By Noah Resnicow
At the beginning of the season, the Pioneer football team opened the season with high hopes. They began the season with a #9 ranking in the state, but eventually fell to a disappointing 3-6 record.
The first victory came against crosstown rival Huron, and the team ended the season with two wins over Ypsilanti Lincoln. Now, the program hopes to improve and look forward to the future.
The team’s talented roster was a large reason for the preseason optimism.
“We thought that we were gonna be better because we have veterans like Antjuan (Simmons), and JG (Nwogu),” said senior safety Yeajoon Lee. However, all the high hopes led to what some team members saw as a lack of effort during practice which was showcased during the first game of the season at Michigan Stadium versus Muskegon. “[The Muskegon game] was a wake up call, we weren’t really working at practice,” said Lee.
The slow start can be attributed to other factors as well. The coaches and players reportedly had a disagreement that temporarily divided the team.
“The first two games it was tough because coaches and players got in a little fight,” said Lee. The tension created some difficult relationships for a time. “It’s been a little rough,” said senior offensive tackle Jordan Nwogu.
The Pioneers also lost all of their quarterbacks from last season’s varsity team. Last season’s starter John Kunec graduated this past spring, Jackson Hawkins decided to focus on baseball, and Jimmy Williams transferred schools. Junior Nate Yuhas started the season as the Pioneer’s quarterback, and senior Cedric Benton took over duties during the season. Changing quarterbacks can have an immediate effect on a team, because often the man behind center helps create a team’s identity and calls all of the plays. The losses of these signal callers, as well as other losses on the offensive line, greatly contributed to the struggles this year.
The disagreements, though, improved as the season went on. “We’ve had our ups and downs,” said senior wide receiver Brian Muckstadt. Players say the coaches stayed positive and created a better environment. They have also put the losses upon themselves rather than blaming the players. “[The coaches have] taken responsibility. They tried different ways to try to keep the morale up,” said Nwogu.
The team has been addressing their mistakes, and the players attribute their poor record to internal blunders. “I think it’s basically that we’re beating ourselves. It’s just dumb penalties and poor execution,” said Muckstadt.
Though the season didn’t end as they had hoped, team members say they turned a corner in the second half. “After the Bedford game and the Huron game we started to play more as a team. We played for each other instead of ourselves,” said Lee. “[The Huron game] was important in the fact that we got a win, but it was expected.”
As a response to adversity, the team was not concerned with the losses and instead focused on the future.
Even though Pioneer is one of the most successful programs in the history of Michigan high school football, the team is not immune to hard times. While schools like Saline and Cass Tech continue to boast recent success, the Pioneers have lacked consistency of players. The addition of Skyline lowered the enrollment at Pioneer, and therefore the talent pool. However, the Pioneers are optimistic about their future, even after an underachieving season.
“I think the program is in good hands,” said Lee.
The first victory came against crosstown rival Huron, and the team ended the season with two wins over Ypsilanti Lincoln. Now, the program hopes to improve and look forward to the future.
The team’s talented roster was a large reason for the preseason optimism.
“We thought that we were gonna be better because we have veterans like Antjuan (Simmons), and JG (Nwogu),” said senior safety Yeajoon Lee. However, all the high hopes led to what some team members saw as a lack of effort during practice which was showcased during the first game of the season at Michigan Stadium versus Muskegon. “[The Muskegon game] was a wake up call, we weren’t really working at practice,” said Lee.
The slow start can be attributed to other factors as well. The coaches and players reportedly had a disagreement that temporarily divided the team.
“The first two games it was tough because coaches and players got in a little fight,” said Lee. The tension created some difficult relationships for a time. “It’s been a little rough,” said senior offensive tackle Jordan Nwogu.
The Pioneers also lost all of their quarterbacks from last season’s varsity team. Last season’s starter John Kunec graduated this past spring, Jackson Hawkins decided to focus on baseball, and Jimmy Williams transferred schools. Junior Nate Yuhas started the season as the Pioneer’s quarterback, and senior Cedric Benton took over duties during the season. Changing quarterbacks can have an immediate effect on a team, because often the man behind center helps create a team’s identity and calls all of the plays. The losses of these signal callers, as well as other losses on the offensive line, greatly contributed to the struggles this year.
The disagreements, though, improved as the season went on. “We’ve had our ups and downs,” said senior wide receiver Brian Muckstadt. Players say the coaches stayed positive and created a better environment. They have also put the losses upon themselves rather than blaming the players. “[The coaches have] taken responsibility. They tried different ways to try to keep the morale up,” said Nwogu.
The team has been addressing their mistakes, and the players attribute their poor record to internal blunders. “I think it’s basically that we’re beating ourselves. It’s just dumb penalties and poor execution,” said Muckstadt.
Though the season didn’t end as they had hoped, team members say they turned a corner in the second half. “After the Bedford game and the Huron game we started to play more as a team. We played for each other instead of ourselves,” said Lee. “[The Huron game] was important in the fact that we got a win, but it was expected.”
As a response to adversity, the team was not concerned with the losses and instead focused on the future.
Even though Pioneer is one of the most successful programs in the history of Michigan high school football, the team is not immune to hard times. While schools like Saline and Cass Tech continue to boast recent success, the Pioneers have lacked consistency of players. The addition of Skyline lowered the enrollment at Pioneer, and therefore the talent pool. However, the Pioneers are optimistic about their future, even after an underachieving season.
“I think the program is in good hands,” said Lee.