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In a wild game between two high powered offenses, Pioneer outgunned Saline 62-52 on September 10^th.  Pioneer started the game quickly with a drive that resulted in an 18 yd TD pass from Andy Creal to Sam Harshberger at 10:31 of the 1^st quarter.  Following a missed extra point Pioneer led 6-0.  Saline responded quickly with a very efficient drive that resulted in a 6 yd run by QB Reese Dils and with the 2 point conversion, Saline led at the 7:11 mark of the 1^st quarter 8-6.  Following a Pioneer punt, Saline again scored on a 13 yd run by Hardy Payton to increase their lead to 16-6.  The momentum immediately shifted back to Pioneer as Austin Sanders took the ensuing kickoff 95 yds for a touchdown.  Following Andy Creal’s 2 point conversion run, Pioneer closed the gap to 16-14.

Saline scored on the first play of the 2^nd quarter on a 4 yd TD run to again increase the lead to 24-14. Pioneer rebound yet again with a 12 yd TD pass from Creal to Harshberger and at the 9:00 mark of the 2^nd quarter, Pioneer trailed 24-20.  Following an onside kick recovery by Pioneer, Creal connected with speedster Torrey Juide on a 46 yd TD pass play that provided Pioneer a 26-24 lead. 

Pioneer’s defense stiffened with a 4^th down sack by Justin Jones.  Creal was intercepted on the ensuing drive by Derek Owings from Saline.  The next drive for Saline was cut short as Pioneer’s defense responded with an interception of their own. Defensive lineman Brady Butler  tipped a pass and Ivy Gregory came down with a crucial interception to again turn the tide back to Pioneer.  Less than a minute later, Creal connected again with Sam Harshberger on a 53 TD pass and following an Austin Sanders 2 point conversion, Pioneer led 34-24.  Not to be outdone, the Saline offense drove for another TD run to tighten the score to 34-30.  Saline then recovered their own onside kick and had a chance to go ahead at halftime but the Pioneer Defense led by Justin Jones, Brady Butler, Aaron Noffke and Dillon Swanson, forced a fumble on the goal line as the half expired. Pioneer led at the half 34-30.

The second half of this seesaw game began with Saline taking the opening drive into the end zone to move ahead 38-34. Pioneer quickly responded with an 80 yd TD run by Austin Sanders. Saline had no answer all night for Sanders who led all rushers with 219 yds on 24 carries and 2 TD’s. He also added a TD reception and the long kickoff return for a TD in the first half for a total of 4 TD’s on the night.  Following a defensive stop, Pioneer got the ball back and with 1:45 left in the 3^rd quarter, Andy Creal (15 for 21 passing for 272 yds and 6 TD’s) connected with Bryan Griffin on a 3yd TD pass to extend their lead to 48-38.

The 4^th quarter began with yet another Saline score on a 23 yd run. Less than 2 minutes later, the high powered Pioneer offense responded with a 2 yd TD run by Sanders to move ahead 54-46.  Saline mishandled a punt snap on the following drive providing Pioneer excellent field position deep in Saline territory and they scored on a 1 yd Sanders run. Following the 2 point conversion Pioneer led 62-46.

Saline scored again on a 45 yd TD run however the 2 point conversion was stuffed on a great tackle by Dyon Lyons.  Pioneer led 62-52 with 4:42 left in the game.   Sam Harshberger recovered the ensuing onside kick however Pioneer’s offense had to punt no the next drive.

While Pioneer’s defense surrendered a lot of points and yards to the Saline offense, they routinely made the big play when needed. Josh Bush played his most complete game of the season with several big tackles and Justin Jones and Dillon Swanson also had key late game sacks to thwart the Saline comeback on the games final drive.

Pioneer’s offensive leaders were Austin Sanders, Andy Creal. Sam Harshberger (3 rec for 82 yds and 3 TDs), Bryan Griffin (5 rec for 24 yds and 1 TD), Torrey Juide and Robert Bondy, each with 2 receptions.

Pioneers defense was led by Robert Bondy with an eye popping 16 tackles, followed closely by Dillon Swanson with 15 tackles and Justin Jones with 14 tackles.  Josh Bush had 10 tackles , Dyon Lyons had 9 and Ivy Gregory had 7 tackles for the Pioneers.