Sports Calendar: Sept. 21-26

The stakes are starting to rise across Warren County sports as several teams turn their attention toward the postseason.

WCHS golf will be the first to put its season on the line Monday at the District 9-AA Tournament, while the WCMS volleyball and girls soccer teams begin their own postseason runs with hopes of playing deep into the week. The Lady Pioneer volleyball team opens against a familiar Stone Memorial squad Monday, while WCMS soccer hosts Algood in Tuesday’s district semifinals.

There is plenty happening outside the postseason as well. WCHS football returns to Nunley Stadium riding a three-game winning streak for a special Friday night that will include the retirement of C.J. Taylor’s No. 1 jersey, while WCMS football has two games to close its regular season after suffering its first loss. Warren County’s high school and middle school cross country programs will also get to run at home this week.

While some teams are reaching the most important part of their seasons, another is just getting started. Elementary basketball tips off Monday with a new one-division format and eight teams taking the floor on opening night.

Pioneers return home on a roll

What began with a pair of close losses has quickly turned into a three-game winning streak for Warren County, and the Pioneers will try to keep it going on a special night at Nunley Stadium.

The Pioneers will be back at home to host Stone Memorial, looking to extend their winning streak to four games, something Warren County has not accomplished since the 2020 team opened its season with eight straight victories.

Speaking of the 2020 team, Friday’s matchup will carry some added significance as Warren County retires the No. 1 jersey of C.J. Taylor, the program’s only Mr. Football winner and a former Vanderbilt Commodore, during the game against the Panthers.

“Anytime you have a Mr. Football winner at any program coming back it’s always going to be extremely special,” Belew said following Friday’s win at Hixson. “We’re excited about getting to honor him for that. That's something that he deserves.”

The Pioneers enter the matchup playing their best football of the season. After opening with narrow losses to DeKalb County and Livingston Academy, Warren County has rattled off victories over Hunters Lane, Franklin County and Hixson while outscoring those three opponents 116-45.

Friday’s 41-12 road victory over Hixson featured another big night from A.J. Whitman. The junior quarterback rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns while throwing for 91 yards and another score, pushing his season rushing total to 922 yards through five games. Dylan Aguilar added 98 rushing yards, including an 81-yard touchdown that put an exclamation point on the victory.

Warren County’s defense also forced three turnovers, with Anden Green and Carter Lee recording interceptions and Cameron Holder recovering a fumble.

“We’re always challenging our kids to be in the moment,” Belew said. “I thought our defense did a really good job of having that bend, don’t break mentality. We’re creating a lot of turnovers right now, which is huge.”

Stone Memorial enters Friday at 2-3, while a victory would move Warren County to 4-2 to start the second half of its schedule.

Star 107 will carry Friday’s game on 107.3 FM, with Pioneer Nation Live beginning at 6 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Elementary hoops tip off

Basketball is back at Warren County’s elementary schools this week, and the new season will bring a new look to the league standings.

The 3rd-5th grade league will tip off Monday with eight teams in action as Boyd visits Bobby Ray, Centertown travels to Dibrell, Eastside heads to Hickory Creek and Morrison visits Irving College. All four matchups are scheduled for 6 p.m.

The biggest change this season comes in how the league itself will be organized. Instead of splitting the schools into two divisions like the previous year, all nine teams will compete in one division.

Each school will face the other eight teams at least once while playing two opponents a second time, creating a 10-game regular-season schedule.

Hickory Creek’s girls and Boyd Christian’s boys enter the new season as the defending county champions. The Lady Hawks will be trying to pick up where they left off after completing an undefeated championship run last season.

The opening week will feature a second round of games Thursday, as Bobby Ray travels to Centertown, Dibrell visits Boyd, Hickory Creek heads to West (game at Bobby Ray) and Irving College travels to Eastside, with each matchup again scheduled for 6 p.m.

