Bledsoe seeks simple aggression

PIKEVILLE, Tenn. — Dickie Brown is hard to forget at Bledsoe County even though the Warriors had two coaches after he left for White County before Jason Reel was hired last spring.

Brown, who’s now at York Institute, was the last coach to take Bledsoe on a winning ride. But that’s been a decade, and most of today’s players were just getting acquainted with their first fishing rod and looking forward to their first deer hunt back then.

One who remembers that last winning season is Reel, a former Bledsoe center and linebacker who walked on at Tennessee and spent several seasons in Knoxville as a defensive lineman.

He wants to win, and so does his team, and it appears the town and the folks on the mountains on either side of state highway 127, which splits the county, want it as well.

Improvement won’t be hard. The Warriors won only one game last year.

“I have told them I’m not going 1-9,” Reel declared. “They don’t seem to want that taste in their mouths ever again.”

Linebacker and fullback Chase Brown endured it and remembers it.

“It wasn’t too good of a season. We weren’t really a team,” he said. “We thought we were better than what we were. There wasn’t enough leadership, and it showed on the field.”

Practice habits were poor and the idea of accepting defeat got easier to swallow each week.

“The first thing we worked on was their attitude — ‘They can’ instead of ‘They can’t’ — and their energy,” Reel said. “They have bought into it so far. I feel like they have become better people and that their attitude change is obvious.”

The positive attitude helps, but good football teams also have talent, experience and numbers.

The Warriors boast 13 returning starters, but there also are youngsters who may press for playing time. The roster has doubled to more than 60 from the end of the 2008 season.

“There is a lot more leadership. Guys are taking better care of themselves and their gear. We’re working harder, the guys are closer, and everybody has a lot of respect for Coach,” said Chase Brown, a fourth-year starter who has endured a 10-22 record for his first three years. “There is a different mentality down here.”

Another part of the new mindset is Reel’s desire to be aggressive on both sides of the ball.

“Last year we were more of a wing-T offense and tried misdirection. This year we’re going to line up and go north and south as quick as we can,” the coach said.

His split-back offense is going to be run and run some more.

“With the number of kids we have, there is the luxury of having the personnel we need,” Reel said. “We do have the athletes to do what we want to do. We have quarterbacks (Tyler Harvey and Cody Holloway) who can make the throws, but if we’re throwing deeper than 1-20 yards, something has gone bad wrong.”

The philosophy is simple.

“We’ll master two plays before we move on. My philosophy is to keep it simple,” Reel said. “We’re going to be more of a beat-you-to-death team with four plays and eight formations.

Most of the throwing Harvey and Holloway will do should be tossing as the third option of the Warriors’ option offense. It’s going to be dive, keep or pitch.

Running often and running quickly won’t be just an offensive thing. The Warriors are going to a 3-3 stack defensively, and Reel intends for them to carry the aggressive attitude on that side as well.

Bledsoe County Warriors

Coach: Jason Reel (first year as a head coach)

Last time: 1-9

Enrollment: 542

On the roster: 60

Returning starters (O/D/K): 8/9/0

Names that you know: Fullback/linebacker Chase Brown and quarterbacks Tyler Harvey and Cody Holloway. Brown will be in his fourth year as a starter. Harvey has ability, Reel said, and Holloway has shown he can take hard hits and keep getting up, a must for an option quarterback.

Name you will know: Offensive lineman Jesse Sandell (6-foot-2, 240). Freshmen don’t often make an impact, especially in the line, but this one will.

2009 schedule

Aug. 21 At Coalfield

Aug. 28 At Marion County

Sept. 4 Open

Sept. 11 At Midway

Sept. 18 Notre Dame

Sept. 25 Faith Covenant

Oct. 2 At Sequatchie County

Oct. 9 Harriman

Oct. 16 Grundy County

Oct. 23 Rockwood

Oct. 30 Chattanooga Christian

By the numbers

10

Years since the Warriors had a winning season. They were 8-4 and reached the playoffs’ second round in 1998. Their only 10-win season since 1980 was 10-2 in 1995. Dickie Brown was the coach each of those years.