Who will start at quarterback Friday night, the question for the White County Warriors.
Warrior Quarterback Tripp Pinion suffered a leg injury in the first quarter last Friday and did not return. Head Coach Curtis Beaty said the injury was scary for the Warriors, but the team got some good news over the weekend.
“We don’t think it’s near as severe as we first anticipated, so that’s always a positive,” Beaty said. “But right now we’re just playing him day by day. Obviously this is a non-region contest, so if he’s not at 100% number three won’t be in the lineup Friday night. But if he’s at 100% then we’ll give him a go.”
When Pinion went down, fans got a chance to see Tripp’s backup, his brother Tucker. Tucker Pinion is a sophomore and Beaty said that Tucker has a very high football IQ, but is not a carbon copy of his older brother.
“He’s not going to necessarily break off a massive run right now as a sophomore,” Beaty said. “But he does throw a ball pretty good. He will always manage the game in the right situation and make sure to try to get the guy the ball that needs the ball in that moment.”
Beaty said both Tripp and Tucker both consume as much football as possible and are both wise beyond their years. He said both have qualities that make them special at the quarterback position, but those qualities are just different.
Ahead of their week eight road trip to take on the Christian Academy of Knoxville, Beaty said a win would be big for the program to roll into their BYE week with a 6-2 record.
“On top of that, if for some reason Tripp’s not able to play and you up there and get a win with the backup quarterback,” Beaty said. “It just shows our kids that ‘hey, we’re not a one man show, we’re a team’.”
Kickoff Friday at 6pm central.