WCHS football coach Matt Turner said looking at the DeKalb County game film was a lot like looking at a first scrimmage.

“Some plays were busted because of mental mistakes,” said Turner of the 30-24 Pioneer win in Smithville. “C.J. has enough athletic ability to make yards out of a bad play.”  

The statistics tell the story. C.J. Taylor accounted for two-thirds of the rushing attempts and for 80% of the total yards on offense for Warren County.

Coach Turner wants to change that this week when Cannon County comes to McMinnville for the home opener at Nunley Stadium. 

Tuner said, “I don’t want C.J. to carry that kind of load. We talked about that at halftime and after the game.”

Warren County’s Pistol Wing-T offense is designed to create options on offense and conflict on defense. The quarterback has the option to hand the ball off or pull it from the running back, keeping the ball for himself. 

Ideally, the option to pull the ball out of the running back’s belly is a fake. The option is most effective when the defense has to choose between the running back and quarterback.

Turner emphasized this dynamic, “I want to create a conflict between No. 4 and No. 1 (Kasen Holder and Taylor). We all know they know where No. 1 is. On film you can tell that Kasen Holder has some wheels and can do some dangerous things. We are going to make them (Cannon County) choose.”

Turner continued, “C.J. has a heck of a supporting cast. Our goal this week is to showcase Kasen Holder, Clay Thompson, Braylon Grayson, and Donte Elam. He (Elam) will start getting back in the rotation more.” 

Turner is concerned carrying the ball two-thirds of the time and playing defense would be overkill for almost any athlete, Taylor included. Plus, coach Turner believes the entire offense will be more effective if defenses have to respect all Warren County’s weapons.

Cannon County was scheduled to open against White County last week, but White County went into quarantine because of COVID-19 during the week. Cannon County scrambled to find an opponent and played Walker Valley in Cleveland last Friday night. The game was agreed to in the middle of the week.  

Cannon County traveled three hours to play and lost 39-0.

Coach Turner told his team, “Don’t let the film against Walker Valley fool you. Cannon County had no time to prepare. They had a long drive to their game.” Everyone remembers what happened last year when Warren County went to Cannon County and was upset.

This is a season like none other. Coach Turner said if Cannon County called today and said they were in quarantine, he would be looking everywhere for a game. 

He said, “I do not want to lose a home game. I want to play. We have a region opponent after this. I need that game time.”