Warren County ran for two TDs and made some punishing hits as the Pioneer football team opened its preseason schedule Monday night against Lincoln County.
Unfortunately, the Falcons were true to their nickname, taking flight and attacking Warren County through the air.
Two long pass plays and a FG lifted Lincoln County past WCHS, 17-13, at Nunley Stadium.
Warren County QB Isaiah Grayson produced a basket of impact plays in guiding the Pioneer attack. He escaped contain on several rollouts and was only missing a disco ball the way he danced through the Lincoln County defense.
Grayson had an efficient game passing, completing 8-of-10 for 52 yards. He ran for a 20-yard TD and threw an interception.
Sophomore RB Jay Rozier had the other Pioneer TD, a 3-yard burst up the middle. Rozier’s most eye-catching run came when he crushed a Lincoln County safety, knocking him on his back on the way to a 20-yard gain.
“I thought we played well upfront on both sides on the ball,” said Warren County coach Tom Moore. “We played well, but we have about 1,000 mistakes because we have so many guys who have never played high school ball before. We only have four players who played any high school ball last year and one of them is our quarterback. We’re not experienced, but 90 percent of them are out there hustling and showing they care.”
Warren County did win the battle up front. The Pioneers showed they could run the ball and smothered Lincoln County any time the Falcons tried to get their ground game in gear.
Pioneer defensive lineman Jaythan Marsh was a menace, making two tackles in the Falcon backfield. Deandre Thomas also provided energy with one tackle for loss and another for no gain.
The Pioneer defense forced two fumbles. That includes one recovered by linebacker Trayton Rackley that gave Warren County a short field and led to Grayson’s 20-yard TD run. On the play, Grayson dropped back to pass, but pulled the ball in and found a free lane to the endzone down the right side.
The secondary is where the Pioneer defense sprung a leak, allowing two big plays in the passing game. The first was a 35-yard TD to the Lincoln County tight end. He ran an in route over the middle, caught the ball about 15 yards downfield and beat the defense in a foot race.
The longest play of the night was a 70-yard gain on a post pattern. The Lincoln County receiver caught the ball in stride and darted downfield before getting caught at the 3. The Falcons scored two plays later on an off-tackle run.
Both teams scored two TDs in the first half. Lincoln County held a 14-13 lead at intermission due to a bobbled Warren County extra point attempt.
Both teams substituted freely in the second half. Lincoln County kicked a FG for the only score for the final 17-13 margin.
Grayson completed passes to four different players – Ethan Cowan, Raven Lewandowski, Brandon Hennessee and Eli Buchanon. Most of the passes were near the line of scrimmage, although he did have completions of 15 yards twice.
The Pioneers have another scrimmage this Friday night at Nunley Stadium against Tullahoma. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.