Sports Calendar: October 12-17

The circumstances may be different, but two Warren County teams will enter this week with the same goal in mind: keeping their seasons headed in the right direction.

For the WCHS girls soccer team, that means extending a six-game winning streak in Tuesday's district semifinals against Franklin County. For Pioneer football, it means bouncing back from consecutive losses when Cannon County visits Nunley Stadium on Friday for Homecoming.

In the meantime, WCHS cross country will finish the regular season Thursday in Sewanee, while elementary basketball returns from fall break with several unbeaten teams still setting the pace.

Lady Pioneers carry winning streak into postseason

Six straight victories have carried Warren County to the doorstep of the district championship. Now the Lady Pioneers will try to turn their late-season momentum into an extended postseason run.

Warren County enters the District 9-3A tournament as the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season 12-2-1 overall and 4-1 in district play. The Lady Pioneers received a first-round bye and will host No. 3 Franklin County Tuesday at 7 p.m., with a spot in Thursday’s district championship and the Region 5-3A Tournament on the line.

The matchup will bring together two teams that already played one of Warren County’s closest matches of the season, where the Lady Pioneers traveled to Winchester back on Sept. 1 and battled Franklin County through 80 scoreless minutes before prevailing 5-4 in a penalty shootout.

Warren County has only gotten stronger since that meeting.

The Lady Pioneers closed the regular season with six consecutive victories and a seven-match unbeaten streak, outscoring their opponents 21-4 in the final seven-game stretch. Their latest victory came Tuesday in Sparta, where Noelle Bratcher delivered a first-half hat trick to power Warren County past border rival White County 5-0.

Izzy Rodriguez and Gisell Escamilla added second-half goals, while the Lady Pioneer defense completed its seventh regulation shutout of the season.

“We continued to start our matches a little slowly, but once again, the team found a way to do what we needed to do to secure the win,” coach Todd Willmore said following the victory in Sparta. “As a coach, it can certainly be frustrating to watch your team struggle at times, but it is incredibly rewarding to see them persevere, stay together, and find a way to win even when they are not playing their best.”

The victory completed a regular season in which Warren County won 12 of 15 matches, including six straight to close the schedule. The Lady Pioneers have not lost since falling 2-0 to at Shelbyville back on Sept. 10.

“Finishing our regular season with a shutout was a great way to close things out,” Willmore said. “The team continued to compete, create opportunities, and, most importantly, find a way to get the job done. I’m proud of the way they stayed committed and persevered throughout the match. Now, we turn our attention to the postseason.”

A victory Tuesday would send Warren County into the district championship against either No. 1 Shelbyville or No. 4 Columbia, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, while also guaranteeing the Lady Pioneers another opportunity to extend their season in regional play.

Pioneers return to Nunley for homecoming

After two difficult weeks and a much-needed break, Warren County football will return to Nunley Stadium Friday with an opportunity to get its season back on track.

The Pioneers will host neighboring Cannon County for Homecoming, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The annual Homecoming parade will begin at 2 p.m. in downtown McMinnville, setting the stage for the evening’s festivities.

Warren County enters the matchup at 3-4 following back-to-back losses to Stone Memorial and White County, a difficult stretch that brought an abrupt end to the Pioneers’ three-game winning streak.

The latest setback came on Oct. 1 in Sparta, where unbeaten White County scored four touchdowns in the opening quarter and never looked back in a 48-7 victory. The game was moved up to Thursday evening because of the threat of incoming weather.

The Warriors struck early and often, building a 27-0 lead before the first quarter ended. White County took advantage of two Warren County turnovers to score 14 points in just 19 seconds, then stretched its advantage to 41-0 by halftime.

Warren County struggled to establish its ground game against the Warriors, finishing with only 26 rushing yards. Junior quarterback A.J. Whitman, who entered the contest with 1,009 rushing yards through six games, was limited to 11 yards on eight carries.

The Pioneers did manage to find the end zone late in the third quarter, with Whitman connecting on a pass to senior Carter Lee for a 37-yard touchdown. Lee finished as Warren County’s leading receiver with three catches for 47 yards.

Despite the lopsided result, the Pioneer defense produced a pair of takeaways in the second quarter. Marek Sadlon intercepted White County quarterback Tucker Pinion in the end zone, while Huck Damon recovered a fumble on the Warriors’ following possession.

“They're a really good football team and they executed well tonight,” Warren County coach Eric Belew said of White County after the loss. “They put themselves in positions to make plays. I think from the top down, starting with me, I’ve got to do a better job of getting our guys in better positions, alignment-wise and situation-wise.”

The loss followed a 42-7 defeat to Stone Memorial, leaving Warren County with plenty to address during its scheduled open week.

Belew said the break, which coincided with fall break, would give the Pioneers time to return to fundamentals and prepare for the final three games of the regular season.

“I think it just goes back to the bye week, everybody being present,” Belew said. “It’s a bye week during the fall break, but we want to see all of our guys there. We’re going to give them three days of practice, hopefully get our legs back underneath us and go back to the bare bones and basics. We’ve got to get better at being us.”

