Finally, a strong start turned into a strong finish for the Wood River
High School varsity football teamand the result was a 31-8 Homecoming football
triumph over the Kimberly Bulldogs Friday night.
Wood River (2-2, 1-0 league) rolled out a 569-yard offensive effort and
routed the defending Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference champions from Kimberly in the
first SCIC league confrontation of 2000.
On a wet field, senior co-captains Cory Goicoechea and Max Paisley had
particularly strong nights as Wood River scored in each quarter and built a 31-0 lead
before Kimberly finally got on the board.
Of the 569 offensive yards, 299 came through the air, 153 via rushing and
117 on returns. The output steadied a Wood River squad that had never trailed in the first
quarter this seasonbut had never led a game after three quarters.
Goicoechea completed 16-of-24 passes for 290 yards, while Paisley caught
eight passes for 179 yards and added 117 more yards in return yardage. They connected for
a 67-yard TD pass in the third quarterlongest TD score of the seasonthat
virtually turned out the lights.
Paisley has now caught 31 passes for 563 yards (18.2 per catch) and six
touchdowns.
Not only did Wood River snap a two-game losing streak, the Wolverines beat
the Bulldogs for the first time since 1994 and erased memories of two bitter losses to
Kimberlythe 34-6 road setback in last years league championship game and the
37-7 home loss on the Hailey gridiron in 1998.
The 22-game grid series between the two schools now stands dead even at
11-11.
Coach John Blackman was pleased that all the Wolverines played well on the
big night.
He said, "We showed them the film of our lackluster effort at Glenns
Ferry and then had a good week of practice. They picked up the pace. I told them to go out
and play your best and the winner of the game will take care of itself.
"Thats what they did."
Christian Ayala (26 rushing yards) and Zac Broadie (a team-high 49 rushing
yards) scored first-half touchdowns. Goicoechea added a 37-yard field goal in the third
quarter for a 24-0 Wolverine lead, then junior Wes Powell tallied his first-ever varsity
TD in the fourth.
Defensively, Wood River was a lot more aggressive, Blackman said. "We
held Kimberly three times inside our own 20-yard-line," he said.
The Wolverine linebackers led the way as junior Evan Peebles and senior
Tyler Nice had eight tackles apiece, while sophomore Kellen Chatterton and senior Joey
Martinez added seven tackles each. Peebles and Martinez made quarterback sacks in key
situations.
With the victory, Wood River took a big step toward its third consecutive
state playoff bertwith the Declo Hornets standing in the way of a possible league
championship. Wood River visits Declo (4-0, 37.8 points per game scoring average) Friday,
Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
About the upcoming Declo battle, Blackman said, "If we play with the
emotion and fire we had last Friday against Kimberly, well be fine."