Over the weekend, I wanted to take the temperature of the public when it comes to WCHS football. Turns out people are simmering right now and things seem like their starting to reach a boiling point.

Following another shutout loss in region play - this one a 65-0 whipping at Gallatin - it seems like our community is fed up with the current state of the Pioneer schedule. I released a poll on the Standard website (and on my own Facebook page) asking if people would like to see Warren County switch to a non-region schedule or stay in 6A and there was nearly a unanimous response: people in town want the Pioneers to move to a non-region schedule.

The Standard poll saw 89 percent of respondents vote in favor of a non-region schedule, while my own poll saw 99-of-105 people cast their ballot for a non-region schedule. I would say that is as definitive as it gets when it comes to public opinion.

I don't think anybody has to guess where my personal preference lies: I've been arguing for a non-region schedule as far back as 2018 - which was the same year Sparta decided to do it and Warren County did not. Granted, had the Pioneers done it that year, fans would not have been able to enjoy the playoff run in 2020. That would've been a bummer, for sure.

But, every since CJ Taylor and his superb group of seniors graduated following that season, Warren County has fallen back off the map. The Pioneers are currently mired in a 14-game losing streak and - following last week's loss - have been outscored by 340 points in nine Region 4-6A games. They have three more region games coming up, including this week's matchup with Cookeville at home.

In hindsight, I think it is pretty obvious this new region did our program no favors. We're traveling as far - or even further - to be just as big of underdogs as we were when the Pioneers were playing schools from Murfreesboro.

I know there are no easy answers for WCHS football right now. In fact, I don't think there's just one thing that helps fix this, nor do I think this can be turned around in a year. It's going to take time and patience. 

Going to a non-region schedule, in my opinion, allows the Pioneers to hit the reset button in a lot of ways.  Most of all, it would give Warren County the opportunity to be more selective over a 10-game schedule (instead of having six games lined up for it by the TSSAA). 

Now, don't take that as me saying the Pioneers can just cherry pick 10 games and find 10 wins. That's just not the case. 

First, the Pioneers are already 0-2 this year in non-region games and I don't think any future schedule would involve dropping DeKalb County or Sparta as opponents (as long as the schedules for both match up). It's pretty clear there are no clear-cut wins for Warren County out there. 

Second, not having an opponent lined up on region nights (the TSSAA has designated weeks for region games across the state) means you'd have to find another team (or teams) who have that week free. I think that would be possible, but sometimes those matchups aren't exactly the most favorable ones (case in point: Father Ryan was one of the few teams free in Week 11 the last two years, which is why the Pioneers are finishing the season with the Irish this season).  

Lastly, playing a non-region schedule means no playoffs, so if the Pioneers were to rapidly improve during a two-year cycle, a group could lose out on a playoff push. 

Even knowing these things, I think the non-region schedule is the right move. Warren County needs to try to play as many games as possible against similar rural communities and I think a lot of teams would save a date to get a home-and-home with a program that has a fanbase that travels as well as Pioneer Nation.

I don't know if this will ever happen, but we'll know the answer in the next two months.