All season, the Pioneer High School football team's offense has been praised for its 37.8 points per game average. The defense, on the other hand, has been a question mark, with the Pioneers’ opponents averaging 29.2 points per game.

Friday night against Monroe on homecoming night at Hollway Field, the Pioneer defense stepped up to give the Pioneers a 21-12 victory in the Southeastern Conference Red matchup.

Monroe -- which has averaged 48 points in its last three games -- was held to just 253 yards of total offense.

“The key to the success of our defense was the play of our outside backers,” said Pioneer coach Jeremy Gold. “All week long, we stressed that. And Craig Jobe, our defensive line coach, is very familiar with (Monroe’s) offensive scheme here, the wing T, because he’s run it, he’s defended it.

“We counted on him, leaned on his shoulders and his experience this week, and he did a lot of help putting the game plan together and we got it done.”