The WCHS football team was back in action Friday night, this time at home against the Lebanon Blue Devils, a team they lost to last year, 28-13.
The Pioneers came out of the gate running as they scored in every quarter to defeat the Blue Devils, 31-7, in front of a packed Nunley Stadium.
The Pioneers controlled both sides of the ball and held the Blue Devils to 178 yards of total offense.
QB Isaiah Grayson had a huge night for the Pioneers as he went 8-for-14 for 138 yards passing and a touchdown. He rushed four times for 39 yards and two more TDs.
Raleigh Woods added 105 yards on 16 carries and a TD, while Trevor Collins was the Pioneers leading receiver with five receptions for 53 yards and a TD.
“We had a great spirit about us tonight,” said Pioneer head coach Tom Moore. “When you have the momentum you have to put the foot on the gas and we did. I think we handled every aspect of the offense and defense well tonight. We have a good team and we showed that tonight”
On facing Cookeville next week, Moore said, “We will start preparing for Cookeville on Sunday. Cookeville is a good team and I think the coaching staff up there does a great job, but we have a good team and if we come out and play well, we can play with Cookeville.”
On their first series of the game, the Pioneers made a statement and it started by taking the ball on the Blue Devil 44-yard line.
Six plays into the drive, the Pioneers had the ball on the Blue Devil seven-yard line when Grayson scooted to the outside and crossed the goal line to give the Pioneers the early lead, 6-0.
The extra-point was good and the Pioneers led 7-0 at the nine minute mark in the first.
The Blue Devils had a drive going on their first possession, getting the ball down to the Pioneer 31-yard line, but a fumble on fourth-and-1 gave the ball back to the Pioneers as they kept momentum.
After both teams failed to score on their next drives, the Pioneers extended their lead to double-digits, early in the second.
Grayson found Collins for a 23-yard touchdown pass which saw Collins spin his way from a Blue Devil defender into the end zone and the Pioneers led 14-0 after the extra point was good.
The Pioneers continued to play stout defense, keeping the Blue Devils off the scoreboard.
Jakob Morin’s 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the half extended the Pioneer lead to 17-0.
Brendan Breedlove recovered a Blue Devils fumble as time expired in the half.
Both offenses stalled most of the third, until the Pioneers extended their lead to 24 late in the quarter, when Woods scampered in from 12 yards out with the extra point good by Morin, 24-0. The drive was aided by two Lebanon personal foul penalties.
The Pioneers added another score in the fourth on Grayson’s 19-yard run with eight minutes to go in the game, with the extra point good by Morin, 31-0.
The Blue Devils scored as time was expiring, but it wasn’t enough as the Pioneers improved to 1-1 on the season in an impressive showing in front of their home crowd.
The Pioneers will be back in action at Nunley Stadium this Friday night as they face district rival Cookeville. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.