In 1997 a small town football team from Indiana went 15-0 that was synonymous with losing. It was bad.  In 1982, 1985, and 1989 Pioneer went 0-9. They had two winning seasons from 1979 to 1997 and they were not consecutive seasons. They had no future for a football program in sight and very little direction. This football program that was very close to being shut down in the 1980’s by the school, but luckily it was not. High school football programs are expensive and losing doesn’t put people in the seats or bring people to the concession stand. Helmets, shoulder pads, jerseys, maintaining a field, and lights are very expensive for many high schools. Schools have to use tax dollars, loans, and have referendum votes to upgrade athletic facilities. In the 1980’s most schools had no weight room programs to help build strong athletes. Small rural schools weight room facilities were not very big or non existent. The equipment housed might be a weight bench, dumb bells, and an exercise bike. The science was not there to create bigger, stronger, and faster student athletes.  Small rural schools had to depend on natural talent to have a good team. Boys that were throwing hay and straw bales around all summer were farm strong, but small schools don’t get those kids every year. There were no Bo Jackson’s or Herschel Walker’s walking the halls of Pioneer High School.  It took a state championship in 1997 to change the hearts and minds of people in the community to upgrade a weight room, locker room, and coaching offices. The new weight room, gym, locker rooms, and coaching offices did not get passed by the school board til 2001. It did not come easy. Some community members did not want their taxes to go up and fought against these upgrades for athletics.  When the vote to start a program in 1976 came up some citizens in the Pioneer district did not want football. Some other local schools had football and some Pioneer parents and administrators did not want football because they thought it could hurt  other programs such as basketball and baseball. The amount of money to start football is also a very large sum of money.   Some of the community members would show up to the school board meeting and share their opinions about how football would not be good for the community and a school pool should be put in first. They did not think it was affordable or a priority to a small rural school. In the Pioneer district school board members are not appointed, they are voted on by township. Pioneer has five townships that run through the district. Board members run for election every 4 years. The Pioneer school board had 5 members and still does today. The odd number of board members keeps the votes from ending in a tie. Small towns tend to have a fair share of strong willed community members. The local tavern, restaurant, or barbershop  were places where citizens would congregate and well...gossip. Small towns have their fair share of controversy. There is not a lot to do in a small town, so gossip can be entertainment for citizens at the local establishments. The football program vote by the school board in 1976 played out like a scene from movie. Community members showed up to protest the idea of starting a program. Some citizens thought it would hurt other programs immensely. The story of how the vote happened is quite comical. 2 board members were against starting the program. 2 board members were for the program and 1 board member was undecided. The legend goes that a man named John Snavely would fall asleep in the meetings. John was the undecided vote would fall asleep during school board meetings. John was a local farmer and worked hard in the fields. The all crucial football program was up for a vote and John was asleep. One of the school board members kicked John under the table while they were voting for the football program and he woke up and said “Yeah!” I have to admit that when I first heard this story I didn’t believe it. I talked to Maury Frantz, who was the superintendent of Pioneer, and he said this is the cold hard truth.   The Pioneer football program began because an older gentleman fell asleep and woke up and said “Yeah!” The board voted 3-2 on Pioneer football. It about to begin in fractured community. The program started out as a junior high program in the late 1970’s and would later become a varsity sport for the first time in 1979.  Fundraisers included car washes, selling hoagie sandwiches, and getting donations from the local citizens. Many community members donated their time and money to build the press box, buy uniforms, and pay for equipment. In the 1980’s the Pioneer program had a few different coaches that found little success. It was clear that Pioneer was not a football school. It did not have the athletes to compete on the gridiron even against smaller schools. Pioneer more of a basketball school in the 1960’s and 1970’s even in non-class basketball. They proved they could compete with much bigger schools in basketball in 1964 with a regional championship and in the mid 1970’s many great players played basketball including Dave Borman. Dave was a six foot seven giant that moved into Pioneer High School in the mid seventies. Dave was a 4th pick in the 4th round for the Atlanta Hawks in 1977. Dave was an incredible basketball player for a town that graduated barely 100 students per year. Dave played his college basketball two years at Middle Tennessee State and finished his last two years at  Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.  Pioneer football could barely compete, and with all the basketball success some didn’t feel the need for football.  The 1980’s proved to be a steep mountain to climb with other schools that had already committed to football programs. They had filled up their schedules and had already been playing for years before Pioneer started their football program. The backing of some strong administrators and community members kept the program functioning, but not at a consistent competitive level. The program was in disrepair and needed a much needed kick in the rear. It was about to get that kick from a man named Mike Johnson.

Next Chapter: A New Coach