Friday’s Homecoming matchup against Cannon County will be Warren County’s first opportunity to show whether that extra preparation has paid off.

WCHS runners close regular season in Sewanee

One final race stands between Warren County’s cross country teams and the postseason.

The Pioneers and Lady Pioneers will travel to Sewanee on Thursday for the Sewanee University 5K Invitational, their final scheduled meet of the regular season. The varsity girls race will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the boys at 5:30 p.m.

Warren County has had two weeks to prepare since its last competition Sept. 30 at the Meet in the Middle Invitational in Bell Buckle, where the Lady Pioneers finished fifth among 11 teams and the Pioneers placed 10th out of 17.

Emma Woodlee continued her impressive season with another top-10 finish, placing sixth in a field of 147 runners with a time of 21 minutes, 21 seconds. The performance marked her fourth top-six finish in as many completed races this season.

The Lady Pioneers totaled 120 points, finishing just one point behind fourth-place Webb School of Bell Buckle.

Jolene Meadows followed Woodlee in 28th place with a time of 25:27, while Gracee O’Neal placed 36th in 25:07.

On the boys side, freshman Shiloh White led Warren County with a 28th-place finish among 201 competitors, completing the course in 19:30. Christian Hewitt followed in 52nd at 20:32, while Zaydon Lovvorn placed 61st in 21:05.

“I was really pleased with how our team competed,” coach Kelsea Turner said following the meet. “We saw a lot of positive things, and I thought our athletes did a great job of battling through the race and continuing to push themselves.”

The Lady Pioneers have enjoyed several strong performances this fall, including a team championship at the Community High School Trail Invitational and multiple top finishes from Woodlee.

Turner believes those performances have provided a foundation for Warren County as the most important races of the season approach.

“As we head into the postseason, it’s encouraging to see our hard work paying off,” Turner said. “We still have things we want to improve on, but I’m proud of the effort and determination this team continues to show. Now, our focus is on preparing for the postseason and putting ourselves in the best position possible to finish the season strong.”

Thursday’s trip to Sewanee will give both teams one final chance to sharpen their performances before postseason competition begins.

Elementary basketball returns from fall break

After a week away from the court, county basketball returns on Tuesday with several unbeaten starts still intact and the early standings beginning to take shape.

Boyd Christian leads the girls division at 4-0, while defending champions Hickory Creek remain perfect at 3-0 and Irving College sits at 2-0. On the boys side, Centertown leads the way at 3-0, with West and Irving College also remaining unbeaten through their first two games.

The Lady Broncos have established themselves as the early team to beat in the girls division, carrying four consecutive county victories into fall break before stepping outside county play last week for dominant wins over the Upper Cumberland Rams and Cannon County, 25-9 and 45-2, respectively. Boyd’s unbeaten start also includes a 25-6 victory over previously undefeated Centertown on Sept. 28 and a 29-6 win over Morrison on Oct. 1.

Sky Wright has led the way offensively in county play, scoring 46 points through Boyd’s first four games. 

Hickory Creek has also remained unbeaten behind a strong defensive start. The Lady Hawks improved to 3-0 with a 22-6 victory over Morrison before the break, with Kimber Lowe scoring 12 points and Hattie Scott adding six.

On the boys side, Centertown has been equally impressive. The Warriors improved to 3-0 with a 42-4 victory over Boyd on Sept. 28, led by 15 points from Greyson Eubanks. The Centertown standout has scored 33 points through the team’s first three games.

West also enters the week undefeated after a 41-0 victory over Eastside before the break, while Irving College has won its first two games.

Tuesday’s return features three matchups, highlighted by an early battle of unbeaten boys teams when West travels to Centertown. Bobby Ray will visit Irving College, while Dibrell heads to Eastside. 

Thursday brings two more matchups, with Dibrell traveling to Hickory Creek and Morrison visiting West. 

The return from fall break will also give several teams a chance to move up the standings. Bobby Ray and Eastside each earned their first girls victories before the break, while Morrison’s boys broke into the win column with a 35-21 victory over Boyd.

With the season still young, the next round of games could begin separating the early contenders from the rest of the field.

Full Schedule

(Subject to change)

Monday, Oct. 12
No events scheduled

Tuesday, Oct. 13
WCHS girls soccer vs Franklin County (District Semifinals) - 7 p.m.

Elementary Basketball:
Bobby Ray at Irving College - 6 p.m.
Dibrell at Eastside - 6 p.m.
West at Centertown - 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 14
No events scheduled

Thursday, Oct. 15
WCHS cross country @ Sewanee University 5K Invitational - 5 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer vs TBD (District Championship, if win on Tuesday) - TBA

Elementary Basketball:
Dibrell @ Hickory Creek - 6 p.m.
Morrison @ West - 6 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 16
Homecoming Parade - 2 p.m.
WCHS football vs Cannon County - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 17
No events scheduled