I love numbers and football has plenty of them to crunch. Each night, after the game is over, I head back to the office and start breaking down the statistics from the Pioneer outing.

When I got back from Woodbury Friday, everybody wanted to talk about the 17 penalties Warren County was flagged for during the contest. Some also referenced the three turnovers - one came on the Lion 1, another was returned for a touchdown and the third set up a Cannon County score.

The most pessimistic of the fanbase brought up 27 – the number of games Cannon County had lost (or forfeited) since its last win. Trust me, the doubters will be back in full force by Friday’s matchup with Rockvale.

They are all interesting numbers, but they aren’t what I wanted to focus on. Here’s a few that stood out to me Friday night – 41, 28, 25, 23, 22, 21, 14, 13 and 10.

Those aren’t jersey numbers. They also aren’t big gains on the night for the Pioneers.

Those are the longest distances the Pioneers had to face to gain first downs during Friday’s shocking 20-7 defeat. Yes, in the nine possessions Warren County ran against the Lions, only once did it have a drive where it didn’t get way behind the chains (on the ninth drive, the team went three-and-out).

Don’t look any further for reasons why the Pioneers suffered such a stunning setback against Cannon County. There’s all you need to know.

I’ve been following this team closely since the spring. I’ve seen all the scrimmages, been to 3-4 practices a week, woke up at 5 a.m. for early workouts and stayed at Nunley Nights until 10 p.m. during the summer. I bring that up to let you know that I can speak with some authority on the Pioneers.

They are far more talented this year than in previous years. It’s not even close.

Some of that is aging, though of a lot of it is attracting players back to the program. In many ways, Matt Turner really gave this program a huge shot in the arm since the spring with his ability to connect with the school’s best athletes.

No matter how much the group has risen its collective talent though, it cannot overcome beating itself over and over. It couldn’t against Cannon County and it especially can’t against the region it will face in coming weeks.

Warren County can’t have touchdowns erased by penalties (like it has the previous two weeks). It also can’t consistently count on CJ Taylor to bail it out of bad situations.

(Side note: Taylor was so banged up Friday, I didn’t know if they could get him off the field. This team has a long list of guys ready to lay it on the line and their QB is atop that list.)

Turner admitted following the game this falls on his shoulders. He’s well aware his team is trying to do something new, but so is his coaching staff. It won’t change overnight.

For now though, Warren County has to stop beating itself before it tries to beat its foes.