For the week of  September 12 - 18, 2001

Hailey ground game sinks Vikes 24-7

Big second half, 324-yard rushing attack

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A slow start and a strong finish fueled by a 324-yard rushing attack lifted the Wood River High School football team (1-1) to its first-ever win over the Middleton Vikings (0-2) Friday at Middleton.

On the defensive for much of the first quarter and trailing 7-0 early in the second, Wood River dominated the rest of the game. Three long, time-consuming drives rallied the Wolverines to a 24-7 win.

Leading Wood River into its 2001 Homecoming game Friday in Hailey will be its senior co-captains, from left, Jeff Bolton, Cole Everman, Evan Peebles and Nic Nottingham. Courtesy photo by Jack Flolo

Wood River, controlling the clock for two-thirds of the second half and outrushing the Vikes 185-45 after intermission, won for the first time in eight games against Middleton.

Sparking the surge were the quarterback draws of junior Ryne Reynoso (14 carries for 107 yards), second-effort runs by junior Dylan Welcome (9-51, 1 TD) and a series of second-half dives by fullback Christian Ayala (13-70, 1 TD).

And opening the holes was the line of center Evan Peebles, guards Jeff Bolton and Zac Mayhew, tackles Kenny Kelb and James Fowler.

Coach John Blackman said, "Dylan had a great night running the counter trap and turning it up into the hole. Christian really picked it up at fullback in the second half. Ryno got us out of a hole with his running in the second."

Indeed, on Wood River’s 13-play, 80-yard drive over six minutes that turned a 7-0 deficit into an 8-7 lead, Reynoso turned a passing play into a 44-yard scramble on third-and-20.

Blackman said, "Ryno had a guy open deep but saw running room."

Following his blockers well and turning it upfield at the opportune moments, Welcome (43 rushing yards on the drive) finished it off with a tackle-breaking 15-yard TD run on third-and-six, then he added the two-point conversion run.

Middleton threatened to regain the lead, getting good field position.

But two fine defensive plays by free safety Cole Everman thwarted the Vikes—the first when he tipped the ball away from a Middleton receiver on a post pattern, the second when he intercepted an underthrown pass at the Wolverine 5-yard-line and returned it 15 yards.

On the first play of the third quarter, Everman set the stage with a 13-yard end-around run.

Reynoso ran the QB draw for 22 yards on third-and-nine, then Ayala (35 rushing yards on the drive) picked up a loose ball on a broken play and ran for seven big yards. Ayala sprinted straight up the gut for an 18-yard TD and 16-7 lead.

Wood River’s five-minute, 80-yard drive kept the Viking offense off the field. When Middleton finally returned to the attack, the Wolverine defense stopped their hosts cold—Gavin Reynolds making three straight tackles including a seven-yard sack.

Blackman said, "We made some adjustments on our stunting packages on defense in the second half."

Matt Conover’s 19-yard punt return put Wood River at midfield for its final scoring drive—an 11-play, five-minute success story sparked by another Reynoso QB draw, for 17 yards on third-and-13, and finished by Joe Molyneux’s nine-yard TD pass to Everman on fourth-and-seven.

Middleton still had 11 minutes to attempt a comeback, but the Vikings lost steam when their top rusher, 200-pound sophomore Scott Roorda, was ejected with his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Roorda didn’t like a Kellen Chatterton tackle and got tossed.

Wood River, ahead 24-7, probably could have scored once more—Wes Powell’s 42-yard run installing the Wolverines deep in Viking territory as the fourth quarter ticked away.

But Blackman has seen plenty of coaches run up the score against his Wolverine teams. He showed restraint, sending out his second string for the final moments.

• WOLVERINE NOTES—On its first drive of the game, Middleton ripped off huge chunks of rushing yardage and moved quickly to the Wolverine 25-yard-line, but a holding penalty moved the Vikings back 10 yards and a hard Kellen Chatterton tackle forced a fumble that was recovered by James Angell. Middleton then put together a 15-play, six-minute drive before Wood River’s defense stiffened on big tackles by Brian Squires, Evan Peebles, Christian Ayala and Chatterton. Subsequently a Viking interception on a tipped pass led to the only Middleton TD, but Wood River’s offense went to work and took over the rest of the game.

 

 

WR 24, Middleton 7

WRiver 0 8 8 8 24

Middleton 0 7 0 0 7

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SCORING

Middleton—Heath Marcesi, 5-yard run (Josh Guzman kick); 9:11 2nd quarter (7-0 M).

WR—Dylan Welcome, 15-yard run (Welcome run); 2:46 2nd (8-7 WR).

WR—Christian Ayala, 18-yard run (Ayala run); 6:44 3rd (16-7 WR).

WR—Cole Everman, 9-yard pass from Joe Molyneux (Ayala run); 10:57 4th (24-7 WR).

