BY NATE KOTISSO | THE MONITOR
More often than not, a team won’t take any positives from a game in which it allows 61 points. But Sharyland Pioneer (2-3) might be an exception.
While the Pioneer defense had its worse outing of the season, the Diamondbacks offense started to click for the first time against a quality opponent in Mission Veterans.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively in the first half, so we decided to go from a two-back set to an empty set and try to throw the ball,” Pioneer coach Jason Wheeler said. “We hit on some big passes.”
The change in play-calling led to Pioneer junior quarterback Jacob Rosales’ best passing game of the season. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 276 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Diamondbacks scored 28 of their 38 points in the second half.
“We may end up throwing the ball more than we did before,” Wheeler said. “What’s the best way to for us to move the ball and score points? We have some pretty good receivers, and Jacob is a dual threat. Sometimes he can take off and get us some yards. And once he starts running, then we could look to throw it deep. It’s something we’re going to look at.”