Wood River
powers
past Filer 28-20
Running game (381
yards)
eats up the clock
There was
a pretty powerful exhibition of minimum-risk, ball-control offense
happening at Filer’s football field Friday night—an offense executed
to near perfection by the Wood River High School football team.
Running
the ball an amazing 67 times for 381 yards and never losing a fumble,
the Wolverines pounded away at Filer’s defense and ate up 32 minutes
of the 48-minute Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference contest.
Dylan
Welcome, running power in the Oct. 11 home game against Buhl, was a
big factor in the Filer victory with 108 yards on a game-high 22
carries. Express photo by David N. Seelig
The
result was a 28-20 Wood River victory featuring the rare feat of having
three 100-yard rushers in a single game—Matt Pruett (120 yards and 3
TD), Joe Paisley (111 yards) and Dylan Welcome (108).
It
snapped a three-game losing skid and gave Wood River (2-5, 1-3 league)
its first SCIC win of 2002, indeed, its first league victory in nine
games covering two fall campaigns.
Wood
River, led by junior quarterback Brandon Silvia, scored in each quarter
while the Wolverine defense spread out and contained the manic Filer
offense run by scrambling quarterback Andy Griff (115 yards rushing, 169
yards passing and 3 TD).
Straightforward
in its tactics, Wood River built a 14-0 halftime cushion and persevered,
just as coach John Blackman’s Wolverine squad has done all season in
adversity.
Christian
Blackman, Wood River senior end and co-captain, snags a pass during
the Oct. 11 home game against Buhl. Express photo by David N. Seelig
Wood
River had suffered three tough losses, to unbeaten Wendell in the season
opener, plus two excruciating one-point home losses to Jerome and
Kimberly. Then the Wolverines lost QB Matt Conover (knee).
But the
Wolverines put together four lengthy scoring drives, 73, 70, 55 and 64
yards, and were steadfast on defense when Filer (3-4, 1-3 league) gained
momentum in the second half and threatened to tie the score.
With the
victory, Wood River kept alive its slim hopes for the third State 3A
playoff berth from the SCIC.
The
Wolverines need to post their first-ever win on the new Phil Homer Field
when Gooding arrives for the season finale Friday, Oct. 25. And they
need Filer to win at Kimberly (2-5, 2-2 league) this Friday night to
force a three-way tie for third place.
Power running at
Filer
Winning
the coin toss and electing to receive the kickoff, Wood River embarked
on a six-minute, 13-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Power running to the
right side dominated the drive.
The
offensive linemen carving out the holes included center Mark Neville,
guards Scott Sanders and David Wood, tackles Dan Fierman and Kenny Kelb,
ends Christian Blackman and Zach Bloomfield.
In fact
Kelb, a 6-4, 285-pound senior, was responsible for preserving the TD
drive. On first-and-goal at the Wildcat 11-yard-line, Kelb alertly
picked up a Silvia fumble. Running like a fullback, he advanced the ball
three yards before being tackled.
Paisley,
who contributed some clutch runs all evening, on the next play dashed
through the right side eight yards to paydirt and Kellen Chatterton
successfully kicked the first of his four extra points.
Filer
unveiled its quick-to-the-snap shotgun formation with Griff at the helm
and moved 63 yards on 16 plays before Sanders batted away a fourth-down
screen pass at the Wolverine 18 and stopped the threat.
Early in
the second quarter, Filer moved deep into Wolverine territory. But
Bloomfield made a great stick on Wildcat running back Caleb Lammers,
forcing a fumble that Chad Hayward recovered at the Hailey 30.
Wood
River went to work—Welcome following Silvia’s lead block for a
14-yard gainer, Paisley running twice for a total 11 yards and Pruett
hitting the hole for 10 more. Then Pruett busted through the pack and
into open field for a 35-yard TD run.
The
Wolverines nearly boosted their halftime lead to 21-0 with a long drive
highlighted by a 15-yard slant pass from Silvia to Pruett. But with time
winding down Griff intercepted another Silvia pass and Wood River
settled for a 14-0 lead at intermission.
Using
Griff’s established scrambling ability and adding the option pitch and
shovel pass effectively, Filer struck for its first score with a
seven-play, 75-yard drive in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
What Wood
River needed to stop Filer’s momentum was a quick touchdown—and the
Wolverines, sparked by Hayward’s 15-yard kickoff return, put together
an excellent 12-play, 55-yard scoring drive. Pruett ran five times for
24 yards including a 1-yard TD plunge for a 21-7 lead.
Filer
answered immediately with a 67-yard TD drive, Griff hitting Jake
Thornton with a 16-yard scoring aerial on third-and-nine as the buzzer
sounded ending the third quarter.
But this
was Wood River’s night.
Paisley
returned the kickoff 11 yards and Welcome ran three times into Wildcat
territory. Trailing 21-14 with eight minutes left, Filer’s defense
stiffened and put the Wolverines into a third-and-14 situation.
That’s
when Paisley made the biggest run of the night, scooting 26 yards on
power left and almost breaking it. Chatterton made an incredible leap of
the pile and pushed ahead 10 yards to the Filer 15. And Pruett followed
Tyler Brown’s lead block for a 15-yard TD run at 7:08.
Filer
(166 yards rushing, 169 passing) frantically scored once more but ran
out of time and time outs. Pruett (9 tackles) and Chatterton (8) led the
defense. For the season Chatterton has a team-high 88 tackles.