When the Green Bay Blizzard faced off against the Wilkes-
Barre/Scranton Pioneers on Saturday night, it was supposed to be a
clash of titans. The two closely matched teams would square off with
their A-games as the Pioneers' potent offense would take on the
highly-ranked Blizzard defense. It was supposed to be a battle for
the Division as the playoffs draw near. It was supposed to be the
game of the year for both teams.

It wasn't even close.

The tension before the second meeting of the season between the
Blizzard and Pioneers was so thick that you could cut it with a
knife. The emotional buildup before this heated affair was well
known, as both teams made their feelings known in the press in the
week leading up to the game. In what was a much-anticipated match-up
in the af2, the game turned out nothing like it appeared it would on
paper. Before a spirited crowd of 4,324 at the Resch Center, the
Blizzard handed the Pioneers their worst loss of the season, 65-35.
The win would bring the Blizzard (7-5) to within one game of the
Pioneers (8-4) for the American Conference East Division lead.

On their first possession of the game, the Blizzard struck paydirt
as QB James MacPherson hooked up with WR/DB Luke Leverson for a 21-
yard TD. After a stout defensive stop, MacPherson connected with
Leverson again, this time from 7 yards out for another TD. At the
end of the first quarter, Green Bay led 14-0 and would never look
back.

Just 10 seconds into the second quarter, the Pioneers marched
downfield and got on the board as QB Mike Granieri found WR/LB Leroy
McFadden for a TD. Undaunted, the Blizzard regained control on their
next possession as FB/LB Jeff Cogell plunged his way up the middle
for a 4-yard touchdown. Following the TD and another defensive stop,
K Dallas Pelz kicked a 32-yard field goal, giving Green Bay a 24-7
lead. The Pioneers fired back as Granieri scored on a 5-yard TD run.
The Blizzard answered right back, and with only 3 seconds left in
the half, QB James MacPherson found WR/LB Gerald Harris in the end
zone for a 16-yard touchdown pass. At halftime, the Blizzard led the
Pioneers 31-14.

In the second half, Green Bay did not relinquish the momentum. On
back-to-back possessions, the Blizzard found the end zone: first it
was Cogell with a 1-yard TD run, and then it was a 17-yard touchdown
reception by OS Brent Holmes. Late in the quarter, Granieri scored
on a 5-yard run, but it would prove to be too little too late for
Wilkes-Barre.

Green Bay put up three more TDs in the 4th quarter: MacPherson
scored on a 5-yard run, WR/DB Dontrell Jackson pulled in a 14-yard
TD reception, and backup QB Zeke Dixon's saw his first action of the
year, posting a 7-yard rushing TD.