Bee’s Best prep football: No. 25 Pioneer rides high expectations after league title

The Sacramento Bee will unveil our Top 25 football rankings from No. 25 to No. 1, a team every weekday, right up to the Aug. 19 kickoff.

No. 25 Pioneer

City: Woodland

School opened: 1960

League: Golden Empire League

Division: lV

Enrollment: 1,606

2021 record: 8-2

Coach: Matt Bryson

Outlook:

Championship aspirations and Pioneer High football have not been synonymous in recent seasons.

“We’ve had some down years,” head coach Matt Bryson recently told The Bee. “We’ve struggled with the football program.”

Those down times for the small program in Woodland included eight straight losing campaigns from 2012 to 2019 in which the Patriots had a combined record of 25-56.

But Bryson’s team took a substantial turn last fall, finishing its season with an 8-2 overall record, a playoff appearance and shared championship with Dixon atop the Golden Empire League standings. And with the return of do-it-all running back Jack Carner, the expectations for the coming season are as high as they’ve been in a decade.

“I think all of us expect to compete for a league title,” Bryson said.

Carner, who is entering his senior season, had 1,390 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns last fall while earning All-Metro honors. Bryson expects Carner to play in college in 2023, but not before helping Pioneer toward a winning record in consecutive full seasons for the first time since 2011-2012, which could include playing some defense.

“He’s just wired for football. He’s a really good football player,” Bryson said. “In the past, we kind of kept him from the defensive side, but he would be a tremendous free safety. He’s just a really, really good football player. Tough, physical, very competitive, and then in our program, he’s a kid that — you combine him with Hector (Casas) and Ryan (Bryson) and those are kind of the three kids that stir the drink. They’re our leaders. As they go, we go.”

Casas, also a senior, is a wide receiver and defensive back who led the team in receiving last season. Bryson is a linebacker anchoring a defense that’s expecting strong contributions from recent junior varsity promotions, Lloyd Ruiz and Francisco Romero, a pair of juniors who impressed during offseason workouts. Other juniors that Bryson is expected big things from include receivers Julian Munoz and Haden Aletto, center/linebacker Talen Sibley and defensive back Neto Medina.

The big question this summer for Bryson and the Pats: Who starts at quarterback?

Bryson said he’s monitoring a competition between a pair of seniors, Pearson and Carson King, who are battling to replace departed senior Ajay Lucero.

“As that plays out, that’s probably the biggest position battle we have right now. And obviously at a very key position. So that’ll probably have a big impact on how we fare this year,” Bryson said.

Bryson calls himself a “dinosaur” who’s had stints coaching football, baseball and softball in Woodland for roughly the 30 last years. He took over Pioneer knowing the Casa Roble and head coach Chris Horner have set the standard in the Golden Empire League in recent years.

But Pioneer broke through and beat Casa Roble last November, on the road, 31-23, before hanging 71 points on Mira Loma to ensure a share of the league title. The Patriots’ season ended in the second round of the playoffs, after a bye, with a 39-20 loss to Ripon.

Bryson said Woodland is more known for being a baseball and softball town. But last year’s Pioneer team helped reinvigorate the excitement surrounding the football program.

“It’s fun to bring an excitement back, which we’ve done,” he said. “Everyone’s excited for Friday nights. We know we’re going to be very competitive and have a chance to compete for a league title and get back into the playoffs.”