WCHS golfers chase region berths

There are no more regular-season rounds left for Warren County golf. From here, every shot could determine how much longer the season lasts.

The Pioneers and Lady Pioneers will travel to Lakewood Golf & Country Club Monday for the District 9-AA Tournament, with play scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The top three teams will advance to the Region 5 Tournament, along with the top five individuals who are not members of one of those qualifying teams. 

Warren County enters the postseason after wrapping up its regular season Monday at McMinnville Country Club, where the Lady Pioneers defeated Shelbyville 197-218 and the Pioneer boys fell just short, 340-347.

There were also a couple of different names atop the Warren County scorecards.

Lucy Mulligan fired a 98 to lead the Lady Pioneers, edging usual pace-setter Gabbi Molloy by one stroke. On the boys side, sophomore Aden Johnson delivered a season-best 77 to earn low-medalist honors, finishing three shots ahead of teammate Noel Davis.

The Lady Pioneers finished the regular season with consecutive victories after also beating Lincoln County and Shelbyville at Pebble Creek four days earlier. The Pioneers won that tri-match with a 327, one of their strongest team rounds of the season.

Now the focus shifts entirely to Lakewood, where Warren County will try to turn those late-season performances into a trip to the regional tournament.

District stretch continues for WCHS volleyball

Warren County packed plenty into three district matches last week, from a five-set comeback to a dominant sweep before finally seeing its winning streak come to an end.

The Lady Pioneers opened the week with perhaps their most dramatic victory of the season, twice battling back from a set down to knock off defending District 7-3A champion Cookeville 21-25, 26-24, 15-25, 27-25 and 15-11. Warren County even fought off match point in the fourth set before forcing a fifth and finishing the comeback.

Natalie Payne celebrated her birthday with a season-high 15 kills, while Aubrey Oleksik added 10 and Sloan Youngblood finished with nine.

One night later, Warren County traded the drama for dominance. The Lady Pioneers swept Smyrna 25-13, 25-15 and 25-11, with Oleksik leading the attack with 10 kills. The victory completed a regular-season sweep of Smyrna and stretched Warren County’s winning streak to four matches.

That run finally came to an end Thursday at Lebanon, where the Lady Pioneers fell 25-21, 25-12 and 25-16 to finish the week 2-1 in district play.

Warren County will try to bounce back with two more District 7-3A matches this week, traveling to Stewarts Creek Tuesday before returning to Charlie Dalton Gymnasium Thursday to host White County. Both varsity matches are scheduled for 6 p.m.

WCHS soccer faces three-match week

A three-game slate awaits WCHS soccer this week, with the Lady Pioneers getting two non-district tests before jumping back into the District 9-3A race.

Warren County enters the week at 6-2-1 and will host Spring Hill Monday at 6:30 p.m. before making a quick turnaround for a 6 p.m. match Tuesday at DeKalb County. The Lady Pioneers will then return home Thursday for an important district matchup with Columbia Central at 7 p.m.

Warren County comes into that stretch after playing just once last week, battling Lebanon to a 1-1 draw Thursday on the road.

“I cannot emphasize enough how proud I am of the way our girls stayed focused, competed, and continued to work even when they were exhausted,” Willmore said of the team’s effort from Thursday. “They showed tremendous determination and never stopped believing they could get back into the match.”

The Lady Pioneers found themselves chasing the game almost immediately after Lebanon scored in the opening minutes, but Warren County kept searching for an equalizer throughout the night.

It finally came with approximately 10 minutes remaining. After a throw-in deep in Lebanon territory, Warren County worked the ball across the top of the 18-yard box to Emory MacDonald, who created enough room to get onto her left foot and buried the tying goal for her fourth of the season.

Warren County continued pressing for a winner but ultimately settled for the draw, bouncing back after a 2-0 district loss at Shelbyville had snapped its five-match winning streak the previous week.

Now the Lady Pioneers will have little downtime, playing three matches in four days before finishing the week with Thursday’s return to district action against Columbia Central.

