**ARTICLE BY JOSH LONGSTRETH**
Coming off a sort of bye week in week 6, the Clare Pioneers would look to see if they could pick up where they left off after cruising past Harrison in week 5. Nearly everything went right for them in that homecoming matchup as they grabbed their third win of the year, 49-10. But coming off an odd week while not playing last week, the question would be how they would respond against a Meridian team that has had success of their own this year. The Mustangs would pull out a close one last week, 10-7, in overtime over Beaverton. Not beating Clare since 2015, the Mustangs would look to see if they could turn the tide in this series in week 7. Clare would ensure that wasn’t the case in this one.
The Pioneers would jump out to a 6-0 lead on a 7-yard TD pass from Jayden Arthur to Chase Randall. Ethan Cook would make it a 7-0 Pioneer lead after his PAT. Clare would put some more on the board through the air again. This time it would be Carter Smedley finding Ryan Louch on a 44-yard TD pass. The missed PAT would put it at a 13-0 game, Clare. The Pioneers had no rust in this one. They would make way to the endzone again in the 1st on a Westyn Bryant 1-yard TD run. It was all Pioneers in front of the home crowd heading into the 2nd, 19-0.
Meridian would get going, though. They’d jump right back in the game in the 2nd quarter on a 30-yard TD pass of their own. The Mustangs had life as they would cut it to 19-7 after the PAT. It wouldn’t be long after when Clare would take an absolute stranglehold on this game. The Pioneers would jump back up to a 25-7 lead when Arthur would scamper into the endzone from 20-yards out. The Cook PAT would give the Pioneers a 16-7 advantage. Arthur would help the Pioneers tack on more in the 2nd. This time he would find Randall again on a 15-yard TD pass. Cook would add the PAT to make it a 33-7 game, all Pioneers after one half of play.
Coming out of the half it would be Arthur striking again for the Pioneers. He’d find his way into the endzone again on a 6-yard TD run. The PAT would give Clare a then 40-7 lead. Meridian would get some things going offensively in the 3rd. They would grab their first points of the half on a 3-yard plunge. They would strike again on a 40-yard TD pass. After three quarters of play it would be 40-20, Clare.
The comeback wouldn’t get much further. Arthur would have the last laugh of the night when he would find his way to paydirt on a 24-yard TD run. Clare gets a big win in week 7 over the Mustangs, 46-20.
Clare grabs another win on multiple players getting involved. The man of the hour had to be Jayden Arthur. The Sophomore QB led the way for the Pioneers with 84 yards on the ground to go with 3 TD’s. That wasn’t it, he would account 184 yards and 2 TD’s on 14-16 passing on the night. Chase Randall had himself a night grabbing 5 receptions for 74 yards and 2 TD’s. Carter Smedley did everything you could ask someone to do on the night. Smedley ran for 34 yards on the ground, had 4 receptions for 42 yard, and threw 1 TD pass of his own. Ryan Louch accounted for over 100 yards of total offense to go with a TD. Westyn Bryant would add 1 TD on the night.
The Pioneers move to 5-2 on the year. They sit at 4-1 in the JPC. Clare will enjoy this one but look to move their attention to week 8 fairly quickly. They’ll face a much-improved Shepherd Bluejays team. Shepherd sits at 5-2 overall and 3-2 in JPC play. The Bluejays currently ride a 3-game winning streak after their week 7 win. They have put up 96 points on offense in that span. They’ll welcome in Clare next Friday night in what should be an intriguing game in the Jack Pine Conference. Meridian drops to 4-3 overall, and 3-2 in JPC play. They’ll face a Pinconning team who is looking to grab their first win of the 2022 season. The Spartans will welcome them in when they face Meridian in a 7:00 tilt next Friday.
