The TSSAA is floating around ideas for new football regions which will take effect for the next two football seasons.

Based on early projections, Warren County will be competing in Region 3 next year. If this plan comes to fruition, our football region will include:

Coffee County

Cookeville

Lebanon

Shelbyville

Warren County

To be as straightforward as possible, I love this proposal for two main reasons.

First, this is great news because it aligns Warren County demographically with schools that are like us. I think everyone realizes Murfreesboro is a much different city than it was 20 years ago and it’s difficult for the Pioneers to compete, year in and year out, with schools like Oakland and Riverdale.

It’s true that Warren County and Oakland may have roughly the same number of students in terms of school enrollment, but Oakland has the ability to attract the best football players in Middle Tennessee.

If you’re Oakland, it’s very easy to recruit two or three studs that are not in your school zone and those players make a huge difference on the football field. If you’re Warren County, it’s hard to remember when an impactful playmaker made a point to attend WCHS just because of our football program.

If the Pioneers were to string together 10 more 8-2 seasons, that might start to happen, but it’s not happening yet.

The second reason I really like this proposal is it puts Warren County in a five-team region. That means the Pioneers will have just four region games, which frees up the football schedule for six non-region opponents.

Warren County would have the ability to schedule anyone as a non-region opponent -- and just look at the possibilities. The Pioneers can continue what’s become a fierce rivalry with DeKalb County. We can continue to keep Cannon County on the schedule.

White County and Tullahoma are obvious choices as teams that can find their way back as football opponents and that still leaves Warren County with two available games.

Franklin County, Cumberland County, Stone Memorial, Lincoln County and Sequatchie County are all teams in this general area which Warren County could play in football. And they all seem like teams that are more appropriate for us to play than Riverdale, Oakland and Blackman.

This proposed region would allow Warren County to compete with rural schools that have student-athletes similar to our players. It would also give the Pioneers freedom to schedule the majority of their games against opponents of their choice. 

It’s a touchdown any way you slice it!