Cavalier Football Defeats Pioneer: First Ever
By Ashton Macedonio
On October 7, 2022, the Cavalier football team recorded its first ever win against the Pioneer Panthers with a score of 28-8. This was historic for the program. In years past, the Cavaliers have struggled against a notoriously tough Pioneer team.
Going into the game coach Mike Zehner was well-aware of why a win against Pioneer was hard. The team specifically had some good players like Jack Kiser and the Lewellen twins. “We have been close before, but never got over the hump. Nobody up until this past year had beaten Pioneer in conference play. Winamac got them with a lot of their guys out due to COVID last season. To finish ahead of them in conference has always been a goal of ours,” said head coach Mike Zehner.
Pioneer has had a reputation for producing incredible college level athletes which had given the Cavaliers a hard time. However, many of these players have now graduated, which created an opportunity to get that first ever win against Pioneer.
The team did their best to prepare, leading up to the game “Everyone was humble but still motivated. The team was just going in with the mindset to be the first in Culver history to beat Pioneer,” said senior quarterback Jason Cadle.
It’s important that a team goes into a game with belief and confidence, but it’s equally as important to not be overconfident and arrogant. That belief mixed with humbleness played a key part in the Cavaliers historical win.
Many would think for a game of this magnitude, the coaches would have tried to increase the intensity of practice, but that wasn’t the case for the Cavaliers.
“We prepare the same each week the same way, no matter who the opponent is. I did feel like our offense and defense played extremely well. Coach Foust did a great job mixing in the run and pass. Defensively, the guys did a great job taking away their fullback,” said Coach Zehner.
Coach Foust is in his first season as offensive coordinator with the Cavaliers. Foust added a new element to the offense by training the team to run out of the shotgun which has benefited the team massively.
And from an individual standpoint, players tended to make sure they were sharp and prepared for the big game. “I worked on throwing a lot and making reads. Coach Foust and I reviewed their defense to really crack them down,” Cadle said. This sort of extra attention to detail is what can set a team apart from their opposition on a field.
The matchup on October 7th was the ninth time these foes have come face to face. Pioneer got the better of the Cavaliers on the previous eight occasions making this a first victory against Pioneer and one to remember for the Cavalier football program. It was, “a great atmosphere to be around, everyone just celebrating, listening to music, and having fun,” said Cadle during the aftermath of the game.
