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Pinnacle
drowns Goldwater, 28‑0
Pioneers
defense rises in surprisingly easy victory
Pinnacle
28, Goldwater 0
by
Jason Stone
NORTH
VALLEY – It wasn’t a shock that Pinnacle won–it
was just the ease with which the Pioneers did
it.
In
what was expected to be a close game between
two undefeated, ranked teams, Pinnacle dominated
from the start in a 28‑0 win over Goldwater.
“Our
defense came to play,” Pinnacle coach Dana Zupke
said.
The
Pioneers scored 21 first‑half points to
stun Goldwater, who committed four turnovers
in the first half.
“They’re
very opportunistic,” Goldwater coach Ed Cook
said. “Everything was going fine in the first
half, then we made a couple of mental mistakes.”
Pinnacle
fumbled the opening play of the game, but intercepted
Goldwater on the Bulldogs’ first play. The Pioneers
got on the board first with Max Zemezonak’s
18‑yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Jake
Gibson rushed in for a score from 12 yards out
in the second quarter to extend the advantage
to 14‑0. Zemezonak then scored on defense
when he returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown.
“I
give them a lot of credit,” Cook said. “Their
kids played lights out. They were flying all
over the field. They did a great job of getting
their kids ready for the game, we didn’t.”
Pinnacle,
which is playing its first season at the 5A‑Division
II level, will play arguably its biggest game
to date at that level when it faces Mountain
Ridge of 5A‑Division I this week. The
Mountain Lions played in the 2004 5A state championship
game and is one of the toughest teams perennially
in the state.
“They
have a tremendous running back with breakaway
speed and are athletic and fast all across the
board,” Zupke said. “We will need to keep their
running game in check and be balanced on offense
in order to have success against the Mountain
Lions.”
Goldwater,
meanwhile, will try to regroup with a home game
against North Canyon, a team that won the state
championship in 2004 (check) but is rebuilding
this season.
“I
don’t want to say they’re down, but they’re
young and inexperienced,” Cook said about North
Canyon (1‑2).
C.J.
Morgan, who missed last week’s game after a
serious neck injury two weeks ago, will return
to action after missing a game, Cook said.
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