BD Newsletter

The Warren County High School Pioneer football team traveled to Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet Friday night and lost 35-0. The Pioneers gave up all 35 points to the Hawks in the second quarter, which set off a series of flashing lights in the stadium after each touchdown. The continuous strobe lights in the stadium after each Green Hill touchdown highlighted the Hawks’ momentum..

Both teams stalled on offense during the first quarter, and Green Hill receivers dropped several passes that could have led to at least one score. After 12 minutes of football, the game was tied 0-0. Considering the past few lopsided losses the Pioneers have experienced, holding Green Hill scoreless during the opening quarter was progress. For a moment, it felt like Warren County had a chance to win the game if they could get some positive yardage and sustain a drive.

A combination of missed tackles by the Pioneers and sure-handed receptions by Green Hills’ receivers turned the Hawks into a scoring machine in the second quarter. The game turned quickly in the Hawks favor. Another fast clock in a Pioneer game started with 1:07 left in the first half when Green Hill went up 35-0. For the record, it was the fourth fast clock in-a-row for the Pioneers which starts when a team is down by 35 points.

Although it was Green Hills’ second unit on the field throughout most of the second half, Warren County held the Hawks scoreless. Footnote: as all Pioneer fans should know by now, many of Warren County’s starters are doing double time as starters on the varsity and JV teams — because they are sophomores. Therefore, holding Green Hill scoreless in the second half should not be dismissed as a meaningless achievement.

Warren County threatened to score near the end of the game, but the drive ended with Green Hill intercepting a Pioneer pass in the end zone. Green Hill ran out the remaining 1:48 running plays as time quickly expired.

Yes, the Pioneers experienced adversity with another lopsided defeat, but as a Green Hill assistant coach said after the game, the Pioneers gave effort to the very end. The young, inexperienced Pioneer players played with intensity.

Coach Turner told his team after the game that facing adversity is making the players better young men. Turner said, “Life without adversity is not worth living. The trials and tribulations you are facing right now are going to make you one heck of a father, one heck of a business leader, one heck of a role model, one heck of a ball coach one day. I believe that in my heart and know that is true. You have to keep it together and stay the course. I have been exactly where you are, and I have spent a lifetime trying to change it. Stay the course! Stay the course! We just have to grow and mature a little bit. As long as we stay the course, we are changing it. You may not believe it. I know we lost 35-0, but we are getting better. If we can put four quarters together next week, we can win. You have to believe that!”

Head coach Matt Turner experienced losing seasons as a high school Pioneer football player. Turner has burned his ship to stay and fight to change Warren County’s 30-plus years of losing football. He helped break the streak in his second year (2020) as a head coach with an 8-4 season. Most of his assistants are former Pioneer football players, and they and the other coaches are in the battle with him.

The high school students playing on the team right now are undoubtedly experiencing the most adversity. They have only seen one Pioneer high school football team achieve a winning season record in their lifetime. None of these players are playing football because they like losing games.

Warren County has three games left. The Pioneers will overcome adversity if they give their best effort. Coach Turner told his team that they all have to look in the mirror and be satisfied with their own individual performance. That not only goes for the players, but for the coaches as well.

If the team is looking for a silver lining in Friday night’s game, they can remember how the first quarter ended 0-0. Next week they travel to Tullahoma (5-2) who is gaining momentum with a three-game winning streak. Playing the best that they can play against Tullahoma will be a significant achievement for the Pioneers after losing six games in-a-row for a 1-6 season record.

Stay the course. Give your best effort. Consistency. Effort. These are virtues that can change the Pioneers’ football history.

Postscript: When Matt Turner talks about facing adversity making you a better person, he is predominantly alluding to his childhood and how his mother’s battle with ALS changed his life — in a positive way. I wrote about Matt Turner’s story that was published in the local newspaper on October 1, 2020. You can read it for free at the Magness Public Library in downtown McMinnville or by clicking on this link which may require a subscription: Matt Turner story.

If Matt Turner had not come back home after completing his football career and graduating from UTC, no one would have blamed him. He came back to help his dad take care of his mother. Turner embraced adversity and turned it into a positive outcome — taking care of his mother. Now he needs all the help and patience he can get to help Pioneer football grow in all three areas…youth football, middle school football and high school football. Stay the course and the positive outcomes will evolve. That is Matt Turner’s sermon to the football faithful in Warren County.