In its first year in front of a huge home crowd estimated to be around 450 people, the Warren County rugby teams came out and shocked both Blackman Blaze teams with a pair of district wins.
WCHS coach Bryan Kelsey said, “It is a humbling honor to stand back for a second and just take in how many people came out and how many people volunteered their time. One of the most beautiful things I have ever seen to wrap it all up were the faces of our players when the final whistle blew.”
The Lady Pioneers took on the experienced and tough athletic program from Blackman. From the get-go the girls were feeding off the energy of the crowd as cheers came down after big hits from Kieven Woods which continued throughout the entire match. There was an eruption as freshman Danielle Foster almost broke away for a score twice.
Warren County brought constant pressure to the Blackman defense and senior captain Lauren Judkins cut outside and made the defender miss and raced for the corner beating two Blackman defenders to give the Lady Pioneers the lead, 5-0.
A few minutes later Warren County was knocking on the door again and would not be denied, Kieven Woods off a penalty ran like a freight train coming through and pounded it in from 20 yards out to give the Lady Pioneers a 10-0 lead.
On the kick return after the score though the Warren County girls were caught off guard by the big boot of Blackman’s outside center who was able to chase it down for a big score.
Following the Blackman score, she made a big conversion kick to make the score 10- 7 going into halftime.
In the second half Warren County’s defense faced an attack from a big, physical Blackman backline, but every time the defense answered the call laying the wood with physical tackles. Freshmen Bec Loftis and Lila Loftis will not be forgotten soon by the Blackman players after fast-paced tackle after tackle, and a few more tackles for good measure. Warren County allowed no points and held on to get the win 10-7 and defeat the Lady Blaze.
Coach Kelsey added, “Proud might not even be a worthy word for our girls tonight. The whole week at school and tonight before the game they believed in themselves. Warren County kids are as tough and have just as much heart as any other kids from any school in this state, or anywhere for that matter. Tonight not only did they believe, but the crowd let them know they believed in them as well.”
Next up came the Pioneers versus the Blackman Blaze in a game which moved Warren County to a 2-0 record in district if they won. Blackman played strong defense until Pioneer Marcus Strode broke free on a long run that almost made it in for a score.
Shortly after though a highly motivated Austin Storie, who was playing with something extra on his heart Friday night way more important than a game of rugby, would not be denied on the first score of the game.
The game rocked right on following about as perfect of a conversion kick as you will see in high school rugby by captain Johnathan Moody who proved on this night, no matter where Warren County scores he can bang them in.
Up 7-0, the physical play of Warren County’s pack as usual began to take a toll, but Blackman took advantage of penalties and ultimately scored to tie the game going into halftime at 7-7.
The second half Warren County came to life and sparked a pair of big plays when Marcus Strode raced away with lighting speed and was gone for a score from 50 yards out followed by another conversion kick from Moody.
Literally two minutes later Moody burst down the Blackman sideline for another 50 yards in a blink of an eye for two scores in less than three minutes. After another dead-on conversion kick, the score was 21-7 Warren County over Blackman.
Blackman is not the kind of team which would ever quit. The Blaze kept fighting and found their way in for another score to make it 21-12. Both teams would be kept out of the try zone for the remainder of the game, giving the Pioneers another district victory and bringing Warren County’s first night of home games to a perfect ending.
Rugby teams debut in front of impressive home crowd
