Trevor Moran, right, of North Union tries to stiff-arm his way past Jonathan Alder defender Chase Maynard Friday night. The Pioneers were able to win a tight 16-7 defensive battle to open the 2020 season. (Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
Few fans are there to make game noise
North Union head football coach Nick Hajjar shouted “grey 17” as his players hurried to a huddle Friday night.
The play being called could be heard by all in the stadium as only a handful of fans were in attendance due to COVID-
19 restrictions.
The play only netted the Cats marginal success as the Jonathan Alder Pioneers found their way into the backfield.
The offensive struggles continued for each team, but in the end it was the Pioneers who walked away with a 16-7 win.
Alder head coach Brett Glass said the new atmosphere was just “weird.”
“You can hear everything that everybody is saying, since there’s not much crowd noise,” he said. “It just doesn’t feel the
same.
“Hopefully when we are at home we will have our band playing,” said glass. “It is just different, but it is better than
nothing.”
Regardless of the number of fans who were at the 2020 season opener for both teams, the two coaches were just glad
to be playing football.
“Sometimes when you get into the game, you don’t always recognize what is going on around you,” said Hajjar. “I could
tell it was a little light volume-wise, but when you are in you are still playing. There is a competitor in everyone of us and I
could feel that from JA as well.”
That competitive spirit was on full display between the two Central Buckeye Conference rivals in a defensive stalemate
that went well in the fourth quarter.
It was the Pioneer defense that struck first.
North Union opted to receive the opening kickoff, but it was the Pioneers who put the first points on the board.
Alder’s Jackson Izzard picked off the Wildcats’ Preston Crabtree’s pass after only three plays.
Izzard took the ball to the end zone to give JA a quick 6-0 lead.
Dylan Moore aced the point after attempt to give Alder a 7-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of the game.
Glass said his defense played “unbelievable” on Friday.
“It was great to see some of our young guys step up,” he said. “We started four sophomores on defense tonight, but the
guys are going to get there and get better.”
The two teams traded blows throughout the remainder of the first quarter and for the majority of the second before the
first offensive TD was scored.
The Wildcats got on the board after Trevyn Feasel picked off a pass at midfield.
NU’s offense didn’t waste any time.
Hajjar called in his heavy runners to work the ball down to the Pioneers’ four-yard line.
With a first-and-goal, the Cats pounded the ball in yard-for-yard before Crabtree punch it in on a one-yard run up the
middle.
Ricky Weigand booted the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 right before halftime.
Hajjar gave a lot of credit to his defense for keeping North Union in the hunt.
“I thought our defense played great tonight,” he said. “They got turnovers, we had great stops and for the most part we
almost shut them out.”
The third quarter was another defensive showcase from each team.
As a result, the score remained locked at 7-7 going into the final quarter.
Glass said his team’s offense wasn’t on its game, but added that NU also had a strong showing against the Pioneer unit.
“They (North Union) did a good job taking away some stuff that we do well,” he said. “We are also trying to break in
some guys up front. JT (Keith) would tell you, he didn’t play his best game.”
With time ticking away in the fourth quarter and Wildcats pinned deep in their own territory, it was a miscue on a fourth
down snap that broke the tie.
NU attempted to punt, but the snap flew over Grayson Beeney’s head and into the end zone.
Beeney kicked the ball out the back of the end zone to give JA a safety and 9-7 lead.
“There are three phases to every game and you’ve got to try and win all three of them,” said Hajjar. “It is unfortunate for
us, but it wasn’t the single thing that caused the game. It is part of the game.”
Alder had one more score up its sleeve when Will Heiser capped off a 64-yard drive on an 11-yard run for six points.
Moore drilled his second PAT to give JA a 16-7 lead with only 3:52 left in the game.
The Wildcats made a heavy passing push to get to Alder’s 20-yard line. The drive stalled and NU returned the ball to the
Pioneers.
Hajjar said his team tried to find a way to get it done, but just came up short.
“We grinded and we had to do it a little differently tonight,” he said. “Maybe it was not running the ball as much, but we
were trying to move and get chunks of yards here and there, but that is football,” he said.
For Glass, he was just glad to be back on a football field.
“When it is all said and done, we are 1-0 and we are playing high school football, which I wasn’t sure we were going to
be able to say that,” he said.
The Pioneers will host Kenton Ridge, while North Union will travel to Indian Lake for Week 2 on Friday.