If the Warren County football team is going to have a chance against Blackman Friday night in Murfreesboro, the Pioneer offense will need to find a way to increase its 12 points per game average while holding Blackman’s scoring down from its 30-point average.
This is a tough task for the battle-weary Pioneers (2-7, 1-5) who have been struggling to get the running game repaired ever since game three. The running duties have been spread out with some success since losing RB Raleigh Woods.
Blackman averages over 300 yards a game and passes for almost 100.
Without a solid running option, the Pioneer passing game has been hurried before QB Isaiah Grayson has to make a decision. In last week’s matchup with Siegel, a short pass led to an 80-yard-touchdown for the Pioneers after McCall Turner sped down the sidelines for 6 points and the PAT was good.
Warren County used the pass conservatively against the Siegel Stars when Grayson’s first pass into traffic was intercepted. The Pioneers have been practicing this week to find the right chemistry lacking thus far to be able to do a viable run-pass option successfully. They’ll need the right mixture Friday night.
Warren County’s defense will have its hands full handling the running game of Blackman. Blaze RB Master Teague has both vision and speed. Against Cookeville earlier this season, Teague had 48 touches and piled up 332 yards with three TDs.
A contact player, Teague’s going to be tough to contain. If the Pioneers are going to be competitive, they’ll definitely have to keep focus on him. With Teague as a definite threat, Blackman QB Connor Mitchell has an edge when it comes to options.
“Blackman is another well-coached team with many good athletes ... very fast on both sides of the ball,” said Warren County coach Tom Moore. “Their tailback is one of the best backs I’ve seen this year. We will need to have more focus and effort than we did last week if we want to compete against Blackman. We also have a number of boys who are banged up and are questionable for this game. We need to continue to try to improve in both practices and games as the playoffs quickly approach.”
When the two teams met at this time last year, Blackman had a 42-0 lead going into the half. The same scenario occurred in last week’s Siegel game. With the clock on continuous run, the Pioneers fielded some of their best offense, but it’s been too little too late.
Blackman is Warren County’s last regular-season game leading into the first round of the playoffs. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

Current Standings
Class 6A, Region 2

                 Region total
Oakland        6-0   9-0
Blackman      5-1   6-3
Riverdale      4-2   5-4
Smyrna         4-2   6-3
Siegel           2-4   2-7
Cookeville   2-4   5-4
Warren County  1-5   2-7
Coffee County  0-6   1-8