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Eye on the Tigers
Pioneers face Fayetteville
AustinWEB
Austin Jakes and the Pioneer offensive line will be leaned on Friday night in Fayetteville. Coach Tom Moore is looking for a balanced attack as the Pioneers look to snap their five-game losing streak when they play the Fayetteville Tigers. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Stepping out of district play usually brings a sigh for relief for the Warren County High School football team. This week won’t bring much relaxation though as the Pioneers travel to face one of the top 1A schools in the state.
Fayetteville (5-2) enters Friday’s competition ranked No. 10 in the latest state AP poll. Coach Tom Moore, who is hoping to see his team snap a five-game losing streak, knows the challenge the Tigers will present.
“Fayetteville is a well-coached team that has some speed,” said Moore. “They’re coming off a great season and are in the midst of another good year.”
Entering the school’s fifth year of football, coach Alvin Palmer has Fayetteville rolling. The Tigers finished 8-2 in each of the previous two seasons, earning playoff bids both years. This year’s team has had some stumbles, including a 36-24 loss last week to Cornersville.
“We’ve been up and down this year. We’d love to be 7-0, but that’s not the case. We’ve dropped a couple region games,” said Palmer.
Bouncing back is the priority for both teams. Warren County is coming off its worst loss in 14 years. Last week’s 62-0 loss to Blackman was the largest margin of defeat since the Pioneers fell 70-7 in Lincoln County in 2003.
Friday’s game will be in the same county, though the upstart Fayetteville team has only been playing in TSSAA since 2013. Jumping from the smallest level of competition to the largest isn’t something that seems to phase coach Palmer.
“6A, 1A – that doesn’t matter to me. We both can only put 11 on the field at the same time,” said Palmer. “My only hope is our young men perform well.”
The Tigers will be led offensively by quarterback Lex Marsh, who Palmer praised as “an outstanding leader.” The do-it-all senior had over 200 yards passing and 50 yards rushing in last week’s loss. For the year, Marsh has connected on 55.8 percent of his passes for 869 yards and nine touchdowns while adding 236 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Fayette-ville counts on sophomore Jaden Hadley to erase plays. Hadley has 61 tackles already, while Marsh – a two-way starter – has 44 tackles.
Warren County will have some reinforcements this week for its trip to Fayetteville. Jay Rozier is expected to be back in the lineup after being absent against the Blaze.
Coach Moore believes Rozier’s return is a great thing for Pioneers.
“Jay has a chance to a be a dynamic player,” said Moore. “He’s worked very hard in the offseason and he’s maturing. He’s getting bigger, stronger and faster. He’s important for us.”
While Rozier will be back, coach Moore expects to be without offensive linemen Kaden and Devin Jordan. Having the aches and pains of seven straight games could wear on the Pioneers, as could a lopsided loss, but coach Moore believes his team has bounced back nicely.
“We have had a good week of practice and we’ve always been focused on having the next guy ready,” said Moore.
“We’re looking to come out Friday and not be one dimensional. When we’ve had success this year offensively, it’s been because we had good balance and limited turnovers,” Moore added.
Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

WCHS baseball, softball compete in weekend tournaments
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One day after a close home win over Cumberland County Thursday night, the Warren County baseball team was back on the road for a weekend tournament slate. Taking part in the Viking Classic, the Pioneers went 2-2 across Friday and Saturday’s contests.

Kicking things off against Huntland at Tullahoma High School Friday evening, Warren County notched its third straight victory with a 4-3 decision over the Hornets.

Sam Robinson had three of the team’s eight hits. Ryder Gilispie followed with two. Tyler Adams, Jerren Harris and Keaton Rowe each added one hit.

Gilispie and Harris were both credited with one RBI each.

Adams, Robinson, Gilispie and Adrian Harris each scored one run.

On the mound, Miguel Garcia pitched four innings, finishing with four strikeouts, two hits, three runs and four walks. Keagan Thompson followed for two innings, striking out two.

In the nightcap, the Pioneers were held scoreless in an 8-0 shutout against the host Wildcats. Robinson had Warren County’s lone hit of the game.

Hayven Jones pitched 1.1 innings, recording one strikeout, four hits, seven runs and two walks. Jerren Harris came on for 2.2 innings, finishing with two hits, one run and four walks.

Back in action for day two of the tournament at Cascade High School, the Pioneers bounced back with a 9-8 win over the host Champions Saturday morning.

The team finished with nine hits, led by Adams and Robinson with two each. Gilispie, Jerren Harris, Adrian Harris, Woogs Bryan and Corban Felton all added one.

Bryan led the team in RBI with four of its eight. Gilispie, Felton, Jerren Harris and Brady Norris each brought in one.

Jaytton Baker went 3.1 innings on the bump, striking out five and coming off with eight hits and five runs. Lealon Arnold followed for 1.2 innings, striking out one and adding two hits and three runs. Gilispie pitched for one inning and recorded two strikeouts and one hit.

Closing out the weekend against Alabama’s Heritage Christian, Warren County came out on the losing end of a 14-6 contest. At the plate, Jerren Harris led the way with two of the team’s eight hits. Adams, Gilispie, Bryan, Felton, Adrian Harris and Evan Snapp all followed with one each.

The Pioneers posted four RBI, with two each for Adams and Snapp.

Snapp had two of the team’s six runs, with one each for Adams, Gilispie, Felton and Jones.

Braden Whinnery pitched 2.2 innings, striking out four and surrendering seven hits, five runs and one walk. Rowe followed for 0.2 innings, adding four hits and five runs. Up next was Keagan Thompson, who went one inning and came off with five hits and four runs. Daylen Holguin wrapped up the day, striking out one and allowing one hit over 0.2 innings.

WCHS softball goes 1-3 through weekend

The Lady Pioneers got their Southern Warrior Classic schedule started with a game against Summertown Friday evening, a matchup in which they fell 10-1.

Warren County finished with six hits, with two each for Ky Damon, Lola Wells and Kaydence Wiser.

Wiser had a home run in the top of the fourth inning for the team’s lone run.

In the circle, Ceilee Gudat pitched 3.1 innings and finished with one strikeout, nine hits, 10 runs and two walks. Kyaira Sharpe followed for the game’s remainder, closing out the last 0.2 innings.

The Lady Pioneers were again bested in their second Friday night game, falling 10-2 to Moline (Ill.).

Wells led the Warren County hitting effort with two of the team’s six. Damon, Callie Roberts, Cortlyn Porter and Ali Young each added one.

Wells and Lily Rains had one run each.

Ruby Denning had one strikeout and gave up eight hits, 10 runs and three walks across all four innings.

The Lady Pioneers had better luck in their Saturday morning opener, flying ahead with an 11-run fifth inning to take down Illinois’s Oswego East 15-9.

Warren County racked up 12 hits over the course of the game, with two each for Rains, Wells, Sharpe, Porter and Addison Smith. This included home runs for both Wells and Smith. Damon and Young both added one hit each.

Smith led the Lady Pioneers in RBI with four of their 15, followed by Sharpe with three. Rains and Wells both had two RBI. Damon, Wiser, Porter and Young all tacked on one.

Sharpe pitched the first four innings and came out with 13 hits, nine runs and two walks. Denning added one hit across one inning.

Warren County was unable to duplicate this in their final game of the weekend later that afternoon, falling 3-2 to Stewarts Creek.

The team notched six hits, with two each for Rains and Porter. Damon and Wiser both added one hit.

Rains had the Lady Pioneers’ lone RBI.

On the rubber, Gudat pitched all five innings, striking out three and finishing the day with five hits, three runs and one walk.