Looking around the room as the opening speaker, Warren County coach Tommy Johnson noticed something he has come accustomed to seeing when meeting with the other head coaches from District 6-AAA.Despite it being a different person, coach Johnson couldn’t help but notice the smiles of the Cookeville coaching staff.“The first thing I see is all the Cookeville coaches smiling,” said Johnson. “They know what they got and we’ll all be chasing them.”Cookeville was selected by coaches and media to repeat as District 6-AAA champions at a media day held at Cotten’s Marina Monday.The Cavaliers were chosen as the favorites in a district that features three new head coaches.Scott Cook takes over at Cookeville, Ted McCaslin will lead the Cumberland County Jets and Matthan Houser assumes control of the White County Warriors.The coaching turnover leaves coach Johnson, entering his third season leading the Pioneers, as the most tenured coach in District 6-AAA.The Pioneers were picked to finish fourth by the coaches, while the media placed Warren County in a tie for fourth with Cumberland County.All five District 6-AAA teams will begin the regular season Friday, Aug. 17.WARREN COUNTY PIONEERSCoach Tommy Johnson didn’t waste any time letting coaches and media know Monday what his expectation for the start of the season is.“We expect to win our first game,” said Johnson.With that opening statement, coach Johnson kept the confidence which has been coming out of the Pioneer camp during the fall.Coach Johnson has been steadfast in his belief Warren County is a much improved team from a year ago, when the Pioneers finished 0-10 for the eighth time in the program’s history.Winning is the only thing that matters to Warren County and coach Johnson knows he has some players he will need to lean on if the Pioneers are going to start piling up victories.“We have guys that we are confident can make plays for our team,” said Johnson. “We’re going to ride those guys until they tap their helmet.”Big things are expected by an experienced backfield, which includes junior quarterback Hunter Mullican and junior running back Cameron Lusk.With the offense geared to go under center more often, Lusk’s power running could be a focal point.Coach Johnson still feels the offense can be diverse, but the running game will be the team’s backbone.