Despite the Pioneers' loss against Hot Springs this past weekend, their resilience and hard work on the field were truly commendable. The final score of 0-46 doesn't fully reflect the intense battle they fought. The field conditions, muddy and slippery, posed a challenge for both teams. The Pioneers, however, showed true grit and their effort was a delight to watch.
They had a great start to the game and used much of the game clock to drive the field. There was a nice pass from Quinn Rodewald to Ryder Galbavy for 20 yards, followed by a great run by Wes Cox. Karter Jurenka also had a great run for another first down for the Pioneers, but Hot Springs stopped them on 4th down. On defense, Wes had back-to-back tackles, followed by a Karter tackle as well. However, Hot Springs kept the momentum and had two first downs in a row. They scored, but it was called back due to an offensive hold. A couple of big stops by Ryder and Wes put Hot Springs in a 4th down situation, and the Pioneers got a BIG stop at the goal line, making Hot Springs turn the ball over on downs. After a good attempt with runs by Karter and We, the Pioneers had to punt. Hot Springs also turned around and had to punt after a couple of big penalties. Karter had a big 30-yard punt return, but the Pioneers threw an interception with 15 seconds left and put Hot Springs in a position to score a touchdown, putting the Pioneers down 0-8 at the end of the 1st quarter.
The 2nd quarter started with a nice Karter to Wes pass for a 20-yard pickup and then a Karter run for 25 yards, but again, the Pioneers fell short on the 4th down and gave the ball back to Hot Springs. Karter and Aidan Morsette made big tackles on defense to stop the Hot Springs push down the field. Hot Springs kept driving, though, and scored another touchdown, putting the Pioneers down 0-16. Back-to-back, there were great passes from Karter to Eyon Sherburn for a gain of 44 yards and another first down from Karter to Ryder. With only 1:30 left on the clock before half, the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs, and Hot Springs scored on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left. As the Pioneers try for one more push before the half, Ty Terry gets a massive block for a nice Wes run, but with 10 seconds to go, the Pioneers fumble giving the ball back to Hot Springs for one last chance before the half. They lobbed up a pass, but Karter tipped it, and Wes got the pick to end the half with the Pioneers down 0-24.
The Pioneers opened up the 2nd half with some great defensive tackles from Wes, Aidan, Karter, and Warren Hartley, making Hot Springs have to punt. After two great runs by Wes, the Pioneers end up in another 4th down situation and, unfortunately, turn the ball over on downs. Aidan with another great tackle, but Hot Springs scores on another touchdown, putting the Pioneers down 0-32. The Pioneers kept working hard and had a great end to the 3rd quarter with a big 30-yard run from Aidan, a pitch from Aidan to Karter for 20 yards, and another Karter run for 30 yards, but the Pioneers had some penalties and another turnover on downs. The Pioneers ended the quarter with great tackles from Aidan, Wes, Karter, Warren, and Braxton Hajenga.
Hot Springs started the 4th quarter with a bang and scored in the first 4 seconds, putting the Pioneers down 0-38 after Warren blocked the extra point kick. Aidan and Wes both continued with some great plays and runs with some big yardage, but after a 4th down fumble, Hot Springs scored the game's final touchdown, with a final score of 0-46.
When I asked Coach Tucker about his thoughts about the game, he said, "It was a tough game for us. The boys played hard, but eventually we ran out of steam after failing to convert one of our many red zone trips. I look forwad to making improvements in strategy and preparing for our game against Northstar."
