FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: Pioneer rolls to win at Winamac
Aug. 28—For a second consecutive year Pioneer recorded a lopsided win over Winamac.
The Panthers defeated the Warriors 37-0 Friday night at Roudebush Field.
Senior fullback Rylahn Toloza had another big game for the Panthers (2-0, 1-0 HNAC) with 16 carries for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Micah Rans had 103 yards and three touchdowns on just five attempts. Senior wingback Cayden Hill had 56 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Senior wingback Tyler Zellers added 26 yards on three totes. Rans was 1-of-4 passing for 8 yards.
Eli Guffey and JJ Solano had 10 tackles apiece to lead the Pioneer defense. Noah VanMeter had nine tackles and 1.5 sacks. Brady Price had eight tackles. Hill and Blu Rosen each had a forced fumble and Zellers and Mikaden Toloza each had a fumble recovery.
Pioneer led 6-0 after one quarter, 18-0 at halftime and 37-0 after three.
Willis Dennis Jr. had 62 yards rushing on 15 attempts to lead the Warriors (0-2, 0-2). Maddox Bucinski had 40 yards on 12 carries. Max Gearhart was 2-of-5 passing for 16 yards.
Aiden Schooler had 12 tackles to lead the Winamac defense. Ethan Burgess had 11 tackles. Cash Roth added nine tackles and an interception.
Pioneer coach Adam Berry told WHZR in a postgame interview that his team was able to grind another win out.
"It was a lot warmer than it was last Friday and we still had a very limited number of players that played. A lot of those guys played all three phases on offense, defense and special teams. They were pretty exhausted that first half but we talked at halftime, you can't show it. I didn't think they did that second half. I'm very pleased overall with how we played but especially that second half. I thought our line kept firing out and our defense held them out of the end zone," Berry said.
"With our offense it's all about deception where a lot of plays look the same to start. I thought Toloza and Micah did a great job. Micah even pitched it some so that just adds another threat. Then he was pretty savvy on the fake pitches and that little burst. So we're very pleased with that 1-2 punch. Just need to get our wings going a little bit more to be more balanced but we're very pleased here. Our wings, we expect them to block a lot. We know they help spring a lot of those plays. Overall I'm just extremely happy with how we played."
Pioneer travels to Class 2A No. 9 LaVille (2-0, 1-0) Friday. Winamac travels to North White (2-0).
CASS 34, NORTHFIELD 0
Cass made a statement in its first-ever Three Rivers Conference game, putting the visitors in a 28-0 hole by halftime. The Kings pushed the lead to 34-0 after three quarters.
LJ Hillis was 6-of-9 passing for 92 yards and two touchdowns for the Kings (1-1). He added a 16-yard TD run. Cooper Frey had three catches for 79 yards and two TDs and added 36 yards on the ground on 10 attempts. Trevor Rowe led the rushing attack with 69 yards and a TD on six attempts. Jonathan Mack had 46 yards on five carries. Braylen Mayhill added 24 yards and a TD on six attempts.
Hillis led the defense with 10 tackles and Eli Martin added nine tackles.
The Kings go on the road next Friday to visit Peru (2-0, 1-0) in TRC play.
N. JUDSON 52, CASTON 7
The Comets (0-2, 0-1 HNAC) put up 199 yards of offense but it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with Class A No. 3 North Judson (2-0, 2-0).
The Bluejays led 20-0 after one quarter, 27-7 at halftime and 39-7 after three.
The Comets rushed for 124 yards on 21 carries in the game. Jabez Yarber led with 51 yards on 15 carries. Grant Yadon added 43 yards and a TD on two attempts. Gavin Mollenkopf was 8-of-16 passing for 75 yards. Kyle Roudebush had a 36-yard catch. Yadon had five catches for 29 yards. Yarber added two catches for 10 yards.
Mollenkopf had an interception on defense. Yarber led with seven tackles. Yadon had five tackles and a blocked kick. Pete DuVall had a forced fumble. Levi Martin added a sack.
Caston travels to Class A No. 11 Triton (1-1, 0-1) Friday.
