The Pioneers may have gotten a late start to the new season, but Mt. Juliet’s head coach, Trey Perry, said at halftime the Pioneers did not look like they were playing their first game. 

Warren County may have been down at halftime 28-13, but the Pioneers actually outgained the Golden Bears in the first half, 178 total yards to 162 total yards. The Pioneers put up a good fight for all four quarters, but lost the game 38-20.

Mt. Juliet came to Nunley Stadium ranked second in the AP 5A Prep Poll, yet the young, inexperienced Pioneers were not intimidated. Mt. Juliet scored first, and the Pioneers immediately answered when sophomore Jaythan Pleasant scored the first Warren County touchdown of the season on a 3-yard run to cap an impressive 73-yard drive.

Any questions the Pioneer fans had about this young team were answered in that drive. And if there were any doubters in the stands when Mt. Juliet went up 14-7 in the second quarter, the sophomore sensation, Jaythan Pleasant, electrified the crowd and Pioneer team with a 74-yard run to close Mt. Juliet’s lead to 14-13.

The other playmaker on offense for the Pioneers was Braylon Grayson who broke tackles and kept Pioneer drives alive with key runs. Showing the same versatility that he showed last season, Grayson caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Nate Elrod on the Pioneers first possession of the second half.

Before Grayson made the touchdown catch, the Pioneers were down 28-13 with the ball on their own 25-yard line. It was third-and-5, and Elrod threw a bomb that travelled approximately 50 yards in the air to Grayson who caught the ball in stride. Grayson fought off a Mt. Juliet tackler after the catch and ran into the end zone. Beckham Scott made the extra point, making the score 28-20 early in the third quarter. The Pioneers were right back in the game.

Unfortunately, the Pioneers could not score again. Bad field position plagued the Pioneers all night. The Pioneers often started deep in their own territory, and the Pioneers punting game often gave Mt. Juliet great field position. The Pioneer defense allowed Mt. Juliet only 10 points in the second half, but the field position and costly penalties and mistakes kept the Pioneers from scoring more points.

There was one crucial error when the Pioneers went for it on fourth down on their own 7-yard line. There was confusion about Mt. Juliet declining a penalty, and the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs without putting the punt team on the field.  Mt. Juliet ran the ball in for the final score of the night after taking possession on the 7-yard line that made the score 38-20.

The close total offensive yards tells part of the story of how the Pioneers were competitive. Mt. Juliet outgained Warren County by only 12 yards, 326 to 314. Without question, the Pioneers showed a lot of promise in their first game after missing their first three games because of COVID. 

The Pioneers are looking ahead with optimism as they prepare this week for their first region game of the season against Cookeville. Playing an actual game will certainly make the Pioneers feel like a football team again after missing so many games and practices during a COVID shutdown.

COACH COMMENTS

Mt. Juliet head coach Trey Perry was soaking in the elements of Nunley Stadium before the game. Perry said, “I love this stadium and atmosphere. I do not think I have been here before. I love the traditional venues.”

Head Pioneer coach Matt Turner was very positive about his team’s performance after the game. Turner said, “Those kids proved that implementing a system and putting the program first works. They performed. I knew we were going to run out of gas. I would have liked to play this team after playing three games.”

Pioneer defensive coordinator Camron Bond said, “I thought we were hit or miss at times, but as the game progressed, we settled in. In the second half, we started tackling better. This was a lot of our players first varsity game.”

PLAYER COMMENTS

Junior lineman Dayton Jernigan talked about the difference of being on the team this year and how he thought the team performed against Mt. Juliet. Jernigan said, “The big difference is the leadership from last year. All those seniors last year were leaders to me. Now I have to step up. I think we did pretty good tonight. We gave effort. We gave them all we had. It was our very first game.”

Sophomore Jaythan Pleasant discussed the feeling of playing his first varsity game and running for a long touchdown. Pleasant said, “It felt good. I was a little nervous at first, but after that first play, it went away. I liked the 74-yard run. I have to give credit to my line. They blocked and I just hit the hole. I feel 100% ... both of my calves cramped up. I will be fine.”

Junior quarterback and safety Nate Elrod said, “I felt good. The line played good. We didn’t play bad, but we have to work on correcting our mistakes. On defense the biggest challenge was just making tackles. I knew that we would be competitive. I just wish it had been better on the scoreboard. We gave a lot of effort.”

Senior lineman Ethan Bernhardt spoke about the drives and long run by Pleasant. Bernhardt said, “That felt great. Seeing one of your teammates run down the field was fun. You just put your arms up and enjoy it.” 

NEXT GAME

Coach Matt Turner has stated often during the COVID shutdown that the region games would not begin until Week 5. The Pioneers need to win two region games to be assured a playoff berth. This Friday night the Pioneers will travel to Cookeville for their first region game. It is a game Warren County needs to win.

Turner said, “Cookeville is going to want to knock our heads off. We embarrassed them last year and they know that it is a region game. It will be dogfight.”

There is an interview with coaches Matt Turner and Camron Bond on a new Southern Standard on Sports that is available for viewing on the Southern Standard app and website, www.southernstandard.com. 

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