Each time it feels like the Pioneers could be taking a big step forward, it is seemingly followed with a few quick steps back. It's been the same scenario all season and it played out again Friday against the unbeaten Mt. Juliet Golden Bears.
Warren County flashed at times on both sides of the ball, but good plays were usually followed by disastrous ones as Mt. Juliet extended the Pioneer losing streak to three games with a 53-13 thumping at Nunley Stadium.
"Not sustaining success - we keep bringing it up and it feels like a broken record but that's what keeps happening," said coach Matt Turner. "We have trouble stringing good things together. Our defense got some stops tonight, then our offense would give it right back.
"Other times, our offense would catch lightning in the bottle, but they'd march right back down to match our score. We can't be content with just a few good plays a game."
Warren County (1-3) fell into a 23-0 hole against a mighty Mt. Juliet team that was led by senior QB Tyler Travers. The signal caller that has been generating major buzz on the recruiting trail led three early scoring drives, including punctuating the first with a 30-yard TD.
The Pioneers weren't going to let Travers run and gun without a fight though. Gage Harris had a fumble recovery and an interception for the Pioneers, while Brayden Knight picked off Travers inside the redzone as well. All three turnovers came in the first half, but two were followed by immediate answers by Mt. Juliet.
After Harris' fumble recovery inside the Pioneer 5 in the first half, Warren County couldn't escape its own endzone and Kal Latina was brought down for a safety two plays later.
A similar scenario played out on Knight's INT, only this time the Golden Bears recovered a fumble on the next Pioneer snap and then scored on a nine-yard TD run by Jon'Mikael Crudup the next play.
Crudup, who finished with four total scores, would later catch a 32-yard TD pass on a well-executed screen in the final minute to the first half to enact the mercy rule for the entire second half as Mt. Juliet went to the locker rooms leading 37-6. Crudup helped build the early 23-0 cushion with TD runs of 9 and 11 yards.
Warren County got its lone big play of the first half offensively on a big-time connection between Brady Swallows and Jax Patterson.
Swallow, starting his first game at QB, threw a perfect deep ball on a third-and-long that hit Patterson in stride past midfield. The senior turned on the jets from there, ultimately scoring on a 71-yard TD strike.
Mt. Juliet only needed three plays to answer the long ball as Willie Hoyt had a 43-yard run that set up a two-yard TD plunge by Harrison Edwards to make it 29-6.
With the clock running the whole second half, the Pioneers managed to run just six offensive plays as Mt. Juliet controlled the clock and the scoreboard. Warren County ended with a bang though as Caleb Cox broke a 65-yard TD run on the final play and Garryn Duggin tacked on the extra point as time expired.
Scoring for the Golden Bears in the second half included a second safety after the Pioneers were pinned down by a great punt, Barnes returning the ensuing kickoff after the safety 77 yards for a score and Morkos Rezkalla rushing for a 1-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.
Warren County will get another tough test from a Region 4-6A foe this Friday when the Gallatin Green Wave come to town. Gallatin is 2-2 but enters the matchup after a dominating 48-14 win over Dickson County Friday.
Kickoff at Nunley Stadium this Friday will be at 7 p.m.
