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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Taylor (6-5) at Pioneer (8-3), 7 p.m.
(Winner plays LaVille-North Judson winner in a Class 1A regional)
The Pioneer football team’s crowning achievement of the season came in a 49-7 win over Carroll (Flora) last week.
Carroll came in undefeated at 10-0, but the Panthers scored 35 unanswered points to open the game and rolled to a 49-7 win. The entire second half was played with a running clock, per the IHSAA Mercy Rule.
“Carroll had weapons all over the field,” Pioneer coach Adam Berry said of the defense. “Our first priority was to stop the run. Even teams that like to pass try to establish the run.”
As for Taylor’s offense, they averaged 11 points per game during the regular season, and they had scored 30 or more points just once in their last 25 games prior to this year’s state tournament.
The days of struggling on offense appear to be over as they head into their Class 1A, Sectional 42 final against Pioneer tonight.
They started the postseason with a 35-12 win over Winamac and followed it up with a 32-6 win over Tri-County last week. This marks just the third time in the last decade that they have scored 30 or more points in back-to-back games in the last decade.
Getting junior Javionne Harris back from an apparent injury late in the regular season and pairing him in the offensive backfield with senior Jalyn Wooten has seemingly lit the match on the Titan offense.
Harris had 210 yards rushing and another 25 passing against Winamac. Harris added 122 yards rushing, 75 yards receiving and 49 yards passing against Tri-County.
Wooten had 88 yards passing and another 76 rushing against Winamac. He followed that with 113 passing and 100 rushing against Tri-County.
Berry said that Wooten and Harris will go back and forth at quarterback, and both will target receiver Keyshawn Galloway, who had two touchdown receptions against Winamac and a 35-yard touchdown catch against Tri-County.
Meanwhile, Pioneer scorched a Carroll defense for 527 total yards. Micah Rans broke Bryce Kiser’s single-game school record with 322 rushing yards and scored five touchdowns. Fullback Noah VanMeter added 156 yards and a score.
Pioneer scored more points in one game against Carroll than Carroll’s previous five opponents combined (41).
Now they will try to move the ball against a Taylor defense that appears to be peaking.
The six points Tri-County scored last week were their fewest in their last 24 games. They were averaging 52.3 points per game during a three-game winning streak before Taylor snapped it.
“It’s a defense that likes to attack,” Berry said. “They don’t have the biggest guys, but they are extremely fast. … It’s definitely going to be a challenge to move the ball.”
Taylor is appearing in a sectional final for the first time since 2006, and their six wins are their most in a season since 2008. They have never won a sectional title.
Pioneer lost to LaVille 41-0 in a sectional final in 2021, and they have not been back this far in the state tournament since. Their last sectional title came in 2020.
Pioneer has won 12 sectional titles in their history. Berry is seeking his fifth as a coach.
If Pioneer wins, they would play LaVille on the road or North Judson at home in the regional.
