Football Preview: Pioneer Panthers vs. Caston Comets
Pioneer has gone 10-0 against Caston recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Pioneer Panthers will challenge the Caston Comets at 7:00 p.m. Pioneer is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 33.6 points per game this season.
Pioneer is headed into Friday's contest hungry for a win as their strong season has now been derailed by two straight defeats. They had to suffer through a 60-18 loss at the hands of North Judson-San Pierre. While losing is never fun, the Panthers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Indiana football rankings (they are ranked 162nd, while the Bluejays are ranked 46th).
Despite the loss, Pioneer got top-tier performance from Micah Rans, who rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries, and also threw for 62 yards and a touchdown. Rans is becoming a predictor of Pioneer's success: when he posts at least 100 rushing yards the team is undefeated (and 2-3 when he doesn't).
Meanwhile, while it was Caston who put the first points on the board on Friday, it was Winamac who put up more. Caston took a 16-11 hit to the loss column at the hands of Winamac. The Comets just can't catch a break and have now endured three defeats in a row.
Caston might have lost, but man, Jabez Yarber was a machine: he rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown. That's the most rushing yards Yarber has posted since back in September of 2023.
Pioneer's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-3. As for Caston, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-7.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Pioneer has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 275 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Caston struggles in that department as they've been averaging 174.7. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for Pioneer against Caston in their previous matchup back in September, as the squad secured a 63-6 win. In that match, Pioneer amassed a halftime lead of 41-6, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
