Pioneers Open Home Season With 42-21 Loss To Defending 2025 4A Champions

By Daniel Crawford, The Sandy Standard

The 2025 4A champion Cascade Cougars (2-0) traveled into town to open the SHS home schedule and stunned the Pioneer faithful with a 42-21 beat down for Sandy’s first loss of the year.  

The Cougars won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball.  Sustained by a solid run game, Cascade marched down with seven consecutive  rushing plays to the Pioneer 23-yard line.  While bracing for another run the Pioneer defense played single coverage on the receivers and were burned on a 23-yard TD pass to fall behind 7 - 0 midway into the first quarter.   

The Pioneers ran the ensuing kickoff to their own 48-yard line.  Pioneer quarterback  Micaiah Turin then led the charge downfield with a series of screen passes to James Richards and Gracyn Fitch to the Cougar 8-yard line.  Turin then took it to the house to knot the score at 7 - 7 at the end of the first quarter. 

At the end of the Pioneer’s first scoring play, Turin initially rose up to his feet but then walked gingerly towards the sidelines and onto the trainer’s table for evaluation.  Minutes later he was taken to the hospital with an apparent leg injury and did not return to the game.

Cascade started the second quarter an 8-yard TD run then was gifted another TD run only :23 seconds later when a costly fumble on the return kick gave the Cougars a two-score lead they would never relinquish.

Pioneer backup quarterback Becket Vanhee tossed a 77-yard TD to a wide open Hudson Pearson to close the gap at 21-13 at halftime.  

Sandy opened the second half with the football but were held to a 3-and-out and had to punt deep in their own end of the field.  The Cougars took control of the ball with excellent field position at midfield.  Two plays later the Cougars connected on a 40-yard pass to go up 28-13.

On the Pioneers next possession, Vahee led his team to goal-to-go on the Cougar 2-yard line when Fitch burrowed his way through for Sandy's only points in the second half.  

Injuries began to mount for Sandy when both Mason Frederickson and Colton Lucas left the game in the third quarter.  Neither player would return to the game.  

The Pioneers were already without the services of Boden Wolf.

After the game Pioneer Head Coach Josh Dill was pleased with the team effort despite all of the injuries.  

“We talked about it before the game.  The guys all knew this would be a big test for us and it was.  From here we just have to lick our wounds and get ready for next week,” said Dill.

The Cougars went undefeated last season and finished at 10-2 in 2024.  Up next for Sandy is a home date with Canby.