“Keep the train rolling.” These are the words of encouragement that Pioneer football players hear almost daily from their head coach and science teacher, Brett Glass. Jonathan Alder is coming off of an impressive 35 to 13 win over division foe Galion. Two games into conference play, Jonathan Alder is 2-0 with fashionable wins over both Marion Pleasant and Galion. Alder’s in-conference opponent this week, Buckeye Valley, holds a record of 3-2. The Barons are also 2-0 in league play, making this matchup very important for the Pioneers’ goal of winning the MOAC. Glass stated, “This week is huge concerning our team goals of winning the league and getting a good playoff seed. Since BV will win lots of games this year, a win for us should give us a lot of computer points.”

     The week six Friday night game will be a test against adversity for the 4-1 Pioneers. In the 4th quarter of last week’s game, junior linebacker, Colton Swick suffered a knee injury sidelining him for an unknown amount of games. Glass responded when asked about the effect of losing Swick this week, “We’re going to go with the “next man up” approach. Colton did a lot of things for us; whether it be as the backup Quarterback, starting linebacker or as an impact player on special teams. However, I’m confident in whoever we choose to be his replacement.”

    The Pioneer defense will have its hands full this week with senior Baron receiver, Gabe Miller. The Buckeye Valley offense depends weekly on Miller’s production. Jonathan Alder’s ambitions to stay among the top of the MOAC, and win their first league championship since 2001, will rely on their ability to slow down the speedy playmaker.