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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
Culver (4-3, 2-3 Hoosier North) at Pioneer (2-5, 2-3), 7 p.m.
The Culver defense held Caston’s rushing attack to 2.5 yards per carry and also forced four turnovers in a 38-12 win last week.
They blanked Caston in the fourth quarter and also got an interception return for a touchdown from sophomore Ethan Binion.
“We just had to get a better rush,” Culver coach Mike Zehner said when asked about defensive adjustments. “I felt like getting a little more pressure on them could cause a bad throw. We were right there so many times watching the film. Sometimes we have to get out of our own way. Looking at the film, we had a couple fourth down times where we’d get off, and one of them was a penalty that would prolong a drive. … They call a defensive holding on our guy down the field. It was away from the play and would not have had any impact on the play itself. So we’ve got to clean those things up.”
Culver also amassed 350 yards rushing against Caston, including 256 yards from senior fullback Shane Shuman.
Next up is a Pioneer defense that has allowed 35 or more points in their last three games. That includes a 53-18 loss to Knox last week. That they allowed 35 or more points in three straight games marks the first time Pioneer has done that since 1988. It’s a blow to a program that Pioneer coach Adam Berry said prides itself on defense.
And now they have to try and stop Shuman.
“Historically, Culver has been one of our more physical games,” Berry said. “And if we play like we did this past Friday, he may have a heyday, but we also like to think as coaches, as a team, after our talk at Monday’s meeting, we’re going to make these corrections, we’re going to correct our mistakes, and we’re going to have a lot better showing than what we did last Friday. … If we don’t have the mindset where we need to be more physical, Culver’s going to control the game.”
Offensively, Pioneer is using a two-quarterback system with Cayden Hill in the shotgun and freshman Micah Rans under center.
“We’re playing five or six freshmen at this point,” Berry said. “To be honest, I’d like to say those five or six would probably still be on JV as freshmen, but we just have kind of … smaller sophomore and junior classes, where not a lot of numbers, especially in the skill positions. So we’ve turned to these young guys, thrown them in there and let’s see what you can do. But (Rans is) a very heady football player. He was making checks at the line of scrimmage as a junior high player. And so he is a very smart quarterback, a very smart football player. He has been doing this position since third grade. His arm strength will come with time, but he makes excellent decisions as a 14, 15-year-old.”
Meanwhile, Pioneer fullback Rylahn Toloza ran for 115 yards and a touchdown and also returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown against Knox.
Toloza has run for 923 yards for the season and has run for over 100 yards in each of his last four games.
“Toloza’s probably a little bit smaller, but he runs hard and keeps his feet moving and finds the open space and he’s gone,” Zehner said. “He’s got some speed definitely.”
This is Pioneer’s homecoming game. They are 8-0 against Culver all-time.
