NORTHFIELD — Since a three-game winning streak boosted Pioneer Valley
Regional School into the Western Mass. Division IV-A football playoffs,
the month of November has proven quite a bit rockier for the Panthers.
Pioneer,
which was bounced from the IV-A semifinals by Turners Falls High School
last week, played its Week 10 assigned game Saturday and couldn’t
generate much offense against visiting Lee High School. The Wildcats
scored less than four minutes into the game and made that lead stand up
en route to a 13-0 victory.
On five of its seven possessions,
Pioneer (5-4) ended drives in Lee territory, twice in the red zone, but
never could cross the goal line.
“We didn’t execute well at all
offensively, it’s that simple,” said Panthers coach Paul Worth. “Our
young quarterback struggled in the first half, and we put ourselves in a
hole. Give them credit, they took it to us a little bit, and they’re a
good football team. We’ve just struggled with offense the last three
weeks, and we’ve gotta straighten it out.”
Lee (5-5) needed only
3:53 after the opening kickoff to break on top, helped along by a
34-yard burst by Nic Castillo (seven carries, game-high 110 yards) that
created first-and-goal at the Pioneer 5. After Michael Hurley gained
three yards on first down, he went in on a dive play from the 2, putting
Lee up 6-0 after Nico Chacon’s extra-point try sliced wide to the left.
Sophomore Scott Perlberg got the start at quarterback for
Pioneer and completed three early passes to Alex Tyson for 31 yards,
before Tyson stepped in to call the signals. The Panthers’ opening
series went as far as the Lee 35 before they failed on fourth down, but
the Wildcats had to punt. Pioneer then drove back across midfield before
Tyson’s deep throw down the middle was intercepted by Lee’s Ben Harding
at the 10-yard line, and Harding returned the pick 26 yards to set up
Lee at its 36.
The Wildcats were hurt by an intentional-grounding
call, leading to a loss on downs when punter Ryan Ruef fielded a bad
snap from center, scrambled and threw incomplete. Pioneer took over at
midfield and got back-to-back big gains from Tristan Dresser (20 yards)
and Bryce Dobosz (15) to set up first down at the Lee 15. The Panthers
would make it to the 6 before a false-start call, then Dobosz was
stopped for no gain on third down and a 7-yard loss on fourth as Lee
took over at its own 18 to round out the half.
Pioneer took the ball to start the third quarter and punted,
but got the ball back right away when Jake Wallace jumped on a fumble by
Castillo at the Lee 38. The Panthers picked up one first down, but Lee
tightened up from there, stopping Pioneer at the 28-yard line when
Dobosz managed five yards on fourth-and-15.
That led to the
Wildcats’ most productive drive of the day, 72 yards in eight plays,
keyed by Ruef’s 11-yard run and a 42-yard sprint by Castillo that put
the ball at the Panthers’ 12. On fourth-and-3 from the 5-yard line,
quarterback Homer Winston (6-of-14 passing, 57 yards) rolled right and
hit Patrick Finnegan down the right seam, just across the goal line, for
the all-important second score. Chacon’s point-after kick made it a
13-0 game after three quarters.
On its last two series of the day,
Pioneer was forced into a 10-yard punt and then made it as far as the
Lee 12, where Ruef dropped Dobosz for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1. The
Wildcats took over with 4:59 left and ran out the clock, gashing the
tiring Panthers for five gains of 10 yards or more and ending the game
at the Pioneer 12-yard line.
“(Our defense) bent, but they didn’t
break. It’s a one-score game, we missed the extra point, if they score
and put us behind, it changes the whole complexion of the game,” said
Wildcats coach Keith Thomson. “They stepped up and made the plays when
they needed to.”
Lee owned a 272-162 edge in total offense, with
215 rushing yards. Lucas Loehr (43 yards) and Ruef (33) aided Castillo
in the ground game, while Hurley caught three passes for 35 yards.
Dobosz ran 19 times for 64 yards to lead Pioneer and Dresser was right behind with 60 yards.
The
Panthers wrap up their season Thanksgiving morning at Franklin County
Technical School, with a winning record still in their sights.
“We’re
playing with 14, 15 kids, and it’s okay, we played hard and we hung in
there,” said Worth. “Joe (Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache) is a good
friend of mine, and we’ve known each other from before I even came out
here, from the vocational association. They’ll be tough, they’re a good
football team to play.”
