The Lady Pioneer flag football team hit the field for the first time Saturday, opening its inaugural season with a playday at Stone Memorial in Crossville.
WCHS finished 3-1 in the playday, falling to Bledsoe County 12-6 in its opening matchup before downing Blount County 20-6, Rhea County 12-6 and Cleveland 7-6 to round out the successful day for the fledgling Lady Pioneer squad.
“Overall, I’m very proud of the girls,” head coach Paul Martin said. “They showed a lot of heart and resilience throughout the games. There were definitely some areas where we excelled, but as expected we have some key areas where we can improve. We’ll take this as a learning experience and come back stronger next week.”
Ari Rippy was an offensive standout for the Lady Pioneers, with six touchdowns and nearly 400 yards rushing on the day as WCHS had success offensively, particularly in its running game.
“We executed well on offense,” Martin said. “Our passing game showed improvement, and we were able to move the ball downfield effectively, particularly on our running game. However, we need to work on reducing dropped passes, securing the football and securing possession in critical situations.”
Defensively, Paytyn Shofner led the way with three interceptions on the day and several flag pulls. However, Martin said there is still room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball, as well.
“Our defense stepped up when it mattered most,” he said. “We did a good job containing the quarterback and limiting their big plays. However, we need to focus on better communication in the secondary and ensure we’re not giving up easy completions on quick routes.
“Overall, we identified many areas for improvement, especially offensive timing and flag pulling. There were moments where the timing between the quarterback and receivers wasn’t quite right, leading to missed opportunities. We’ll focus on improving our chemistry in practice. We had a few missed flag pulls, and that cost us some big yards. We’ll focus more on technique in tackling and flag pulling this week in practice.”
Other highlights for the Lady Pioneers Saturday included a “pick-6” from Rippy, a 42-yard touchdown from Willow Durant and key extra-point receptions from Kendra Fann and Ashlyn Graves. Shelby Miller, Avery Womack, Marlee Sliger and Lesley Mirafuentes had an interception apiece, and Zoey Snider contributed three sacks to the defensive efforts.
The Lady Pioneers travel to Gordonsville Friday for a 6 p.m. matchup. Their first home game is set for March 14 at 6 p.m. against Bledsoe County. WCHS will play all its home games at Nunley Stadium.