Warren County runners stay close to home

After a two-meet week sent the WCHS cross country team to Chattanooga and Cookeville, Warren County runners will get a chance to stay closer to home over the next several days.

Both the middle and high school programs will host meets this week, beginning Tuesday with the Patty Kelly Invitational and concluding Saturday with the second annual Tree City Invitational.

The WCHS squads are coming off two different tests. At Tuesday’s Woodland Park Meet in Chattanooga, the Lady Pioneers placed fifth out of eight teams, led by Gracee O’Neal in 24th at 25:55.89. Jolene Meadows followed closely in 26th, while the Pioneer boys finished 10th out of 14 teams behind nearly identical performances from Shiloh White and Christian Hewitt, who placed 28th and 29th in 20:48.77 and 20:48.99, respectively.

Warren County returned to action Saturday at the Burnett Invitational in Cookeville. Emma Woodlee made her return to the Lady Pioneer lineup and immediately led the way, finishing 17th in 23:28.06. Meadows followed in 28th as the girls placed sixth out of nine teams. White once again paced the boys, taking 33rd in 20:45.42 as Warren County finished 10th out of 12 teams.

The attention now turns home, beginning with a special afternoon for WCMS. Tuesday’s Patty Kelly Invitational honors the coach who started the middle school cross country program before unexpectedly passing away in 2022 at age 39. WCMS will celebrate Eighth Grade Night at 4:30 p.m., with the meet beginning at 5 p.m. Franklin South and DeKalb County are scheduled to attend.

Saturday brings the second annual Tree City Invitational, beginning with the middle school girls at 9 a.m. The middle school boys follow at 9:30, with the high school JV race at 10, varsity girls at 10:45 and varsity boys at 11:30.

Two tests remain for WCMS football

After cruising through its first five games unbeaten, Warren County enters the final week of the regular season looking to bounce back from its first loss.

The Pioneers will have two chances to do just that, traveling to Shelbyville Tuesday to face Harris before returning to Nunley Stadium Saturday morning for a makeup game against Tullahoma. Tuesday’s kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game will begin at 9 a.m.

The Pioneers enter the stretch at 5-1 after E.O. Coffman spoiled Eighth Grade Night with a 41-22 victory Tuesday at Nunley Stadium.

Warren County had rolled through its first five opponents, but the Panthers presented a different challenge. Ja’Kole Fox rushed for 270 yards and five touchdowns, with four of his scoring runs covering at least 37 yards.

Still, Warren County showed some fight after trailing 14-0 at halftime. The Pioneers twice pulled within one score during the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 14-8 and later 21-16 before Coffman pulled away.

Brody Chisam caught four passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, while Dallas Gater threw for 102 yards and a score and added a rushing touchdown.

For Matheney, the focus quickly shifted from the loss itself to how the Pioneers respond from it.

“Are we gonna use this as gasoline? Are we going to light a fire with it? Or is this going to be poison?” Matheney said. “Ultimately, tonight sucks for them, but I told them they've got to make it matter.”

They’ll get their first opportunity Tuesday at Harris before finally making up their postponed matchup with Tullahoma Saturday at Nunley Stadium. The Tullahoma game was originally scheduled for Aug. 25 but was postponed following the death of a Tullahoma East student earlier that day.

WCMS volleyball starts postseason run

If the first two meetings are any indication, WCMS volleyball may be in for another battle when the postseason begins Monday.

The No. 3-seeded Lady Pioneers will open the District 7-AA tournament against No. 6 Stone Memorial at 7:30 p.m. at Upperman, breaking a season series that could hardly have been more evenly matched. Both regular-season meetings went the full three sets, with each team walking away with one victory.

Warren County took the first thriller on Aug. 11, rallying for a 19-25, 25-23 and 15-10 victory in McMinnville. Stone returned the favor Sept. 1 in Crossville, holding off the Lady Pioneers 21-25, 25-17 and 15-12.

