News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
White County Warriors Head Coach Curtis Beaty said he expects the community to celebrate the senior class this week when Livingston visits Sparta for the home finale.
The 7-2 Warriors are playoff bound for the first time since 2022. They will be the second seed in the 4A region 4 district whether they win or lose this Friday. Beaty said his players knew making the playoffs was not a guarantee, so he is excited to see their campaign extend past the regular season.
“I’m extremely proud of them, they’ve worked their tails off and they continue to work their tails off,” Beaty said. “They battle through adversity every day, not just every week with different things that happen here. And they continue to show up and show out so to say.”
The team finds itself in the midst of a four-game win streak and in that stretch have averaged 28.5 points a game while holding teams to just 11.5 points. Beaty said the team is performing on all three sides of the ball, but noted the defensive line as an especially important unit.
“They all just continue to try and do what they’re supposed to do,” Beaty said. “As we’ve seen on Friday, as the game went on they just seemed to get better and they ended that last drive with two sacks. So, pretty impressive group of kids that continue to fit our bill of trying to get better everyday.”
Beaty said the defensive line is lead by Hunter Broyles and Lex Winfree but the unit cycles through experienced seniors for depth. As a sophomore, Winfree has been a wrecking ball for this Warriors defense, this season Winfree has multiple games of recording two or more sacks.
With their last game of the regular season being at home, Beaty said he expects a large turnout to honor the efforts of the senior class.
“It’s always a fun memory to look back on,” Beaty said. “But it is always much sweeter when you know that that game’s not your last one. You get an opportunity to go into the playoffs and continue to play football for as long as you win.”
