Big Sandy Pioneers capture Six-Man football state title

The Big Sandy Six-Man football team finally did it. After four straight trips to the semifinals, the Pioneers finished the job as they defeated Broadview-Lavina, 67-27, at home to win their first Six-Man football state championship in program history.

"To win by that many points and play such a good game as a team, it's amazing and unreal," senior Rusty Gasvoda said about winning a state championship. "All the hard work we put in, it paid off huge."

"I'm so proud of the boys. They worked hard all year," senior Braydon Cline said. "I wouldn't play with a different team. It's awesome playing with these guys."

This group of seniors including Gasvoda, Cline, Lance Rutledge, Kody Strutz and Tannin Baumann had led the Pioneers to four straight semifinal appearances in the playoffs over the past four years. After so much heartbreak over the years, Big Sandy head coach Larry Jappe was proud to see his seniors finally break through and win it all.

"They worked hard. They did what they needed to win the state championship," Jappe said. "They did it in the offseason and the preseason and I hope the rest of our boys can see what it takes to win a state championship."

Looking to take home that state title, the Pioneers started the game with a bang. After the Pioneers received the opening kickoff, Cooper Taylor took the ball and carried it all the way for a touchdown to give Big Sandy a 6-0 lead in the first 15 seconds of the game.

After the Pirates turned it over on downs on their opening possession, the Pioneers got right back to work. On a fourth and long, Cline completed a pass to Lance Rutledge, who carried the ball all the way to the goal line. Rutledge fumbled the ball before he could get in, but a teammate was there to recover it in the endzone for a touchdown to make it 12-0.

Over the next few minutes, the teams exchanged empty possessions. The Pirates had a drive to the Pioneer goal line, but they fumbled and lost the ball before scoring. But the Pirates made up for it with a strong drive to end the first quarter.

Kade Erickson started the drive with a completion to Jace Jensen deep into Big Sandy territory. Two plays later, Erickson threw a touchdown to Connor Glennie to cut the Pirates' deficit to 12-8.

But the Pioneers quickly responded with another strong drive. The drive started with Cline completing a throw to Lane Demontiney to make it first and goal. A few plays later, Taylor ran in the ball for a touchdown to make it 18-8 to end the first quarter.

The Pirates responded with a good drive to keep pace with the Pioneers. On fourth and goal, the Pirates capped off the drive with Erickson throwing a touchdown to William Sanguins to make it 18-15.

Over the rest of the half, the Pioneers got rolling to begin pulling away. Cline continued to play well as he threw a touchdown to Demontiney to make it 25-15. After a Pirates punt, Cline threw a touchdown to Wylee Snapp to add onto the lead. In the final moments of the half, Cline continued to sling it as he threw a touchdown to Rutledge to give Big Sandy a 36-15 lead at halftime. While he had a strong game through the air, Cline gave the credit to his receivers.

"Our receivers got open and I just threw it to them," Cline said. "They caught it and got some touchdowns for me that made me look good so I love my boys."

The Pioneers continued to roll in the third quarter. After the Pirates scored a touchdown to cut into the deficit, Cline completed a deep pass to Snapp who took it all the way for another touchdown to make it 42-21. Just a few minutes later, Cline kept it himself for a big touchdown run to push it to 48-21.

After a Broadview interception, Taylor added onto the lead with another touchdown run. After recovering the ball on the ensuing kickoff, Gasvoda got in on the action with a touchdown run. The Big Sandy defense continued to play well to limit a tough Broadview-Lavina team that was undefeated coming into this game.

"We just played the defense we've been playing all season and we really didn't change things up," Jappe said. "They just basically did what they'd been doing all year so I was happy to see that and we got the big one."

With the clock running, the Pioneers and Pirates exchanged touchdowns over the remainder of the third quarter and the fourth quarter before the game came to a close. With the state championship, the Pioneers finish off the season undefeated with few teams giving them trouble. It was also the football program's first state title, which also makes this trophy meaningful for the Big Sandy community that supported the Pioneers throughout the season.

"It means so much to the community and to us," Cline said. "They were just doing everything they could to get us here to win the state championship and it was awesome. I love our community. They're just awesome and I love them all."