What do you do after a dominating and undefeated season on the gridiron?
You rebuild.
That’s the situation the Warren County Middle School football team finds itself in, looking to replace key starters all over the field from last year’s championship squad. Coach Donnie Harris likes what he sees in practice, but admits his team will be short on experience when the Pioneers enter the season.
“This is pretty much a brand new team,” said Harris. “We had over 30 eighth-graders last year and it showed. We have six or eight guys returning from that team and most of the starting jobs are still up for grabs. We have a bunch of good kids, but they’re going to have to learn to play on a football field.”
Eli Cantrell and Nathan Elrod were taking snaps at quarterback Wednesday. They were working on handoffs and their reads.
Harris said one of the players who continually grabs attention is RB Braylon Grayson, a seventh-grader.
“He has a natural explosion,” said Harris. “He’s knocking pretty much everybody down.”
Also figuring into the mix at RB are Aaron Ashburn, Caleb Mackey and Aden Page.
The offensive and defensive lines are unsettled, according to Harris. He says there have been so many players missing practice during summer vacation, it’s been hard to achieve continuity.
Harris believes attendance will develop consistency once school begins. The first day of school is Thursday, Aug. 10, with the first game the following Tuesday, Aug. 15, at Mt. Juliet.
With the team pretty much evenly split between seventh- and eighth-graders, Harris says the younger players who see the field this year will be a huge asset next year.