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KEY STATS WR MIDD

Off. plays 69 52

Possession time 28:24 19:36

1st downs, rush 13 9

1st downs, pass 0 2

1st downs, penal. 3 0

1st downs, total 16 11

Rushes, yards 52-324 36-145

Yards per carry 6.2 4.0

Fumbles lost 0 2

Comp., passes 6-15 2-6

Comp. percentage 40% 33%

Passing yards 44 22

Yards per catch 7.3 11.0

Intercepted by 1 1

Sacks by, yards 2-18 1-3

Returns, yards 2-34 4-82

Tot. yards gained 399 231

Penalties, yards 13-105 7-67

Punts, yardage 0 2-73

Punt average 0 36.5

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—
WRiver

Rushing—Ryne Reynoso 14-107, 6 1sts; Christian Ayala 13-70, 1 1st, 1 TD, 2 conv.; Dylan Welcome 9-51, 2 1sts, 1 TD, 1 conv.; Wes Powell 3-46, 1 1st; Cole Everman 2-17, 1 1st; Nic Nottingham 5-11; Kellen Chatterton 3-10, 1 1st; Joe Molyneux 2-10, 1 1st; Cody Danielson 1-2.

Passing—Molyneux 4-6, 34 yards, 1 TD; Reynoso 2-9, 10 yards, 1 interception.

Receiving—Everman 2-17, 1 TD; Nottingham 1-10; Matt Conover 1-8; Jeff Cuskey 1-7; Ayala 1-2.

Fumble recoveries (2)—James Angell 1, Chatterton 1.

Interceptions (1)—Everman 1 with 15-yard return.

Sacks (2)—Chatterton 1-11; Gavin Reynolds 1-7.

Punt returns—Conover 1-19

Tackles (53)—Chatterton 11, Evan Peebles 6, Reynolds 5, Everman 5, Angell 4, Ayala 4, Jeff Bolton 3, Brian Squires 3, Sky Barker 3, Nottingham 2, Conover 2, Christian Blackman 1, Molyneux 1, Chad Hayward 1, Zac Bloomfield 1, Casey Markwell 1.

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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—
Middleton

Rushing—Scott Roorda 16-50, 5 1sts, 1 TD; Marcesi 8-44, 2 1sts, 1 TD; Andrew Evans 4-26, 1 1st; Cody Porter 4-24, 1 1st.

Passing—Andrew Evans 2-6, 22 yards, 2 1sts, 1 interception.

Receiving—Scott Tucker 1-12, 1 1st; Roorda 1-10, 1 1st.

Interceptions (1)—Cody Porter 1 with 24-yard return.

Sacks (1)—Zack Pancheri 1-3.

Tackle leaders—Porter 11, Cody Hayes 9, Marc Law 4, Zack Julian 4, Matt Gabica 4, Mike Magill 4, Roorda 4.

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Friday's Wood River Homecoming game

Glenns Ferry (3-0) at Wood River (1-1)

 

Time—7:00 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14. Place—Phil Homer Field, Hailey.

Last week—The Pilots of first-year coach Joel Herrmann posted their third consecutive victory of the 2001 season, by a 41-29 score at home over the Gooding Senators. Glenns Ferry, boasting plenty of size on the line, is led by three seniors in the backfield—QB Cole Darrington, RB/LB Korey Hall and RB Mark Black.

Significance—Wood River’s final non-conference game before the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference slate of five grid contests begins Sept. 21 at home at Kimberly.

Coach Blackman’s outlook—"We have to stop Glenns Ferry’s running game and establish ours."

Last year—At Glenns Ferry, Wood River took an early 13-0 lead over the Pilots, but Korey Hall rushed for 145 of his game-high 162 yards and 2 TD in the second half as Glenns Ferry beat the Wolverines 22-13. For the game, Glenns Ferry outrushed Wood River 279-133. The Pilot defense limited Wood River to 27 rushing yards after intermission and handcuffed Wolverine pass receiver Max Paisley with double- and triple-coverage. On defense, the Wolverines had a slew of missed tackles to make things a little easier for Glenns Ferry. The Pilots (6-2 last fall) went on to win their first six games of the 2000 campaign, averaging 39.5 ppg in the process, before dropping their two league games at home to Valley 22-8 and at Wendell 20-12.

History—Last year’s game was the first time Glenns Ferry and Wood River had played since 1974. In 14 games played from 1960-74, Hailey held a slim 7-6-1 advantage (5-2-1 home, 2-4 away). Wood River last beat Glenns Ferry 27-16 in Hailey in 1974, and 19-0 at Homecoming in 1972.

Other games last week—Declo socked it to Burley 49-19; Wendell raced past Kimberly 46-26; and Filer rallied past host Valley 19-14.

Games this week—After its bye week, Buhl (1-1) entertains American Falls; Gooding (0-2) hosts Wendell (2-0) in a grudge match; Declo (1-1) goes to West Side; Filer (1-1) visits Payette; and Kimberly (0-2) plays host to Valley (1-1).

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