Week 1 preview: Three days after game was scheduled, Pioneer to host Indianapolis Scecina

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Indianapolis Scecina at Pioneer, 7:30 p.m. (RTCtv4)

Indianapolis Scecina and Pioneer might have no history against each other, especially given that this game will be played just three days after it was scheduled.

But that does not mean that they don’t know what it’s like to be successful.

Pioneer is a three-time state champion, and coach Adam Berry has won four sectionals in his previous five seasons as coach. Indianapolis Scecina is a two-time state champion, and coach Ott Hurrle has won nine sectionals in his previous 29 seasons at Scecina.

Pioneer has won their season opener in six of their last seven seasons, but those games were against Lewis Cass, who had to cancel due to positive coronavirus tests within their roster.

Scecina filled in as an opponent when their scheduled game against Shenandoah got wiped out for the same reasons.

Four of Scecina’s five losses last season came by seven points or less. Both of Pioneer’s losses were also decided by one possession.

“We told the players going into it that we have a lot of inexperience,” Berry said of last week’s scrimmage against Northwestern. “I think we had four or five games who didn’t play a game last year. … We knew there were going to be mistakes. What we were looking for was just looking to see if they played hard, gave effort and were coachable. For the most part, I thought they showed that.”