Pioneer beats S. Adams, advances to state finals

Next up: vs. South Putnam, 11 a.m. next Friday

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Pioneer Football team 2025 Semi-State Champions

Football

Pioneer 31, South Adams 14 (Friday): The No. 5 Pioneer football team beat host and 10th-ranked South Adams Friday to advance to the Class 1A state championship game.

After a scoreless first quarter, Pioneer jumped to a 10-0 lead at halftime and extended the lead to 17-0 after three quarters.

The semistate title is the sixth in Pioneer school history, joining titles in 1997, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Pioneer improved their record to 6-3 all-time in semistate games and 2-0 all-time in postseason games against South Adams. They also beat South Adams 62-7 in the 2014 semistate.

They will now take aim for their fourth state championship when they play No. 4 South Putnam at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis at 11 a.m. next Friday.

South Putnam routed host Milan 40-7 in the south semistate Friday.