Pioneer dominates Dixon in matchup of unbeaten football teams

A battle of two undefeated teams from the Golden Empire League ended in a shockingly lopsided win for Pioneer High School as it trounced Dixon 61-7 Friday night.

Adam Lovato picked off Dixon quarterback Malakai Martinez on the first drive of the game to help set up Pioneer’s first score of the game as running back Jack Carner rushed for a touchdown from seven yards out.

Carner set the tone for the game as he carried the ball 17 times for 190 yards and five first-half touchdowns as the Patriots entered halftime with a commanding 41-7 lead.

“O-line was great today,” he said. “We were balling out, the defense stepped up. Everyone was playing how they should be.”

It was a night to forget for Martinez, which ended the game with three interceptions as high winds made difficult throwing conditions.

With their passing game floundering, the Rams looked to their ground game for progress with Jacob Albrecht, Alex Pulido and Kanye Smith splitting the majority of the reps, but apart from a few first downs here and there, they were also stifled by Pioneer’s defense.

The one reprieve of the game for Dixon came late in the first quarter when Martinez connected with Tanner Hays for a 64-yard touchdown, the Rams’ only score of the game.

Pioneer coach Matt Bryson said he had no idea what to expect from this game as he and some of the team came out of quarantine just in time for this game.

“This was my first day back,” Bryson said. “We had one coach practice with the kids for two days, the assistant coach came out on Wednesday and I was helping out with the JV team who was in quarantine until today, so I couldn’t get out until today.

“We sure played a physical brand of football tonight. We played with pretty good tempo, things I wasn’t sure we were going to see. It looked nice. It looked really nice”

Other Patriot scorers included Isaiah Morales, who grabbed a 30-yard touchdown pass from Patriots quarterback Ajay Lucero right before halftime, Lucero himself scoring on an 18-yard QB keeper and Lovato capped off the game with a 4-yard score.

With only one scheduled game left for the team, Bryson said the shortened season didn’t change the simple philosophy: win games.

“It’s kind of like a glorified spring session where you get to go out, see kids play and evaluate them on the field and kind of look to next year a little bit,” he said. “But obviously we want to give [the seniors] a good sendoff and it doesn’t change our philosophy. We’re playing the best kids in the game on Friday night, but it does give us a good look for next year.”

And for guys like Carner (and the rest of the team that was hyping him up during the interview), getting the opportunity to play is all they can ask for.

“Having as much as time we can, It’s a blessing to just come out here and ball out with my crew,” Carner said. “It’s great coming out here. The defense, the offense, we just love it. We play together so strong. It’s just a blessing.”