FULTON — Caston took one step forward last year in terms of competitiveness against Pioneer but took two steps back Friday night.
It was all Panthers as they broke big play after big play in a 63-6 victory over the Comets.
The Class 1A No. 12 Panthers (3-1, 2-0 HNAC) were unstoppable on offense against the struggling Comets (0-4, 0-2).
Noah Van Meter rushed for 261 yards and three touchdowns on just nine carries, all in the first half, for Pioneer. He had TD runs of 58, 91 and 58 yards and averaged 29 yards per carry.
Micah Rans rushed for 136 yards on nine carries with two TDs for an average of 15 yards per carry. He had TD runs of 30 and 52 yards and added a 21-yard TD pass to Shiloh Rans.
“It was embarrassing,” Caston coach Chris Ulerick said. “They had one-play drives, no tackling. Just an embarrassment all the way around. There’s no sugarcoating it. It’s nothing that we didn’t show them. It’s the Pioneer offense, better be able to stop the fullback, you better be able to stop the quarterback. And we didn’t. So you can use whatever excuse you want, but it was not good football.”
Pioneer led 41-6 at halftime and things didn’t get much better for Caston in the second half despite a running clock.
Rine had a 70-yard TD run and finished with 102 yards on two carries in the second half for the Panthers. Colten Long had a 7-yard TD run and Cole Franklin added a 33-yard TD run.
The Comets started well on offense with a 70-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 2-yard TD run by Ashton Bowyer on fourth-and-goal.
The Comets drove down to the Pioneer 4-yard line on their next possession but a false start on fourth-and-1 led to a stop which was followed by a 91-yard TD run by Van Meter.
Bowyer finished with 64 yards rushing on 15 carries for Caston. Jabez Yarber had 51 yards on 13 attempts. Gavin Mollenkopf was 2 of 4 passing for 68 yards. Logan Mollenkopf had a 55-yard reception and Lucius Edson added a 13-yard catch.
The game was like a track meet for Van Meter, who was a blocker his first two years for the Panthers but is a featured running back this year.
“He ran hard,” Pioneer coach Adam Berry said. “He finally got into the open space and he didn’t get caught, so I’m sure he’s pretty happy about that. It was there, the middle was there for him and then we had a little 1-2 with him and Micah. Micah gets a second score with a little down option, ran that well. Then we get a little power read action with a great read, great run. So just a great night for those two guys. Obviously in our style of offense, you want to be more balanced with our wings as well. But they were giving that to us so we took it.”
“[Van Meter] was very committed to the offseason program. Definitely the most committed in our program. It’s exciting to see it pay off for him early on the season. So now we’re looking forward to see how we can advance that as the regular season goes on. Just try to get a little bit more balanced but like I said, great to see a fantastic night from him complement with some other guys.”
Last year’s Caston-Pioneer game included a 21-0 game at halftime that could have been closer before the Panthers pulled away for a 35-0 win. But the Comets lost six seniors and have replaced them with a lot of freshmen.
“They’re young, right,” Berry said. “We were in a very similar situation two years ago (when the Panthers went 2-8). And you know, they are definitely up and coming. I’ve seen this group through youth league. I’ve seen them through junior high. They know how to play football. On film they are improving each and every week. The score was whatever it was, but they were moving the ball, they were playing hard. And so coach Ulerick has to be excited about that. And those young guys are going to be coming.”
Ulerick knows his team has a ways to go to catch the Panthers, who have a junior-heavy lineup. He said his team lacked consistency Friday night.
“Our kids are our own worst enemies. We can drive the ball once and then nothing works after that,” he said. “I mean, it’s not that big of a mismatch. They have two really nice players. Their quarterback and their fullback, they make a good combo. Their quarterback makes everything tick. He’s good and he just hid the ball well, and our kids were just not used to it. So they’re good. But when you make them look that good, then they’re really, really good.”
Both teams play new HNAC opponents next Friday, when Caston hosts South Central and Pioneer hosts North Miami.
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