Falling behind 20-0 in the first quarter, the Wood River High School varsity football team played the Jerome Tigers evenly the rest of the way in Friday's Great Basin Conference West game at Jerome.
Jerome (6-2, 4-0 home) prevailed 45-24, but the underdog Wolverines (1-7, 0-3 league) were nearly even with the Tigers in total offense (396 yards Jerome, 334 WRHS) and scored three passing touchdowns.
Wood River junior quarterback Juan Martinez (12-for-28, 214 yards) tossed three touchdown passes—two to senior Greg Wakefield covering 44 and 18 yards, and one to senior Michale Brunker for 22 yards.
Top Hailey receivers were Brunker (5 catches, 85 yards) and Wakefield (4-for-73).
Junior Rafael Barriga booted a season-best 37-yard field goal to finish the scoring in the fourth, and senior Sean Bunce (27 carries for 110 yards) was the game-high rusher. Bunce averaged 28.7 yards on three kickoff returns and intercepted two passes on defense.
Also showing promise for the future was junior punter Kasey Barker (5 punts, 36.2 yards). Top tacklers were Nathan Farrow (9.5 tackles/3 assists), Clayton Jensen (7.5/1), Tyler Peters (5.5/1), Cody Chandler (4.0/2), Brunker (3.5/1) and Bunce (3.5/1).
Early in the game, the Wolverines "tested the waters and figured out we could play with them," said coach Mike Glenn. "We left Jerome with a certain measure of respect."
Friday's game ended Wood River's season. Jerome enters the Great Eight playoffs against Blackfoot (7-2) Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pocatello's Holt Arena. Other Great Eight playoff games, all on Friday, are Century (4-4) at Hillcrest at 7 p.m. in Idaho Falls; Rigby (1-7) at Minico at 7 p.m. in Rupert; and Burley (1-7) at Pocatello (7-1) Friday at 6 p.m. in Holt Arena.
The Wood River football banquet is set for Thursday, Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school commons area, Hailey.
Glenn won't be back as coach
Wood River High School varsity football coach Mike Glenn, 49, of Hailey said Monday he won't be back to coach the Wolverines next season.
High school history teacher Glenn, hired as Wood River's grid coach in February 2005 after a 10-year coaching career at Eagle High, said he planned to inform the team of his decision this week and submit his letter of resignation as a coach to principal John Blackman.
Glenn, with two children still studying at the Hailey high school, will continue teaching in the Blaine County School District. He said he plans to pursue an administrative degree in educational leadership through University of Idaho.
"We're very thankful that the school district has been so good to us," said Glenn, who didn't rule out another head coaching job. "I've done what I can do here and I just can't seem to fix it. We seem to be perpetuating a defeatist attitude. I feel bad for the kids."
A coach for 27 years, Glenn said, "Everyone has been supportive and wonderful. I really feel that it's not the schemes I brought, but the issues around football here are much bigger. The events of life seem to push you down different tracks. I'm excited about the future prospects for me and my family."
Fourth-year coach Glenn (10-25) just completed his second consecutive 1-7 campaign on the gridiron and has dropped 11 consecutive road games. After back-to-back 4-6 and 4-5 seasons in 2005 and 2006, Wood River teams went 1-5 in league play the past two seasons. Offensive production dipped each year, from 181 points in 2005, to 166, 119 and 96 points this season.
The coach who preceded Glenn at the Wood River helm, 70-year-old Dale Martin, has worked with Glenn as the equipment manager the past four seasons, indeed, since 2001 for the Hailey high school. But Martin, with the WRHS football program since 1999, has expressed a desire to step down from his equipment job in 2009.
