NORTH
VALLEY – When Pinnacle saw its 2007 football schedule
before the season, there were few who expected the Pioneers
would win all of their first four games, which came against
three of last year’s playoff qualifiers.
But
after a 22‑point outburst against Mountain Ridge
last week, that’s exactly what Pinnacle did.
“I
think they were stunned,” was how Pioneer coach Dana Zupke
described Mountain Ridge in the first quarter, which saw
Pinnacle go up 22‑0 en route to a 43‑17 win.
If
Pinnacle’s previous three wins were surprising, the victory
over 5A‑Division I Mountain Ridge showed the rest
of the state that not only are the Pioneers for real,
they are state championship contenders.
The
Pioneers mounted an 80‑yard scoring drive to start
the game, and scored touchdowns on three of their first
four possessions.
“We
gave up a couple of big plays in the second half, but
each time our offense answered with scores of their own,”
Zupke said. “After that, we managed to kill the clock
and put the game out of reach.”
Quarterback
Evan Johnson was responsible for a touchdown pass and
two touchdown runs, including a 7‑yarder to start
the scoring in the first quarter.
Taylor
Stib scored from 6 yards out later in the quarter before
Max Zemezonak took in a 37‑yard pass from Johnson
to extend the score to 22‑0.
Mountain
Ridge was only able to score a field goal in the first
half and trailed 29‑3 at the break.
Jonathan
Crist rushed in from 3 yards in the third quarter to completely
put the game out of reach.
Pinnacle
next hosts Kofa (1‑3) in its homecoming game this
week.
“(Kofa
is) athletic and quick in the skill positions and are
very big on the defensive line,” Zupke said. “They are
balanced offensively and will throw the ball down the
field. We must not give up big plays defensively and continue
to limit our mistakes on both sides of the ball in order
to be successful.”
