Warren County has faced its share of tough teams already just halfway through this 2015 season. Tonight it will be arguably be the most explosive team in District 6A, the Oakland Patriots. The Patriots boast a record of 3-0 in the district and an overall record of 4-1, having lost to a team from Alabama in their opener.
The Pioneers return to Nunley Stadium tonight for their second home game of the season. They will face an Oakland team that is loaded with talent and speed at almost every position. In Oakland’s most recent win over Coffee County, the Patriots had six different players score.
The Daily News Journal reported on the third play of the second series, Jarod Parker saw a hole in the defense and scampered 66 yards for a touchdown. It was the first of the big plays on the night and the quick scoring strikes.
Lazarius Patterson had a pair of touchdown runs, one for 15 yards and a long 49-yard romp through the Red Raider defense.
In the first half, Oakland ran 27 offensive plays and 10 of those plays gained 10-plus yards. The Patriots led 35-0 at the half.
Brendan Matthews found a wide-open JaCoby Stevens for a 55-yard strike on a Patriot two-play drive. Patterson scored on back-to-back drives that totaled five plays from the line of scrimmage.
Defensively, Oakland surrendered only three first downs to the Red Raiders. The first was in the second quarter and the next two didn’t happen until the fourth quarter. Coffee County was only able to convert three of its third-down conversions.
Stevens is a highly recruited 6-foot-2, 199-pound junior. He plays receiver and defensive back and holds offers from all SEC schools, Notre Dame and Michigan. Last week, he committed to the LSU Tigers.
The Pioneer offense will welcome back Jordan Bonner to the back field after a one-game suspension and Raleigh Woods after nursing an ankle injury last Friday night versus Riverdale.
It will take tremendous focus on the Warren County side of the ball and hopefully the Pioneer offense can keep the Oakland offense off the field.
WCHS coach Tom Moore said, “Oakland is probably the most talented team I have seen in the last five years in Tennessee as far as talent. They are very stout up front and especially on defense. They have six Division I players and four will probably sign this year.”
Moore added, “I told my guys this week to try and stay in the moment and see how many plays we can win. For us to win a play we have to have all 11 of our guys going 100 percent without making a mistake.”
The Pioneers return home for the first time since Aug. 28. Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Grayson will lead Warren County.
Rickie King carried much of the load alongside Noah Campbell last Friday night against Riverdale. Lorenzo Wilson had a breakout game versus DeKalb County with two TDs, but that’s been his best game thus far.
Will the Pioneers will be up for this monumental challenge versus the Patriots? Find out tonight at Nunley Stadium with a kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.