10 players, 2 coaches receive All Region honors for WCHS

The White County High School Warriors made it to the second round of the playoffs for the second straight season and the first under new head coach David Foster.

After losing their season opener at home, the Warriors won their next seven games. Despite dropping their final two regular season games and going 1-1 in the playoffs, the White County football team was getting plenty of attention. Ten Warriors and two coaches were given All Region honors to officially end their 2025 campaign.

“Often times, individual recognition comes from collective success. These boys worked as a team and fought to win games together all season long,” White County head coach David Foster said. “I’m so proud of all of them, so proud of the work they did and the way they bought into our philosophy and worked as a solid unit. I’m glad that the coaches across the region could see the work they were doing individually to present themselves as one, cohesive team. These awards are well deserved.”

Senior Hunter Broyles was named Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman – Defensive End. Broyles, who played in the trenches on both sides of the ball, was a dominating force behind the Warriors’ success. Broyles recorded 61 tackles, 45 of them solo, and recovered 2 fumbles this season. The senior defensive end was tied for the team lead in sacks at 5 with another seven quarterback hurries and led the team, by a huge margin, in tackles for a loss with 16.

Joining Broyles as being named Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman was Lex Winfree. The junior defensive lineman tied with Broyles for the team lead in sacks during the 2025 season. Winfree had a total of 53 tackles on the season with 38 of those being of the solo variety and six being for a loss. In addition, Winfree was responsible for causing two fumbles and recovering one himself.

The White County special teams unit garnered some extra attention with two players being named to the Most Outstanding list. Bryson Hogg was named the region’s Most Outstanding Kick Returner, while JoJo Dowell was named Most Outstanding Punter. Hogg, a junior, had 101 kickoff return yards while also being a force on offense with 14 catches for 288 yards and four scores. Dowell, also a junior, punted the ball 20 times for a total of 713 yards, pinning opponents inside their own 20yard line three times. Offensively, Dowell rushed for 308 yards and found the end zone three times.

Receiving All Region First Team honors along with Broyles, Winfree, Hogg, and Dowell were running back Cole Sims, wide receiver Eli Smith, and linebackers Carter Rich and Eli Sparkman, all of whom, with the exception of Rich, just finished their junior season.

Rich, a senior, averaged 7 tackles per game on his way to 84 total tackles this season. The White County linebacker had five tackles for a loss along with two sacks and five quarterback hurries while deflecting five passes. Smith led the Warriors in tackles with 94, seven of which were for a loss. Smith was a turnover machine for the White County defense taking the ball away from opponents 8 times. The junior linebacker had five interceptions and three fumble recoveries, while causing two fumbles himself.

On offense, the Warriors let Sims’ legs carry them for a lot of the season. The junior running back ran for 1,527 yards on 287 carries and scored fifteen of White County’s 20 rushing touchdowns while catching a total of 10 passes for another 96 yards to bring his total to 1,623 on the season. While Sims was getting work done on the ground, Smith was getting it done after the catch. As a wide receiver, he averaged 13.0 yards per catch on his way to 143 yards and three touchdowns.

The Warriors had two players, one on each side of the ball, receive All Region Second Team honors as well. Quarterback Tucker Pinion, a junior, completed 42 passes for 613 yards and nine touchdowns on his way to a 111.3 overall quarterback rating. Pinion also used his legs to keep the White County offense on the field quite often racking up 463 yards and a touchdown on 92 carries, including one 100+ yard game.

Joining Pinion on the All Region Second Team was senior Mark Spedding. The outside linebacker recorded 56 tackles with nine of them being for a loss. Spedding added a sack, a pair of quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery to his senior year resume.

Joining the 10 Warrior football players in receiving All Region Recognition were Co-Defensive Coordinators Cade Apple and Derrick Sparkman who were named Assistant Coach of the Year – Defense. The White County defense gave up just 211 points in the regular season, and with the exception of one game, never allowed an opponent into the endzone more than two times in any one game.

Apple, who played for Foster for four years at Cookeville High School before spending the last two seasons coaching at Upperman and Sparkman, who worked as the defensive line coach for the previous two seasons while Foster was the defensive coordinator, were recognized by the other coaches around the region for the outstanding schemes they prepared week after week.

The Warrior defense held opponents to an average of 12.5 less per game than they were used to scoring. In over half of the thirteen games White County played this season, including playoffs, they held their opponents to the least or second-least points the team scored in 2025.

“Coach Apple and Coach Sparkman did a phenomenal job working together to get the kids prepared every week,” Foster said. “All of our coaches were always going in the same direction week after week. No one was worrying about statistics or getting credit for wins. Everyone just worked together to prepare the best scheme possible to put our kids in a position to be successful on Friday night.”