Pioneers celebrate their Seniors, and the lights go out at halftime

What a crazy ending to a great game by the Pioneer football team. The second half of the Chili Feed game will be played Monday night (October 7th), so we will have that written up for you in next week's paper. But in the meantime, the Pioneers had a very dominating game against Valier and were up 38-6 when the game got rescheduled due to the wind knocking the power out.

Wes Cox started the Pioneers off with a few runs, getting 10 yards, 25 yards, and 12 yards. Aidan Morsette also ran for a 1st down, and on 4th and goal, Karter Jurenka scored a touchdown. And with a Ty Terry good extra point, the Pioneers went up 8-0. Ryder Galbavy had 2 HUGE tackles on defense. Quinn Rodewald also had a nice tackle, But Valier broke through the defense and scored a touchdown but missed the extra point, putting the Pioneers up 8-6. On the kick return, Karter Jurenka ran it back 77 yards and scored for the Pioneers, putting them up 14-6. On defense, Quinn and Karter both had great tackles, causing Valier to punt. On offense, the Pioneers had a pitch to Wes for 10 yards but got called back due to a penalty, making it 3rd and 21, and with 6 seconds in the 1st quarter, the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs. Aidan Morsette ended the quarter for the Pioneers with a big tackle for a loss to Valier.

Valier started the 2nd quarter with the ball and 3rd and long, which turned into 4th and long. Dolan Sunchild chased down the Valier player and caused them to turn the ball over on downs. After a nice run on offense from Wes, the Pioneers faced a 4th and 4, but Karter got a first down, which set up Wes to score on a 25-yard touchdown run. With another Ty Terry good kick, the Pioneers went up 22-6. The Pioneers defense was fantastic, with lots of multiple Pioneers tackling as a team. Valier had to punt on a 4th down, and Karter had a nice return with 25 yards. Quinn had a great throw to Ryder for another Pioneer touchdown, and another good kick from Ty put the Pioneers up 30-6. On defense, Karter was so close to an interception, and Eyon Sherburn had a nice push out of bounds. Wes and Dolan both sacked the quarterback, and Valier turned the ball over on downs. Karter had a nice pass to Quinn for a touchdown, and another good kick from Ty put the Pioneers up 38-6. The last few minutes of the half were very entertaining, with a nice fumble recovery from Aidan, but the Pioneers then, in return, threw an interception. And Valier drove the field and was within touchdown range. A Valier player broke a few tackles and only had one man to beat, but Karter stopped him just a yard short of the end zone, which then sent them into halftime.

When I asked Coach Tucker about his thoughts on the game, he said, "It is a crazy way to postpone the game. I haven't had that happen before. The boys played a great first half and will resume the game on Monday. We'll have a 38-6 lead. So, hopefully, we can finish the game off well. The boys played really well in the first half. Karter had a nice touchdown run and punt return score in the first quarter. Wes, Quinn, and Ryder all had touchdowns in the 2nd quarter. The defense played really well after Valier's first drive. Middle school finished the season 6-1, with a big win against Valier to end the season. Those youngsters played really well this season."