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WCMS falls to Saints in day game
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AJ Whitman, pictured in a home game, put the Pioneers up in DeKalb County Friday with a long TD run, but WCMS ultimately fell 10-8 to the Saints.

The WCMS Pioneers are unbeaten no longer. Warren County lost at DeKalb County 10-8 Friday, falling for the first time after opening with impressive home wins over Coffee County and Grundy County.

Exhaustion may have gotten the best of the Pioneers Friday as they were playing their second game in four days and third in the span of 11 days. An offense that had been explosive was held in check in Smithville and the defense was burned on one play – just enough to let the Saints prevail.

“We said it Tuesday after the game that if we didn’t clean up our execution and perform offensively, it would come back to bite us,” said coach Ben Matheney following Friday’s day game. “I think that happened to us today. DeKalb County controlled the line of scrimmage and that was the difference.”

Warren County got off to a quick start, stopping DeKalb County on its opening drive and getting the ball back near midfield. It only took one play for the Pioneers to reach the endzone, with AJ Whitman breaking a couple of tackles while working off the right side and rushing down the sideline for a 60-yard score. 

Huck Damon punched in the 2-point conversion, scoring on a run that coach Matheney referred to as “pure determination to score.”

After the hot start, nothing seemed to go right for Warren County. When the Pioneers thought they had regained momentum in the second quarter by forcing a fumble when DeKalb County was driving for a score, the Saints immediately got the ball back.

Warren County, operating in the shadows of its own goal posts, was stopped for a safety to make it 8-2. Two plays after kicking off to the Saints, DeKalb County connected on a long pass play to tie the game and took the lead for good on a successful 2-point conversion.

The Pioneer offense could never get on track in the second half and DeKalb County milked the clock every chance it got. Warren County’s last-ditch effort to prevail in the final two minutes was thwarted by an interception. The Saints lined up in victory formation after the pick and iced the clock for the victory.

Warren County will try to bounce back when it heads to Shelbyville Tuesday to face the Eagles, considered one of the top teams in the CTC, at 6:30 p.m.