Burley wins battle in trenches 16-0
Great Basin football clash
By JEFF CORDES
Express Staff Writer
Four lost fumbles, one interception and a high punt snap hurt Wood River?s chances big time Friday at Burley.
But the Bobcats captured their 16-0 Great Basin Conference West grid win by controlling the line of scrimmage.
Early on, they won the all-important battle of the trenches before the Wolverines started coughing up the pigskin.
Burley?s runners chewed up the Wolverines. On its Homecoming, Burley (1-4) out-gained Wood River 340-145 while collecting six turnovers and stuffing Hailey?s aerial attack.
Wood River coach Dale Martin said, ?Burley?s linebackers were shooting the gaps and we couldn?t pick them up. We?re in trouble if we can?t throw.
?With six turnovers, you?re not going to win many football games. We just didn?t have the intensity we had the first couple of weeks of the season.?
It was Burley?s first win of the 2004 season, equaling the Bobcat win total of last fall?s 1-8 campaign. Wood River dropped its 10th consecutive game over two seasons and was blanked for the first time in 2004.
Burley (245 yards rushing on 52 carries) dominated the first quarter and hammered home its first touchdown on a five-minute, 12-play, 80-yard drive.
Keeping that drive alive was an untimely offsides penalty whistled against Wood River when Burley was in punting formation, on fourth-and-five.
Fired up by the turn of events, Burley got the first down and ripped off chunks of yardage for the first touchdown of the night. Martin said, ?We kept them in the game.?
Burley?s line did the rest.
The Bobcats set the tone by out-rushing the Wolverines 130-4 and controlling the ball for nine of the opening 12 minutes.
With principal aerial target Taylor Kerbs, a 6-5, 200-pound junior, on the sidelines, Burley ran almost exclusively.
Doing the heavy lifting was junior running back Joel Haran (24 carries for 149 yards). But it was senior Jake Martin (18 carries, 82 yards) scoring both Bobcat TDs?on a 10-yard run in the first followed by his conversion run, and a 4-yard run in the third.
Wood River?s best chance to score and make it a game took place in the second quarter.
It came after a solid defensive stand by the Wolverines that stopped the Bobcats three times within the eight-yard-line?and a 17-yard Burley field goal try went wide.
Making big stops for Wood River were Tyson Reynoso (18 tackles), Carl Browning (13) and Jeff Conover, who up-ended Burley?s Gavin Wrigley on a third-down end run. ?The defense didn?t play too badly,? said head coach Martin.
Wood River, getting into a rhythm with its offensive mix, drove downfield 66 yards on 14 plays over six minutes. Nearly all the plays were runs, although Tyler Jackson connected with Huston Brashears for a 12-yard pass completion taking the ball to midfield.
But a fumble at the Burley 14 ended the drive with a minute left in the half and Wood River never got back into Bobcat turf until the game was virtually decided with a 16-0 Burley lead deep into the fourth.
It was Burley?s sixth straight win over Wood River by a lopsided 194-33 count. Overall, Burley leads the 12-game grid series dating back to 1982 by a margin of 10-2, outscoring Wolverine grid teams 320-79. And Wood River has lost six straight at Burley.
Carter Stewart (4 tackles) dislocated his shoulder late in Friday?s varsity game and the Wolverine sophomore is lost for the season, Martin said.
Just a night before, wing back Stewart scored a pair of touchdowns as Wood River?s junior varsity captured its first win of the 2004 season by a 36-20 score, at home over Burley. Tailback Chase Uhrig and cornerback Grayson Thompson also played big roles in the win.
Preston arrives Friday
Next home game for Wood River (0-5) is Friday, Oct. 8 against Preston (2-3).
Preston lost 27-13 to Pocatello Sept. 24 and dropped a 24-0 decision to Century Thursday in Pocatello. But the Indians beat Burley 37-7.
Martin said, ?Preston is hurting. I understand they lost their starting quarterback and their best running back. And they got beat up pretty good by Century.?
