Warriors take down undefeated Tullahoma Wildcats

The White County Warriors hosted Tullahoma on Friday night, and it’s safe to say that the Wildcats were not appreciative of the parting gift they left with: their first loss of the year.  

“We preach one game at a time. One play at a time. We don’t care what anyone outside of our locker room thinks and we knew we could get it done,” Warrior head coach David Foster said. “Tullahoma is ha heck of a team, they’ve been averaging 40 points a game, Marvancy is averaging 200 yards a game. They have some explosive plays on offense and special teams, but we showed up in all phases of the game. It was just an incredible effort by the entire team. I couldn’t be prouder of them.” 

The 5A Wildcats came into Dee Harris Field sporting a 3-0 record and were favored to continue their undefeated ways. The Warriors, however, were well versed in Tullahoma’s strengths, particularly those of senior running back Marvancy Johnson. Using a tackle-by-committee approach, White County kept Johnson and the Wildcats playing from behind all night.  

“It was just an amazing effort. The kids played with unbelievable effort and focus. Obviously, he was the focus of our game plan, and they pulled it off and played so hard. Tried to get a lot of hats to the ball and be aware of where he was at all times,” Foster said about the Warriors’ approach to stopping Johnson who came into the game averaging 215 all-purpose yards a game. “Coach Apple and Coach Sparkman did a heck of a job getting the kids ready so that they showed up fast and confident.” 

With six and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Warriors put the first points on the board when Cole Sims found the endzone on an 18-yard run out of a wildcat formation. Noah Skeith, who was perfect on the books for a second straight night, added the extra point and White County took the early lead.  

“Cole is just an incredible player. He does everything we ask,” Foster said. “But it was a team effort. Wide receivers, lineman, everyone just blocking their tails off and making the most of every play.” 

It took until the final minutes of the second quarter for Tullahoma to find the end zone. It was Johnson with a touchdown run from inside the ten that put the Wildcats on the board and tied the score at 7.  

The Warriors let the ensuing kickoff land in the endzone for a touchback and quarterback Tucker Pinion set up at the White County 20 to see if he could add to the Warrior lead before halftime. After a couple of plays that lost yardage, Pinion took off running for nearly 50 yards on a third-and-twelve. Pinion’s run set the Warriors up inside Tullahoma territory with just over a minute and a half left on the clock. Pinion spun down to the 25-yard line and then Cole Sims made an acrobatic one-handed catch, and the Warriors were inside the Tullahoma ten. Another scramble by Pinion and a quick timeout called by Foster and White County sent Skeith for a 33-yard field goal attempt.   

“When they started crowding the box to stop Cole, Tucker stepped up and really made some great plays with his legs. He is so unselfish, just willing to do what needs to be done for the team, knowing that a win is a team win but that sticking with the game plan will give him opportunities when the time is right,” Foster said about his quarterback. “Those plays before halftime are just a testament to him and his willingness to do whatever it takes and be ready when his number is called.” 

Skeith’s kick was perfect, but the Wildcats had called a timeout just before the snap forcing a retry. Skeith’s second attempt sailed just to the left of the uprights, but Tullahoma was trying their best to shake the White County kicker and had, once again, called a timeout. They say the third time’s the charm, and it was for the senior kicker who split the uprights with his third attempt and sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 10-7 lead.  

“When they tried to ice him the first time, he went ahead and kicked it and showed that he had ice in his veins. I am so proud of the focus he showed out there,” Foster went on to say that the second time out was called because somebody on the visitor side blew a whistle, which should have resulted in a penalty, and Skeith knew that the kick was inconsequential. “His ability to stay in the moment and just do his job despite all that was going on around him was huge. It was a big momentum play for us, going into halftime knowing we had the lead.” 

The second half was all White County as the Warriors forced Tullahoma to turn the ball over three times. Just three-and-a-half minutes into the third quarter and Eli Smith intercepted a pass from Tullahoma quarterback Lucas Reed. Smith fumbled on the return, but the Wildcats weren’t able to recover inbounds and the White County retained possession. 

With the third quarter nearing the end, Lex Winfrey had a strip sack that was recovered by Hunter Broyles. Gifted the ball for a second time in the same quarter, the Warrior offense made the most of the opportunity. The result was another Cole Sims touchdown run to put White County up 17-7. 

A tipped pass in the middle of the fourth quarter would result in the Warriors’ third takeaway as Eli Sparkman was able to snatch the errant Reed pass for a White County interception. Back on offense, long runs by Bryson Hogg and Tucker Pinion set up yet another rushing touchdown for Sims, and Skeith’s kick extended the Warrior lead to 24-7. 

“The kids that were aware of where the ball was at all times and put themselves in the right place at  right time,” Foster said that making plays on tips and overthrows and whenever the ball is near them is something that the White County coaches preach to the team regularly. “It really helped us control the second half. They were just out there playing for each other. There were eleven guys on the field playing as one all night long.” 

The Wildcats would score a touchdown to close the gap on the scoreboard to 24-13 with 3:47 left on the clock, but their extra point attempt failed after a bad snap led to a run by the holder with Hogg shoving him out of bounds well before the endzone.  

After Tullahoma’s onsides kick failed to travel the required 10 yards, gave White County the ball, Pinion ran the clock out and the Warriors took the win off the field with them. 

The win moves White County to 3-1 this season with district play beginning next week. In four games, the Warriors have outscored their opponents 93-48. After losing their first game by a single point, White County has won by no less than two scores in their last three games.  

Next up for White County are some familiar opponents. The Warriors will travel to Livingston Academy for their first district game of the year with their second being a week later when they host Macon County back at Dee Harris Field.  

“Livingston is 4-0, they just got a big win against York. They have a lot of good players on that football team,” Foster said the Warriors are focusing just on the opponent ahead of them and not looking down the schedule. “We are back in the lab trying to figure out what we have to do this week.”