Vince Lombardi said, "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."

Boonville's 7-0, Senior Night win over previously undefeated and third ranked, 2A South Spencer was one of our men's finest hours.

"This one ranks up there pretty high in terms of big wins for our program," an emotional Pioneer Coach James Blankenship said. "Winning the sectional and beating Jasper when they were ranked second are certainly memorable ones. This one's right up there! It's a great win for our kids and our program."

However, the game didn't start out as memorable. The 10th ranked, 4A Pioneers mishandled the wet, opening kickoff giving South Spencer (7-1) excellent field position at the 32 yard line.

But, the Rebels' opening drive would only be a dark omen for the rest of the night.

South Spencer's fourth pass play of the drive was mishandled in the end zone and the Pioneers' David Underhill snatched it out of the air to end the threat.

Fighting through the steady rain and water logged field, Boonville (7-1) went to their ground game. Ryan McDowell, Jake Winsett and Kyle Whitten steadily moved the hometown team down the field, but were never able to find the goal line in the first half.

South Spencer did just the opposite, relying more on their passing game. The PAC contenders also moved the ball effectively down the field but never could finish a drive. Three times they were inside the Boonville 20 yard line, but were denied every time.

The Pioneers' second interception of the game came via the D-line when Chad Johnson 'picked' a hurried Zeke Harmon pass off of a bad snap.

Boonville plowed through the mud and looked to be in position to take a halftime lead, but a halfback option pass from Winsett to Ridge Green was deflected and the first half ended scoreless.

"We had some long drives that we just didn't finish off," said Blankenship. "It would have been nice to take care of those, but our kids stepped up defensively and did a great job."

The deciding half of the game opened with our men forcing South Spencer into their first punt of the game. The Pioneers' difference-making drive started with their best field position of the night at their own 44 yard line.

Twelve consecutive running plays between Cameron Morris, Winsett and Whitten left the Black and Gold facing a fourth-and-goal at the one yard line.

That's when Logan Camp, Andy Kemp, Zac Camp and Johnson went to work opening a gap big enough for Whitten to punch through and put the 'good guys' on top.

Under the conditions, Adam Cook's snap, Winsett's hold, and Ben Baker's kick were no guarantee, but the trio executed the extra point to perfection.

With 3:41 left in the third quarter, there was still plenty of time for a Rebel revival. Coach Bruce Green's team immediately went to the air and appeared to be ready to put points on the board. But, an Underhill sack and two broken-up pass plays forced the Blue and White to punt.

After a Pioneer drive inside the 20 resulted in a fumble, the determined defensive unit shifted into another gear.

Senior Zach Schoen deflected a pass that Green was able to secure one-handed while on his back. That stalled a SSHS drive with 5:48 left in the game.

A short Pioneer drive and punt left 3:58 on the clock, but Harmon's fourth interception of the game was soon hauled in by Cullen Baumgart and sealed the deal for Boonville.

Defensive Coach Aaron Mayes commented on the team's second straight shut out, "A lot of the credit goes to our D-line. We focus on stopping the run first. For the most part, we've been successful in doing that. Then, our secondary steps up and makes huge plays!"

Through eight games, the defensive unit has picked off 19 passes. "The guys are really starting to believe in what we're teaching," concluded Mayes.

The second consecutive home 'mud bowl' for the Pioneers resulted in 292 yards of total offense, compared to 177 yards (31 run, 146 pass) for the visitors.

Whitten led the ground attack with 189 yards on 30 carries. Winsett (43 yards and 15 carries) and McDowell (31yards and 4 carries) balanced the attack. Through the air, Morris attempted only three passes, completing one for 18 yards and equally important, no interceptions.

The defense tallied four interceptions, over a half-dozen tipped passes and one sack.

"This was about as hard fought a high school game as you'll see," concluded Blankenship. "They had chances to score. We had chances to score. We just made some big plays when we had to have them. Winning these kinds of games is contagious. You start making plays, you believe in yourself. You start believing in your teammates to make big plays... this was a fun game!"

The Pioneers will take their five-game win streak to the Snake Pit, looking to avenge last year's 7-0 loss to the Golden Aces and secure their best Big 8 conference finish since the 2003 season. Kick-off is 7 p.m.