday, with the three divisions splitting up for their next action.
Division 3 will hit the road in the morning for a 10 a.m. scrimmage at Tullahoma. With Manchester split its teams this season, Manchester Black does not field a Division 3 squad, leaving the Pioneers to pick up the scrimmage to get their work in this weekend.
Division 1 and Division 2 will return home later Saturday for Warren County’s first games at Nunley Stadium. The matchups against Manchester Black are being moved to the evening, with the gates scheduled to open at 5 p.m. Division 1 will kick off at 6 p.m., followed by Division 2 at 7:30 p.m.
