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TEN SLEEP - The Ten Sleep Pioneers 6-man football team opened their season with a 68-39 win over the Hulett Red Devils Saturday afternoon in Ten Sleep.

With only six players available for the contest the Pioneers used a strong offensive output and timely defensive plays to take an early lead and never look back.

Led by Byron Powell, who had seven total touchdowns on the day, and Corey Rice, who accounted for six touchdowns, Ten Sleep scored the game's first 27 points. 

When Hulett finally got on the board, Powell took the ensuing kickoff to house to put the Pioneers up 33-7.

As the second quarter wore on, fatigue became a factor for Ten Sleep and Hulett put their numbers to use and went on a run of their own. The Red Devils were able to cut into the Pioneer lead and make it a one possession game at halftime.

Opening the second half and only up 33-26, a rejuvenated Ten Sleep team took it to another gear. The Pioneers scored 23 unanswered points with creative offense improvisation, ball-hawking defense and straightforward grit. And unlike in the first half, the Pioneers did not let their fatigue get the best of them. The Red Devils would score twice more in the game but Rice and Powell would match those scores with rushing TDs of their own.

While Rice and Powell spearhead Ten Sleep's attack, other Pioneer's made big plays as well. In the first quarter Zane Taylor was called for holding that brought back a rushing TD. On the next play, a third-and-long, Taylor ran his route and with a defender in his face caught a pass from Rice and powered his way to a first down.

In the third quarter receiver Adam Thurston shook his defender on fourth-and-long and snagged a Rice pass for the touchdown.

Coach Jake Zent was proud of his team for gutting through the game and relying on their mental fortitude to secure the win. "We told them we had complete faith in them and what they could do. Our goal was to start fast and hang on and see what would happen. They followed the game plan exactly and did everything we asked of them. We talked about being mental tough we know they're going to score and mistakes will happen but be willing to fight through that and just keep the consistency and they did that today," said coach Zent.

Next for the Pioneers will be another home game against St. Stephens at 2 p.m. Saturday. This time out the Pioneers will have a bench to go to. "Next week we will have more guys out," said coach Zent. "We're learning how to play the game and we're excited to see what happens."