WCMS enters the rubber match at 13-7 overall and 8-6 in District 7-AA after an up-and-down finish to the regular season. The Lady Pioneers went 1-2 over their final three matches, sweeping Algood on Eighth Grade Night before falling to Westwood and Prescott South.

Despite Thursday’s loss to Prescott, coach Bethany Mesaros believes the Lady Pioneers are a much different team than the one that began the season.

“The girls have grown a lot,” Mesaros said following the regular season finale against Prescott. “Our serve and serve receiving has immensely improved from the beginning of this season. It’s just little tweaks that they’ve made to be able to push all the way through. Also, their mental game has built up as well.”

Now Warren County will see how much that growth translates to the postseason.

“I think that if we come out swinging, I think that we’ll be pretty evenly matched in the district tournament,” Mesaros said.

Monday begins what WCMS hopes will be an extended stay at Upperman, the tournament’s No. 1 seed and host for every round. A victory over Stone would advance Warren County to Wednesday’s quarterfinals at 6 p.m., while a loss would send the Lady Pioneers into the loser’s bracket Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

WCMS soccer takes aim at district title

After a regular season that saw Warren County Middle lose just twice, the Lady Pioneers are down to the matches that matter most.

Warren County enters the District 7-AA tournament as the No. 2 seed and will host No. 3 Algood in the semifinals Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. A victory would punch the Lady Pioneers’ ticket to Friday’s district championship game, which will be played at DeKalb County.

Warren County enters the postseason at 9-2 overall after going 7-1 in district play. The Lady Pioneers’ only blemish against a district opponent came Sept. 8, when top-seeded Prescott South handed Warren County a narrow 1-0 loss.

Since then, Warren County responded with back-to-back shutouts, pouring in 13 goals combined in victories over DeKalb County and Cumberland County. L.B. Guthrie enters the postseason leading the Lady Pioneer attack with 21 goals, while Finley MacDonald has caught fire down the stretch, scoring five times in the final two matches to raise her season total to eight. Abigail Laxson follows with six goals, while Jensi Griffith and Emma Kate Lippe have scored five apiece.

Warren County has already seen Tuesday’s opponent once this season. The Lady Pioneers traveled to Algood on Aug. 21 and came away with a 5-3 victory, powered by four goals from Guthrie. This time, the stakes will be considerably higher.

Full Schedule

(Subject to change)

Monday, Sept. 21
WCHS golf @ District 9-AA Tournament (Lakewood) - 9 a.m.
Boyd volleyball at 931 volleyball - 5 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer vs Spring Hill - 6:30 p.m.
WCMS volleyball vs Stone Memorial (D7-AA Tournament) - 7:30 p.m.

Elementary Basketball:
Boyd at Bobby Ray - 6 p.m.
Centertown at Dibrell - 6 p.m.
Eastside at Hickory Creek - 6 p.m.
Morrison at Irving College - 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 22
WCMS cross country home meet - 5 p.m.
Boyd volleyball vs Tennessee Heat - 5 p.m.
WCHS volleyball at Stewarts Creek - 6 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer at DeKalb - 6 p.m.
WCMS girls soccer vs Algood (D7-AA Semis) - 5:30 p.m.
Boyd volleyball vs Tennessee Heat - 6 p.m.
WCMS football at Harris - 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 23
WCMS volleyball vs TBA (D-7AA Qtrs, If win on Monday) - 6 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 24
Boyd volleyball at Franklin Road Christian - 5 p.m.
WCHS volleyball Vs White County - 6 p.m.
WCHS girls soccer vs Columbia - 7 p.m.

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

Friday, Sept. 25
WCMS girls soccer vs TBA (D7-AA Championship, if win on Tuesday)
WCHS football vs Stone Memorial - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 26
WCHS cross country Tree City Invitational - 9 a.m.
WCMS football vs Tullahoma - 9 a.m.