WCMS Warriors start season with big win at Macon County

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The White County Middle School Warriors traveled to Lafayette, on Aug. 4, 2022, and avenged one of their two losses from last year’s season.  The Warriors return their entire backfield this year from a very good team.  They also have a strong group of linemen on both sides of the ball.  The Macon County Tigers always field a strong team and run the “winged-t” offense like a well-oiled machine.  Many of the coaches across the district expected the game to be one of this year’s best.

White County won the toss and deferred to the second half. Macon got the ball to begin the game and started strong, with a 19-yard run on the first play. After a couple of penalties and a nice defensive play by first- year player Eli Smith, the Tigers were forced to punt.

If the first offensive play of the season is any indication of how the season will go, then the Warriors are in for a big year. Cole Sims took the hand-off from Tucker Pinion and went 65 yards for a touchdown.  A bad snap caused the 2-point conversion to fail. The Warriors led 6-0.

A failed onside kick and a penalty gave Macon County the ball on the Warriors’ 44-yard line. A few successful runs from the Tigers helped them to gain 23 yards on their drive.  The Warriors’ Allen Brown made the defensive play of the game by destroying the offensive guard and tacking the ball carrier in the backfield, giving the ball back to the Warriors.

The second quarter started off with a beautiful 18-yard pass from Tucker Pinion to Eli Smith.  Pinion ran the option to perfection, and Sims ran hard, getting the ball down close to the goal line. The quarterback took the ball into the endzone and ran a bootleg to complete the 2-point conversion. The score was then 14-0.

The Warriors’ defense forced a 3 and out as the powerful Tiger offense could not gain any momentum.  When the Warriors got the ball back, it only took a few plays for them to score. JoJo Dowel took an inside handoff and scampered 66 yards for a score.  Pinion hit Eli Smith with a touch pass for the 2-point conversion, making the score 22-0.  That would remain the score until halftime.

On the opening possession of the second half, Pinion connected with Smith for a 38-yard pass and, after a couple of runs, connected with him again for an 11-yard touchdown. The 2-point conversion failed, making the score 28-0.

The Warriors began making substitutions in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers were finally able to find some success running the ball. They punched the ball into the endzone with a few minutes left to go in the game. The final score was 28-6 in favor of the Warriors.

When asked about the game coach Aaron Brown said the following:

“I am super proud of how our kids came out to play. So many factors played against them that night that it would have been easy to let a good team embarrass them.  We have a ton of new guys who have never played a varsity snap or football at all. We had to travel an hour and a half to the game. We had no scrimmages in the spring and summer due to cancellations, and we had to play a perennial middle school championship-caliber team. We won big and still have a lot of things to improve on.  Overall, it’s a great place to be at the start of a season.”

Game stats:

Offense: Team Rushing 213 total, Sims 109, Dowell 94, Pinion 11

Passing - Pinion 4/5 75 yards, Receiving - Eli Smith 75 yards

288 Total yards Offense

Defense:  Graver 2 Sacks, 2 TFL’s, 3 Tackles; Sims 2 TFLs, 3 Tackles; Dowell 5 Tackles

The Warriors will face off against Bledsoe County, in Pikeville, on Aug. 11, with their eyes set on moving to 2-0 on the season.    

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