Opening kickoff is Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Phil Homer Field.
The Indians have always been a formidable opponent for Wood River grid teams.
Wood River played Preston three times from 1990-92?losing 32-13 at Preston in 1990, 22-0 at home to the Indians in 1991 and 44-10 at Preston in 1992. That was the year Jake Plummer (3,460 passing yards, 37 TDs) starred for Boise?s Capital High School, which lost in the A-1 state championship game 28-27 to Pocatello, in Pocatello.
In that 1992 campaign, Preston (11-1) emerged as the State A-2 runner-up with a 38-12 title game loss to Moscow (9-3) at Pocatello?s Holt Arena, then Preston won its only state football title the next year in 1993.
Cumulative Wood River stats include: Rushing?Huston Brashears 283 yards, Tyler Jackson 204, Tyson Reynoso 163. Receiving?Huston Brashears 6-123, Carl Browning 4-84. Punting?Tyler Jackson 25 punts for a 33.2 average. Tackles/assists?Tyson Reynoso 63/28, Kenny Cardona 27/9, Chris Santiago 23/10, Jeff Conover 26/6, Matt Jost 18/11, Scott Bartlett 25/9, Carl Browning 24/4.
Wood River Line Score
Burley 16, WR 0
WRiver 0 0 0 0 0
BURLEY 8 0 8 0 16
SCORING
Burley?Jake Martin, 10-yard run (Martin run); 2:56 1st (8-0 B)
Burley?Martin, 4-yard run (Sheldon Mallory, pass from Mike Phillips); 1:11 3rd (16-0 B).
KEY STATS...WR...BURLEY
Off. plays...57...61
Possession time...20:47...27:13
1st downs, rush...7...12
1st downs, pass...2...1
1st downs, penal...2...0
1st downs, total...11...13
Rushes, yards...31-126...52-245
Yards per carry...4.1...4.7
Fumbles lost...4...1
Comp., passes...3-16...3-8
Comp. percentage...19%...38%
Passing yards ...24...42
Yards per catch...8.0...14.0
Intercepted by...1...1
Sacks by, yards...1-10...3-43
Returns, yards...2-38...4-63
Tot. yards gained...145...340
Penalties, yards...4-27...5-63
Punts, yardage...3-122...1-22
Punt average...40.7...22.0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS?Wood River
Rushing?Tyler Jackson 8-42; Tyson Reynoso 6-29; Huston Brashears 7-24; Kenny Cardona 4-19; Scott Bartlett 4-12.
Passing?Tyler Jackson 2-8, 12 yards, 1 interception; Craig Werley 1-2, 12 yards; Huston Brashears 0-6.
Receiving?Huston Brashears 3-24.
Fumble recoveries?Chris Santiago 1.
Interceptions?Carl Browning 1.
Kickoff returns?Carl Browning 2-38.
Tackles (75)?Tyson Reynoso 18, Carl Browning 13, Kenny Cardona 11, Chris Santiago 10, Craig Werley 4, Carter Stewart 4, Dusty Selner 3, Jeff Conover 3, Tyler Jackson 3, Grayson Thompson 2, Alex Burwell 2, Andrew Grimaldo 1, Corbin Miniard 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS?Burley
Rushing?Joel Haran 24-149; Jake Martin 18-82, 2 TD, 1 conv.; Ryan Hondo 4-22.
Passing?Joel Haran 1-1, 32 yards; Logan Parish 1-6, 7 yards, 1 interception; Mike Phillips 1-1, 3 yards, 1 conv.
Receiving?Logan Parish 1-32; Gavin Wrigley 1-7; Sheldon Mallory 1-3, 1 conv.
Fumble recoveries (4)?Ryan Hondo 2; Kyle Benham 1; Nick Bame 1.
Interceptions (1)?Nick Bame 1 with a 26-yard return.
Tackle leaders?Nathan Mitton 7, Jake Martin 7.
