Pioneer Valley Gridders Show Depth in Win at Drury

NORTH ADAMS, Mass, - - The Pioneer Panthers got their season off to a good start as they took down the Drury Blue Devils, 28-6, Saturday afternoon at John J. DelNegro Field. 

 

It was a high-low start for the Panthers as its quarterback was injured on a touchdown run for the first score of the game. He had an impressive drive leading to the touchdown with 54 yards in the air before being sidelined. It was senior Alex Tyson who took over at quarterback, throwing for 104 yards and a touchdown. He also added a touchdown on the ground. 

 

It was all Pioneer early in the first half with a balanced attack both on the ground and through the air. It wasn’t until late in the second quarter where Drury started to settle in. Running back Jamal Beda crafted a nice run and turned on the burners for a 77-yard touchdown right before the half ended to bring the Blue Devils within a score 14-6.

 

Beda rushed for over 100 yards including that long touchdown run.

 

“I just had to look for the biggest gap and hit it as fast as I can” he said.

 

Second half action picked up similar to the first half with Pioneer striking quickly with a 64-yard run from Dresser to widen the gap 21-6. Dresser finished the game with 107 yard rushing. Drury stormed back the other way getting themselves in a goalie situation before Tyson picked up his first of two interceptions in the game.

 

Drury looked to claw themselves back in the game but some costly penalties stalled all momentum. 

 

“Today we were not disciplined, we had a lot of different plays that could have popped for us that got called back" Drury coach Seth Shepard said.

 

From there, the Panthers went on to add another touchdown and secure the win 28-6.

 

The Blue Devils will start the season 0-2 and look to bounce back next week against Palmer Friday night. As for the Pioneer Panthers they will look to build off of this game as they host the McCann Tech Hornets next Saturday.