When two prep football teams are as closely matched as the Wood River Wolverines and Buhl Tribe were Friday night in Buhl, the outcome can turn on big plays, turnovers and other such pivotal moments.
That was certainly the case on Buhl's Homecoming Night at Bowers Field. The Tribe broke two long runs for touchdowns in the first half and picked apart the Hailey pass defense for a 20-0 half-time lead.
In the second half, one of five Wood River turnovers led to the fourth and final Tribe TD and Buhl (2-1) coasted home with a 27-7 non-conference football victory.
Buhl junior Austin Laing (10 carries for 124 yards) accelerated through two huge holes for 32- and 71-yard TD runs, and senior quarterback James Osterkamp completed 6-of-8 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
The teams played evenly on the scoresheet, each team piling up 350 yards in offense—and Wood River had a 13-4 advantage in first downs. But the turnovers and Buhl's 190-118 rushing edge were crucial.
It was Buhl's fourth straight grid win over Wood River and improved the Tribe's advantage to 27-9 in the 36-game series between the ancient rivals.
But Wood River had its moments, particularly when first-year coach Mike Glenn inserted sophomore back-up quarterback Danny Kramer and opened up the Hailey passing offense in the second half, trailing by three scores.
Kramer completed 5-of-16 passes for 119 yards. Top receiver was Jeff Conover (3 catches for 94 yards). And the Wood River defense was often up to the task, stopping the Tribe rushers 21 times for gains of two yards or less.
Senior linebacker Carl Browning (15 tackles) led the way, and defensive back Grayson Thompson contributed a 24-yard interception return in the fourth quarter setting up Scott Bartlett's nine-yard touchdown scamper.
Beavers arrive Friday
Wood River (1-3) will try to snap its three-game losing skid with a home non-conference game against American Falls (1-3) Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. at Homer Field in Hailey.
It's the first meeting of 4A Wood River and 3A American Falls in six years. It matches two programs that haven't won much recently—Wood River has lost 17 of 19, and American Falls has dropped 25 of 26.
The Beavers lead the seven-game series between the two schools 5-2 and have won four straight—52-12 in American Falls in 1999, 30-0 in Hailey in 1998, 19-0 in Hailey in 1978 and 22-12 in American Falls in 1977. The Wolverines haven't scored a point at home since beating the Beavers 35-6 in 1974.
American Falls started the 2005 season with a 16-13 loss to Aberdeen, then snapped a 24-game losing streak with a 29-14 home win over Kimberly Sept. 2. Since the Beavers have lost at Buhl 43-12 and at home to Declo 28-9 last Friday night.
WRHS Line Score
Buhl 27, Wood River 7
Wood River 0 0 0 7 7
Buhl 7 13 7 0 27
SCORING
1st half
Buhl—Austin Laing, 32-yard run (Alejandro Delgado kick); 7:12 1st (7-0 Buhl)
Buhl—Laing, 71-yard run (kick failed); 8:38 2nd (13-0 Buhl)
Buhl—Adam May, 9-yard pass from James Osterkamp (Delgado kick); 1:09 2nd (20-0 Buhl)
2nd half
Buhl—Will Chivers, 22-yard pass from Osterkamp (Delgado kick); 0:21 3rd (27-0 Buhl)
Wood River—Scott Bartlett, 9-yard run (Dima Springs kick); 8:12 4th (27-7 Buhl)
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KEY STATS
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WRIVER
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BUHL
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Offensive plays
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67
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60
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Time of possession
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23:53
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24:07
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1st downs, rush
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7
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1
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1st downs, pass
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5
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3
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1st downs, penalty
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1
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0
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1st downs, total
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13
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4
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Rushes, yards
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32-118
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32-190
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Yards per carry
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3.7
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5.9
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Fumbles lost
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3
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1
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Completions, passes
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9-25
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7-14
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Completion percentage
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36%
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50%
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Passing yards
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172
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93
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Yards per completion
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19.1
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13.3
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Intercepted by
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1
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2
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Sacks by, yards
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0-0
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2-13
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Returns, yards
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5-71
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6-67
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Total yards gained
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348
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350
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Penalties
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10-70
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6-48
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Punts, yardage
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3-106
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7-194
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Yards per punt
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35.3
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27.7
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INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Wood River
Rushing—Scott Bartlett 17-79 (4.65 per carry), 4 1st downs, 1 TD; Carl Browning 6-29, 3 1sts; Danny Kramer 1-5; Huston Brashears 1-8; Tyler Jackson 5-5.
Passing—Tyler Jackson 4-9, 53 yards, 1 1st; Danny Kramer 5-16, 119 yards, 4 1sts, 2 interceptions.
Receiving—Jeff Conover 3-94, 2 1sts; Carl Browning 2-33; Huston Brashears 2-20, 1 1st; Collin Hand 1-16, 1 1st; Tyler Jackson 1-9, 1 1st.
Fumble recoveries (1)—Grayson Thompson 1.
Interceptions (1)—Grayson Thompson 1 with a 24-yard return.
Kickoff returns—Jeff Conover 2-24; Huston Brashears 1-21.
Punt returns—Kenny Cardona 1-2.
Tackles (62)—Carl Browning 15, Danny Ward 9, Erik Jacobson 6, Collin Hand 5, Andrew Grimaldo 4, Anthony Quarles 4, Dusty Selner 4, Jeff Conover 3, Alex Burwell 3, Grayson Thompson 3, Houston Shaw 3, Huston Brashears 2, Scott Bartlett 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Buhl
Rushing—Austin Laing 10-124 (12.4 per carry), 2 TD; Will Chivers 5-51, 1 1st; Eric Hernandez 15-15.
Passing—James Osterkamp 7-14, 93 yards, 3 1sts, 2 TD, 1 interception.
Receiving—Will Chivers 4-80, 3 1sts, 1 TD; Adam May 2-14, 1 TD.
Fumble recoveries (3)—Kailan Puente 1; Mitch Bourner 1; K.C. Hulse 1.
Interceptions (2)—Mitch Bourner 1 with a 14-yard return; Karrick Kelly 1.
Sacks (2)—Mike Sermon 1-7; Sermon and Andrew Lauda 1-6.
Kickoff returns—Austin Laing 2-38.
Punt returns—Austin Laing 2-11.
Tackle leaders (67)—Mike Sermon 11, Kailan Puente 9, K.C. Hulse 7, Mitch Bourner 7, Will Chivers 7, J.R. Kippes 6, Trent Craner 5, Paden Mabey 3, Andrew Lauda 3, Karrick Kelly 3, Eric Aguilar 3.
