Watching the abundance of talent flying around the field for Blackman Friday, I began to ponder many hypothetical questions. That’s what tends to happen when a game is effectively over at the first whistle, with the Blaze winning 42-3 at Nunley Stadium.

Even without Trey Knox, the team’s star WR who will be committing to an SEC school Monday, Blackman still threw waves of athletes at the Pioneers. They were too fast and too strong for Warren County.

And that’s just the typical Blackman roster – one that isn’t even the best in the region. Oakland claims that distinction after beating the Blaze last week. The Pioneers won’t meet the Patriots until Oct. 26.

I began pondering what it would take to be able to win against a program set up for years and years of success. Those questions are pondered every year, so much that I won’t rehash here.

So then I thought, who would help the Pioneers compete against Blackman? What all-time Pioneers would be needed to get past the Blaze?

Any good hypothetical needs a time machine, so here’s my gathered group of stars.

Start with the lines

We need to go back and get senior Krojhn Calbert, the lone year he was healthy as a Pioneer. Also, let’s grab another Division 1 signee in Cody Robinson, who last suited up in 2010.

Round out the line with whoever was blocking for Jeff Womack while he was racking up a then state-record 6,450 yards in the 1980s.

It was before my time, but Franklin Fisher’s fuzzy memory brings back some blasts from the past.

“Steve Britton, Alan Lynn, Ronnie Edwards, Hal Foster, Reggie Bonner and Dennis Binkley,” said Fisher when asked for some of the better players he remembers suiting up for the Pioneers. “Those guys were ahead of me in school. If I have memory loss, it’s from taking hits from those guys - all except Dennis. I watched him from the stands.”

Bring back the star

If you’re going to bring back that line, obviously you want Womack running behind it. He scored 65 touchdowns in three years - Womack is going to find his way to 200-plus yards and, at the very least, two scores against the Blaze.

Throw and catch

Randy Mullican and Todd Willmore bridged the gap at QB during those Womack years. Hunter Mullican holds most of the school’s passing records, breaking most of the ones Josh Paz set from 2003-05. I like all those guys, but I’m bringing back Isaiah Grayson. I watched him single-handily beat teams last year. Give him a line and he’s going to be great.

He’ll be throwing to Billy Rutledge, Chris Madewell and Landis Crabtree. The offense can round out its skill positions with the likes of Curtis Lusk, Caleb Northcutt, Michael Thrower, Keith Martin and Alan Perkins.

Then let Danny Martin come back to captain the defense and let him choose his surrounding guys.

Amassing the best talent in 50 years of Warren County football would likely be enough to topple the current Blaze.

Therein lies the problem. It may take 50 more years of football for Warren County to see the type of talent Blackman fields every week.