Week 13 football preview: Pioneer to try to contain LaVille’s Schwitz, Stafford

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Micah Rans Phillip McFatridge

LaVille (8-4) at Pioneer (11-1), 7:30 p.m.

(Winner plays South Adams-North Miami winner in Class 1A semistate)

The Pioneer football team’s recent past and its present might come full circle at The Panther Pit Friday when it meets with LaVille in a Class 1A regional.

The last time these teams met in a postseason game, LaVille rolled to a 41-0 victory at home in a 2021 sectional final.

LaVille led 34-0 at halftime, and the game eventually reverted to a running clock, per the IHSAA Mercy Rule. It was a rare time that Pioneer was the loser in a Mercy Rule game – for comparison’s sake, Pioneer has seven wins by the Mercy Rule just this year – and it came after Pioneer had beaten LaVille earlier during the regular season.

Perhaps dealing with a carryover from that loss or simply an inability to replace the last of the group that were freshmen on the 2018 state championship team, Pioneer followed that up with a 2-8 season in 2022 that ended a run of 26 consecutive winning seasons.

They improved to 5-5 in 2023 but again did not win a sectional game. Last year’s 8-4 season included sectional wins over Caston and Carroll (Flora) but ended with a loss to Taylor in the sectional final.

Last week’s 45-14 win over Carroll got them their first sectional title since the 2020 team won a Class 2A sectional and regional. That team with Ezra and Addai Lewellen and Wyatt Marshall, Zac Taylor, Tyler Gaumer, Brock Robinson and Cayden Hill eventually fell to Fort Wayne Luers in the semistate.

It was a win that bonded its successful past with its present hungry for more.

While Pioneer won its 13th sectional title last week, LaVille won its seventh with a 49-6 rout over West Central. LaVille has won three sectionals in the last five years under two different coaches. They took the 2021 title under Will Hostrawser, who stepped down following the 2022 season and who remains LaVille’s athletic director.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Kaiser took over, and he has won two sectionals in three years. 

LaVille started the season 2-4, but they have won six straight since.

Three of their losses were Indiana Northern State Conference games and came against teams in higher classes.

While the West Central win secured the sectional trophy, perhaps the most exciting win during their sectional run occurred in the sectional, when they built a 24-0 lead at North Judson and held on to win 24-22 when a North Judson 42-yard field goal attempt in the waning seconds fell about a yard short. The win knocked out last year’s state runner-up and avenged losses to North Judson both in last year’s sectional and earlier this season.

LaVille is averaging 32 points per game, the most they have averaged under Kaiser and a number surpassed only twice by the Hostrawser-coached Lancers during his successful 10-year tenure.

But what could be telling is how Pioneer’s defensive front matches with LaVille’s offensive line. Carroll tried to overwhelm Pioneer’s defense with size last week.

Mikaden Tolosa and J.J. Solano led the Panthers with nine tackles each last week. Shiloh Rine and Gage Lakes had five tackles each. Pioneer forced no turnovers but allowed few big plays.

“It definitely takes discipline,” Pioneer coach Adam Berry said. “The drives that we had success and got their three-and-outs, we were extremely disciplined. After going back and watching film and having our film session with the team, the drive where they had a sustained drive and they ended up scoring, we weren’t as disciplined and we had guys not doing what they were doing earlier in the game, so our defense is about being disciplined first and then using our speed secondly. That is very key to what we want to do.”

The offensive line will look to create holes and give time to the senior duo of quarterback Brayden Schwitz and running back Cole Stafford. Schwitz has thrown for 1,658 yards, and he is also second on the team in rushing yards with 397. Schwitz has accounted for 31 touchdowns – 25 passing and six rushing.

“A combination,” Berry said. “He does a great job of scrambling, but as he scrambles, he’s still looking to throw downfield. And talk about discipline. Our guys are going to have to be disciplined staying in coverage, but he’s also not afraid when he gets out there, if he doesn’t see anything, to take off running and use his athletic ability. … He loves to dump it down to their running back, number four, Stafford.”

Berry also said Schwitz will take “home run shots” to receivers like Konnor Amor and Noah Menis. Amor is averaging 35.9 yards per reception, and eight of his 15 catches have gone for touchdowns.

Stafford has rushed for 1,099 yards on 6.9 yards per carry. Stafford is also second on the team in receiving yards with 409. He has scored 21 touchdowns – 13 rushing, seven receiving, one on a fumble return.

Stafford ran for a season-high 227 yards against West Central, and he also led the team with 45 receiving yards.

“He’s just a straight-up football player that’s an athlete,” Berry said. “Obviously, he’s big in their run game. They do like to move him around. They will do some screen stuff with him, but he’ll also run true routes where he’s a great route runner and creates space, and they like to get it to him in space, and they like to get it to him in space and let him do his thing. We’re definitely going to have to know where he is at all times and key on him.”

Defensively, LaVille has authored seven shutouts since Kaiser, who was Hostrawser’s defensive coordinator, ascended to the top job, including three this year.

Kaiser coaches a 3-4 scheme known for its pursuit.

After shutting out Culver 35-0 in its sectional quarterfinal, they held both North Judson and West Central to just 2.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Pioneer averaged 9.8 yards per carry against Caston in a 35-0 win, 11.2 yards per carry against Frontier in a 42-6 win and 8.4 yards per carry against Carroll last week.

Pioneer is averaging 9.1 yards per carry this season as a team, and Noah VanMeter, Shiloh Rine and Phillip McFatridge all ran for over 100 yards last week.

Pioneer is known for their unusually large linebackers.

“Once again, they like to use their size,” Berry said. “They have two guys in the middle at middle linebacker that are over 220 that can also run downhill. Their defensive line does a great job of taking up space so their backers can run free and get to the ball. So they have their size in the middle, and then their outside linebackers are more of their speed-slash-strength guys to just help set the edge.

“Tremendous defense. LaVille’s defense is always well prepared. They always do a good job of trying to take away the other team’s best stuff. So as you know, in the regional championship game, a heavyweight fight, it’s going to come down to execution.”

Senior Chase Lee returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown for LaVille against West Central, and Amor has a punt return for a touchdown this season. Caleb Skiles has converted 43 of 47 extra points and has also kicked two field goals.

McFatridge is 56 for 58 extra points and made his second field goal of the season when he booted a 31-yarder last week. Pioneer has not returned a punt or kickoff for a score this year, but senior Micah Rans returned a punt for a score in 2024.

Pioneer is 2-1 all-time against LaVille in the postseason. In its previous regional matchup, Pioneer beat LaVille 38-0 on their way to a state title in 2017. That is their only previous postseason meeting at The Pit.

Berry comes into tonight’s game with 99 career wins in 10 seasons.

If Pioneer wins, they will play South Adams on the road or North Miami at home in the semistate.