Chris Sullens may have to forgive his team if they don’t act like they’ve been here before. Right now, the Pioneers are in uncharted waters.
Warren County claimed its first district title in 43 years Tuesday night (more coverage in today’s sports tab) and now embarks on a first-time experience at Charlie Dalton Gym. The Pioneers will finally play at home when they start region play.
The Ooltewah Owls will make the journey to McMinnville Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup in the Region 3AAA quarterfinals. It will be the first time ever that the Pioneers will play host to a region game, something Sullens knows can be overwhelming.
“Our staff and I have talked with them about understanding the importance of being mentally ready for Saturday,” said Sullens. “We must be ready to compete. All the excitement – pats on the back, congratulations messages – they have enjoyed is earned, but it can be a pitfall if we don’t understand the next step.
“We want to get back to Sparta for the region semifinals next week.”
The Pioneers have been the talk of the town ever since CJ Taylor’s buzzer beater downed White County 78-76 in the District 6AAA finals. Less than 24 hours later though, Warren County was back on the practice floor prepping for its next matchup.
“It’s a fine line we are trying to navigate. We wanted our guys to enjoy the success they had in the district, but it can’t be the end goal. These practices are very important in setting the tone we want as a coaching staff,” said Sullens. “We had some guys who got other guys in line during Wednesday’s practice. We know what is at stake. We will have them ready to go Saturday.”
Warren County (19-11) will enter Saturday’s matchup having won nine of its last 10 games, including six wins on its home floor. Not many expected Ooltewah to make it to region after its sixth-place finish out of seven teams in District 5AAA, but the Owls beat Soddy Daisy and upset McMinn County on back-to-back nights to punch their ticket.
Ooltewah enters the contest 15-18 and has lost its last two district tournament games by a combined 45 points, but Sullens and the Pioneers won’t be taking the Owls lightly.
“Ooltewah is a very athletic group who is going to attack the rim. They are very active defensively and want to produce live-ball turnovers that lead to transition points,” said Sullens. “They have played a very tough schedule against some very talented teams in the Chattanooga-Cleveland area. We must take care of the basketball and limit straight-line drives to the basket.
“Everyone who is playing Saturday night in region play is in a win-or-go-home situation. We will get Ooltewah’s best effort of the year. We must step our level of play up another notch to keep moving forward.”
Admission for the region game is $7 for adults and $3 for children.
Region 3aaa games
Saturday, Feb. 29
Cookeville at Cleveland
Walker Valley at
White County
Stone Memorial at
Bradley Central
Region semifinals
Tuesday, March 3 in Sparta
