The call is from history. Will the Pioneer Panthers' Flag Football team accept the charges?
The Panthers avoided a repeat of last year's Far West Regionals, in which they suffered a last-second loss to Bishop Kearney, and secured their spot in the state Class C Final Four, with a 12-6 win over CG Finney School at Highmark Stadium on May 31.
The state semifinal game will be played at Homer High School on Saturday, June 7, at 11:30 a.m., against Plainedge, a Section 8 high school from Long Island. If the Panthers win, they would play in Sunday's Class C final at 1:15 p.m., at Cortland High School. Pioneer is the lone Section 6 representative in this year's Final Four.
At Highmark, the Panthers led 6-0 at halftime on a TD pass from sophomore quarterback Ellie Edwards to junior Ella Spielvogel. In the second half, Edwards connected with sophomore Aiden Watson for another TD. On the ground, Pioneer was led by junior Jayden Leederman's 155 rushing yards. She was named player of the game.
With time running out and and no timeouts, Finney had one more offensive drive at the end. For the Panthers it must've felt like deja vu, after losing in the closing moments in 2024. They led by 19 points at halftime in that heartbreaking game.
However, this time junior Abby Mason made a deflection on the game's final play to secure the win.
For an athletics program with such a rich history, Pioneer has had relatively few chances at a team state championship. Only the field hockey team in 2003 reached the state Final Four. They lost that matchup, but it remains the top team achievement for the Panthers. The Flag Football team can rewrite the record books.