Pioneer 9/715

Rans runs for 116 yards, scores lone Panther TD on first-quarter sneak

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

ROYAL CENTER — Javionne Harris threw a touchdown pass and also ran for two touchdowns, including a 94-yard jaunt in the third quarter, and he also intercepted a pass on defense to lead the Taylor football team to a 28-6 win over Pioneer in the Class 1A, Sectional 42 final at The Pit Friday.

Taylor improved to 7-5. Pioneer finished 8-4.

The sectional title is the first in Taylor history. In fact, this marks the first time since 2007 and just the second time in the last 25 years that Taylor has had a three-game winning streak at any point of a season.

Only two other times in school history – 1988 and 2006 – had Taylor even reached a sectional final, yet they won a sectional that included two teams that had undefeated regular seasons (Carroll (Flora) and Frontier) and 12-time sectional champion Pioneer, who had been ranked in the top 10 for much of the season.

Taylor will next host No. 1 North Judson in a regional. North Judson took out LaVille 44-18 in the Sectional 41 final Friday.

Pioneer has not won a sectional title since the 2020 team made it to the semistate. They have gone from two wins in 2022 to five wins last year to eight wins this year.

“It definitely needs to get better,” Pioneer coach Adam Berry said. “Not much a coach can say after a loss when your season’s over. I told the guys that, but one thing I did say was for the returning guys, remember this taste. Remember this sour, bad taste. When we start offseason workouts, have this be motivation, so we don’t have this feeling again next year.

“We bring a lot of guys back. I hope they take that to heart. I hope they compete in their other sports and see what we can do next year.”

Pioneer junior quarterback Micah Rans followed his school-record 322-yard rushing performance against Carroll last week with 116 more yards on the ground on 21 carries.

He scored Pioneer’s lone touchdown on a quarterback sneak with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.

That gave Pioneer a 6-0 lead, but Taylor finished with 28 unanswered points in the second half.

Rans and teammate J.J. Solano also had interceptions on defense in the first half.

But Pioneer had four giveaways in the second half, and two of them led to touchdowns.

Taylor had 81 yards of offense in the first half and 230 yards in the second half.

The Titans relied on a spread attack in which Harris, a junior, and Jalyn Wooten, a senior, often traded off at quarterback and running back.

Taylor drove 63 yards in 12 plays to start the second half. Harris had a 3-yard run to convert a third-and-1, and Wooten converted a third-and-1 with a five-yard run.

Then facing a third-and-7 from the Pioneer 20, Taylor went with a play-action pass. Harris faked to Wooten and rolled to his left. With Eli Guffey charging at him, he unleashed a bullet that Xavyn Pugh came down with in the end zone.

The ensuing extra-point snap was low, and Harris, who is the holder, quickly fielded it and rolled to his right and just crossed the goal line inside the pylon for the go-ahead two-point conversion to give Taylor an 8-6 lead.

Pioneer drove from their own 27 to the Taylor 16 in a 12-play span on their next drive. Rans had runs of 16 and 10 yards, Philip McFatridge had a 9-yard run, and Noah VanMeter had a 13-yard run that led to a first down at the Taylor 13.

But VanMeter was stopped for no gain, Rans was stopped for no gain, and then Rans lost three yards going to his right.

Pioneer elected to go for it on fourth-and-13, but Harris intercepted Rans’ pass intended for Shiloh Rine in the end zone and returned it to the 6 before stepping out of bounds.

Taylor then called timeout.

Then came a lead play out of the shotgun with Harris at quarterback and Wooten at running back. Harris followed Wooten and started toward his own sideline. Three receivers were also on that side as part of Taylor’s spread formation.

Wooten blocked Shiloh Rine and knocked him off balance while the receivers maintained their blocks. Harris straddled the sideline until the 35 when Pioneer’s Cole Franklin pursued him.

When Harris saw Franklin, he cut back towards the middle of the field and Franklin’s feet went out from under him.

The footrace was now on, and Harris won that race as McFatridge and Rans tried to chase him down to no avail. The 94-yard touchdown and Nathan Spray’s extra point made it a two-possession game at 15-6.

After a Pioneer three-and-out, Harris showcased his speed with a 40-yard run down the far sideline for another first down at the Pioneer 13.

The drive would conclude with Wooten, now playing quarterback, going around the left perimeter from the 8 and moving the pile the final 3 yards for a touchdown and a 22-6 lead.

Taylor’s final score came after Rans muffed a punt return on his own 10 and McClatchey recovered. Harris scored on a quarterback keeper on the next play to complete the scoring.

“It was just 12 (Harris) made plays,” Berry said. “That’s basically what changed from the first half to the second half – 12 made plays. A lot of times, we had guys where we needed to be, and he made us miss and showed his speed. We were able to get two interceptions in the first half, and obviously, they made some adjustments, and he made great reads and put the ball where it needed to be, and he even made a heck of a play on defense with that interception when we were going in. He was just a difference maker.”

Pioneer received the opening kickoff and took the first possession and drove from their own 44 to the Taylor 38, but a personal foul penalty for a chop block would eventually lead to a punt.

But after forcing Taylor to punt, the Panthers drove 69 yards in 12 plays. Rans had runs of 14, 9 and 15 yards to start the drive. After Taylor called timeout, VanMeter had runs of 4, 5 and 15 yards as Pioneer got to the 12.

Three plays later, Rine converted a third-and-4 on a jet sweep down to the Titan 2, and two plays later, Rans followed center Brady Price to the end zone.

McFatridge missed the extra point, but Pioneer led 6-0.

“It may not have looked like it, but we were doing what we needed to do offensively,” Berry said. “But just had some setbacks. Even early on, we had a jet sweep for a big gain and had a chop block, and that put us back 15 yards, and we just couldn’t come back from that. But… especially first half, I thought we were moving the ball. Just couldn’t convert when we needed to.”

Taylor 28, Pioneer 6

Taylor 0 0 15 13 – 28

Pioneer 6 0 0 0 – 6

First quarter

PIO – Micah Rans 1 run (kick failed)

Second quarter

(no scoring)

Third quarter

TAY – Xavyn Pugh 20 pass from Javionne Harris (Harris run)

TAY – Harris 94 run (Nathan Spray kick)

Fourth quarter

TAY – Jalyn Wooten 8 run (Spray kick)