BIG SANDY — The two teams have perfect records, but one must go down as the other will be crowned champions Saturday afternoon. Big Sandy has struggled to get over the hump as it has lost in the semifinals three consecutive years. This year the Pioneers look to finish the job as they prepare for their first title game since 2012.
The team is confident and feels well prepared ahead of the matchup. Broadview-Lavina is also seeking its first state football crown.
“We’ve had a good week of practice,” said head coach Larry Jappe. “We scouted these guys pretty good. We are ready for this big game.”
Big Sandy has been at home for the duration of the playoffs and feels its home-field advantage plus the community support has helped. It could be the difference for this Pioneer team as they have had troubles during road games in the past, including last year's semifinal game. That loss has stuck with most of the division and led to talks about how powerful Big Sandy would be this year.
“They started talking about that last fall because we lost to the state champions by four in the semifinals. Then we returned everybody,” said Jappe. “We didn’t lose a senior off of last years team so pretty much all the coaches last year were expecting Big Sandy to be good this year.”
The Pioneers have won championships in other sports but none in football. This years team will have the opportunity to be the first to mark their name in the Big Sandy history books as state champions. The game will kick off at 1 p.m.
