by Rusty Ellis
The White County Warriors are 2-0 under head coach Curtis Beaty, as Sparta took down Warren County 35-6 behind a five-touchdown effort from junior quarterback Tripp Pinion.
Both teams traded multiple empty possessions to start the game, though White County made more noise offensively by driving down inside the Warren 10-yardline before turning the ball over on downs. Sparta’s Antonio Purvis made the game’s first major play with his second interception of the game on the ensuing Warren possession, leading to a touchdown throw from Pinion to Purvis to give White County an 8-0 lead after the two-point conversion with 5:44 remaining in the first half.
The Pioneers didn’t go quietly into the locker room however, as a touchdown with 1:02 left cut the lead down to just 8-6 heading into the break.
The third quarter proved to be the Tripp Pinion show, as his 35-yard touchdown run on the second half’s first possession gave Sparta 14-6 lead. Pinion added scoring runs of 62 and 20 yards, respectively, in the frame to push the lead out to 28-6, and his final touchdown came with 7:35 remaining in the fourth to close out the 35-6 victory.
Though it wasn’t a perfect showing in Beaty’s eyes, he reiterated that his players are doing everything the coaching staff is asking of them, and that it’s mainly the little things they have to focus on cleaning up.
“We’ve got to clean up penalties, we cleaned that up in the second half and we relied on (Tripp) a lot,” Beaty said. “That’s what we’ve got to do. Rely on our defense, let that offensive line grow up and we’re going somewhere.”
Much like the Warriors win over Silverdale in week one, Pinion led an offensive explosion that saw the Warriors put up points in a hurry in the third quarter. Beaty says that’s just a product of him being both a great athlete and leader.
“Everyone in the Upper Cumberland knows about Tripp Pinion,” Beaty said. “Basketball, Football, you put him out on the table tennis court right now, he’s a winner…he’s going to carry his team, that’s what he does and he just refuses to lose.”
Many around the area had questions regarding what White County might look like this season in the post-Malaki Dowell era, but if Friday night served any purpose, it’s that Pinion and company sent the message that the Warriors are here to win.
“We’re a good football team, we lost a lot, but we’re still a good football team,” Pinion said. “We’re just as good as anyone in 4A, and we’re coming.”
Up next for Sparta is a big one, as they host heated rival Cookeville in UCR’s Game of the Week next Friday.
