FOOTBALL: Pioneer Panthers 2022 preview

Aug. 19—After losing several starters to graduation, the Pioneer football team has a lot of question marks entering this season.

But the goal for the Panthers remains the same, and that is to continue the excellence the program has enjoyed over the last three decades.

"Every year being at Pioneer you have high expectations," seventh-year head coach Adam Berry said. "The players have high expectations. We're always looking for that conference championship. We're always looking for that sectional championship. After that the sky's the limit for making a run. As we've seen in the past we've had great teams that didn't get that conference title, didn't get that sectional title. It takes a lot of hard work.

"It's one of those things you have to get better every week. That's pretty cliche but it's true. Those years we won back-to-back obviously we had some great talent, some of the best talent in 1A, but those guys truly went to work every day every week in practice. They didn't care who the opponent was. That's something as a coaching staff we stress to our players.

"We lose a lot from last year. Every single one of our seniors contributed whether they were the punter/kicker, whether they were a two-way starter on offense and defense. We're going to have to have a lot of guys step up. But we are excited with the guys we have. Very early in the season but we've been very impressed with how they work. We have a lot of young guys we're excited about and we're real excited about our returning letterwinners."

The Panthers are back in Class A this year and football and are looking to be state contenders.

They have a good mix of young and old this season. They'll start four freshmen in Week 1. But they also have good-sized group of veterans back as well.

Caleb Sweet returns as the starting quarterback. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior enters in a different spot than he was a year ago.

"He's not starting as a tackle for one thing," Berry noted. "He went from tackle and we moved him to tight end and then to quarterback.

"He's been a great leader so far. The last couple years he's had the best arm on the team and he can run the ball. We're hoping to utilize that. He looks like he's a step or two quicker this year. We're hoping he's a dual-threat quarterback that you love to have on offense."

Berry said the Panthers have a 1A and 1B option at fullback with junior Rylahn Toloza (5-7, 160) and senior Seth Schmehl (5-7, 154). He added they both run hard and fight for extra yardage.

Junior Cayden Hill (6-0, 162) is a big-play threat at wingback and wide receiver.

"Cayden Hill is stepping up as an upperclassman as a junior," Berry said. "He had a great freshman and sophomore year and we're excited to see what he can do as a junior. He's probably our most athletic and one of our fastest kids. We'll try to get the ball in his hands catching or running and let him be a playmaker."

Junior Tyler Zellers (5-8, 170) and senior Peyton Schnurpel (6-1, 164) will also play wingback. Senior Owen Miller (6-2, 200) will start at tight end.

The offensive line includes seniors Brenton Gaumer (5-10, 283) and Cody LeGrand (5-5, 207) at tackle. Freshman Liam Rouch (6-2, 261) can rotate in. The guards are senior Eli Miller (6-1, 215) and freshman Noah Van Meter (5-9, 160). The starting center is also a freshman, Tyler Schnurpel (6-0, 198). Sophomores Silas Rouch (6-2, 199) and Grant Campbell (5-11, 197) and freshman Brady Price (5-7, 195) can also rotate in.

Hill will start at safety on defense. Berry said the Panthers are focused on creating more turnovers which they didn't do a lot of last season.

Toloza will start at one corner and freshman Tuff Uebler (5-4, 123) will start at the other. Freshman Eli Guffey (5-6, 140) will start at safety. Sophomore Eli Nicoll (6-0, 152) and senior Brian Gluth (5-5, 134) are also in the mix for playing time.

Berry said all four of his freshman starters are tough and know how to play.

Sweet will start at middle linebacker. Zellers will be at one outside spot and Van Meter will start at the other as a two-way starter as a freshman.

"That doesn't happen a lot at Pioneer," Berry said, "but he's worked hard and he's earned it."

The defensive line will include Schnurpel, the Miller twins, Cody LeGrand and Brenton Gaumer.

Senior Eli Rans, who has played a lot of soccer, is the Panthers' kicker.

"The coaching staff has been very pleased with how the start of the season has gone," Berry said. "The seniors have taken the younger guys under their wings and are teaching them. It's pretty exciting."

The Panthers travel to Lewis Cass to start the season. Pioneer leads the all-time series 8-7.

"We weren't able to see them last year but I know they return a lot of guys," Berry said. "Coach Mannering and their coaching staff will have them prepared and they're not going to make a lot of mistakes. We know we're going to be in for a battle. They return a lot of people and have some great athletes over there. Lewis Cass will give us a great gauge to see where we are at the start of the season. We know every year it's going to be a battle."