The Big Sandy Pioneers faced off against Westby Grenora (MonDak) Thunder in the first playoff game of the season this past weekend on a wintery fall day in Big Sandy. The temperature was 18 degrees with a windchill of 6, with snow on the field. The Thunder ended the Pioneers season by beating them 30-6 on the Pioneers home field. The Pioneers were without senior leader Cooper Taylor due to injury against CJI. The Pioneers finished the season with only two losses, but both came at the end of the season.
The Pioneers had several opportunities to score on some very crucial times but unfortunately came up short. MonDak threw the ball a lot and capitalized on some great yards on a slippery field. Unfortunately, the Pioneers just couldn't get things to go their way. Lane Demontiney had a great game, running for several yards throughout the game and giving the Pioneers several first-down opportunities. Karter Jurenka also had some great catches for positive yards for the Pioneers. Ryder Galbavy also had a great game offensively, and MonDak had a hard time taking Ryder to the ground.
Sam and Wes Cox lead the team defensively, like always, with their tenacious defense, including two interceptions for Wes. Eyon Sherburn also had some great tackles on defense. Ryder had a blocked kick, as well as some great tackles too.
The Pioneers only score for the game came late in the 4th quarter with a Karter run, putting the Pioneers on the board, but unfortunately, not enough time in the game to come back.
The Pioneers had a great season, and a lot of players got playing time. When asked about how the coaches felt about the game, Tucker had this to say, "The boys battled this year and were able to gut out a lot of games for us. The young players got a lot of valuable playing time. In the end, injuries and misfortune got in the way for the Pioneers".
Congratulations to the Pioneer football team on a great season!
