Jonathan Alder’s Tyson Mast is off to the races after catching a pass during a preseason scrimmage. The Pioners will take their 3-0 record into Friday’s home game against Tecumseh. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
The Pioneers of Jonathan Alder will begin the second half of the six-game regular season schedule looking to remain unbeaten.
The Pioneers will take a 3-0 record into Friday’s home contest against Tecumseh (1-2).
The two teams are at the opposite end of the spectrum as far as the Central Buckeye Conference’s Kenton Trail Division.
Alder sports a 2-0 circuit slate and is tied with London and Springfield Shawnee at the top of the standings.
The Arrows, on the other hand, share an 0-2 division mark, along with Bellefontaine and Kenton Ridge.
Tecumseh plays a standard Wing T offense.
The team’s top playmaker is a wingback by the name of Braden Berner.
“That’s an appropriate name for him, because he is very fast and is a big play maker for them,” said Jonathan Alder head coach Brett Glass. “We can’t let him get loose for big plays.”
Berner leads the Arrows with 201 rushing yards on 41 attempts. He’s also caught five of the team’s 11 pass completions.
“Tecumseh has its best success running the ball,” said Glass. “However, we have to pay attention because they’ll throw a pass over top now and then.”
It is not, however, a great deal of time in which the Arrows put the ball in the air.
Southpaw quarterback Nate Corey has only passed 39 times. His 11 completions have amassed 152 yards.
Corey has thrown a couple of TD passes, but has suffered four picks.
Glass said the Pioneer defense will have to be disciplined against Tecumseh.
He knows JA, which is ranked 10th in this week’s Division III state poll, cannot afford to neglect running back Wyatt Ferguson, who has rushed for 140 yards in a couple of week weeks.
“Covering the Wing T is assignment football,” he said. “We must have our eyes in the right place at all times.
“We can’t afford to get in the wrong spots on defense.”
The Arrows will employ a 44 defense.
They’ve got a couple of defensive tackles (Xavier Whaley and Dominic Plantz) who are very good,” said Glass. “Ferguson is a good linebacker and Berner roans the middle of the field as a free safety.”
Tecumseh’s defense, however, must contend with a balanced Pioneer offensive attack.
JA quarterback JT Keith is ranked second in the CBC with 444 yards passing, while Will Heisler leads the circuit in rushing with 393 yards.
Keith has completed 67% of his passes and has thrown six touchdowns.
Tyson Mast, Jackson Izzard and Jonathan Keith have been on the receiving end of 34 of the quarterback’s 37 completions.
“I think we’ll be able to establish our running game,” said Glass. “Our linemen do a great job of staying on their blocks.
“I think we can also throw the ball against Tecumseh,” he said. “I know we’re going to have to do both in order to keep them off-balance.”
Glass said the Pioneers must continue to take care of the football.
“We didn’t have any turnovers last week against Bellefontaine,” he said. “That was an improvement over the previous week against Kenton Ridge.
“We also forced three Bellefontaine turnovers,” said the Alder coach. “We have to force turnovers or get our defense off the field quickly on downs.”
Jonathan Alder’s goals for each season are to win a conference championship and qualify for the Division III state playoffs.
The post-season is a given this year.
Due to the coronavirus, the Ohio High School Athletic Association playoffs are open to every football team in the state.
“We’re already in the playoffs,” said Glass. “Now, we just have to take care of business the next three weeks and play for a CBC title.”