Football fans got their money's worth Friday night when the Wood River High School varsity football team hosted the Jerome Tigers in a Great Basin Conference game at Hailey's Phil Homer Field.
They basically got two games for the price of one—and it wasn't just because of the 12 touchdowns scored in a relatively quick two-hour event won easily by Jerome 62-22. And it wasn't because it was Hailey's "Senior Night."
In the first game, basically before halftime, Jerome turned four turnovers and a botched Wood River punt into great field position that gave the Tigers a 49-0 lead at half. Actually, it was 49-0 just 17 minutes into the 48-minute contest.
"You can't give that good a football team such good field position, and Jerome is a very good football team," said Wood River coach Kevin Stilling. "We shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers early in the game."
Stilling's Wolverines, a little shell-shocked, nevertheless maintained their good attitude and composure and waited for the appearance of some reserves on Tiger coach Gary Krumm's 64-player roster.
When they arrived, the second game began and Wood River did an excellent job with its running attack. In fact, the Wolverines (7.2 points scored a game) scored three touchdowns in the second half and finished with a season-high 22 points.
"Certainly we were playing against some of Jerome's other players, but we fixed some things at halftime and put them into play. It makes all the difference in your rushing game when you stay on a block for four seconds instead of one second," said coach Stilling.
He added, "It's a testament to our kids that they stayed with it and didn't quit. We're basing our success this year on playing all four quarters, and that's what we've done against Jerome, Burley and also Minico. So I'm happy with that.
"The kids are positive with each other and the coaches are staying positive with the kids."
Senior Tyler Peters (19 carries for 137 yards, 1 TD) had another solid offensive game, broke a couple of long gainers and led the defense with eight tackles. Junior Nathan Farrow (24 carries, 79 yards) was the workhorse and scored two TDs.
And senior quarterback Juan Martinez guided the 50-carry running attack that ended up out-rushing Jerome 234-113. Carving the holes was the interior line of Alex Thomas, Eric Santana, John Siegel, Evan Puluti and Kasey Barker.
Wood River, staked to good field position by Alex Padilla's 35-yard and 22-yard kickoff returns, took it to paydirt on 49-yard and 73-yard drives after half, and closed the scoring on a 39-yard drive after Connor Braatz's fumble recovery.
The 73-yard Wolverine scoring drive was gritty and admirable, covering 13 plays and eight minutes. Peters and Farrow took turns running the ball effectively, and Nick Chase chipped in with a 12-yard end around run. Farrow's 17-yard sprint on a third-and-four dive was the biggest gainer.
With two minutes left, Braatz pounced on a Tiger fumble and Peters busted loose, his legs flying, on a 38-yard dash to the Jerome one. Farrow plunged home, and Martinez ran the two-point conversion.
It was a positive conclusion.
But Jerome (3-3, 2-1 league) was virtually unstoppable when its first string was on the field, especially its passing game and the double-barreled attack of senior quarterback Cameron Stauffer (7-for-7, 161 yards, 3 TD) and senior running back Ross Hillier (9 carries, 58 yards, 4 TD).
Having lost three of its last four games, the 2008 State 4A runner-up team from Jerome came to Hailey and made a statement—one they'll need to expand upon Friday, Oct. 16 when they host the four-time defending Great Basin champs Minico Spartans from Rupert.
Suddenly vulnerable, Minico (3-4, 2-1 league) was shocked 27-24 in overtime by first-year school Canyon Ridge of Twin Falls (1-5, 1-3) last Friday. It was Minico's first regular-season league loss since 2004, a streak covering 14 games.
However, Minico can still regain the conference title by winning at Jerome (3-3, 2-1 league) this coming Friday and finishing up at home Oct. 23 with a victory over the Twin Falls Bruins (3-3, 3-0). Twin Falls whipped Burley (2-4, 2-2) by a 45-0 score last Friday.
Wood River (1-5, 0-3 league) wraps up its three-game homestand Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. against Twin Falls for the 2009 Homecoming football game. Opening kickoff is 7 p.m. preceded by tailgating.
Stilling said about Twin Falls, "Judging by the film, Twin Falls looks to be a pretty physical team. It will be a challenge for us to match up physically. They'll mix things up on offense. When we have the ball, we need to establish our running game earlier in the game."
Homecoming means extra fun at WRHS
Homecoming 2009 activities continue today through Friday at Hailey's Wood River High School. The big event is Friday's football game between Wood River and Twin Falls:
Wednesday, Oct. 14: School Spirit Day. The Homecoming Parade, with 23 entries, starts at Wood River Middle School at 2:30 p.m. and travels down Hailey's Main Street before ending at the high school.
Thursday, Oct. 15: Tie Dye Day. Spirit pep assembly. Great Basin Conference tournament girls' soccer game championship game at 4:30 p.m. on the soccer field. Bonfire at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 16: Tailgating at Phil Homer Field starting at 5 p.m., with the football game against Twin Falls at 7 p.m. The Homecoming royalty will be announced. Homecoming Retro Flashback dance from 9:30 p.m. to midnight.
Here are the Homecoming royalty candidates:
Freshmen girls: Megan Jones, Maggie Williams, Sydney Tidwell and Nicole Pratt.
Freshmen boys: Trevor Brand, Eli McNees, Liam Jablonski and Tim Boyle.
Sophomore girls: Ali Appleton, K.T. Martinez, Megan Morrell and Michaela Rodriquez.
Sophomore boys: Quintin Dowdle, Nathan Moses, Stone Sutton and Connor Farrow.
Junior girls: Jessica Hamilton, Dylan Peterson, Halsey Pierce and Ashton Lupton.
Junior boys: Tommy Heinrich, Douglas King, Charlie Evans and Davis Hague.
Senior girls: Izzy Taylor, Ivory Dilley, Steph Sloan and Delaney Willey.
Senior boys: Juan Martinez, Tyler Peters, Mark Coyne and Sean Dahlman.
WRHS Line Score
Jerome 62, Wood River 22
Jerome 28 21 13 0 62
Wood River 0 0 8 14 22
SCORING
1st half
Jerome—Ross Hillier, 4-yard run (Roman Vazquez kick); 8:59 1st (7-0 J)
Jerome—Heyden Thacker, 12-yard pass from Cameron Stauffer (Roman Vazquez kick); 7:50 1st (14-0 J)
Jerome—Gus Callen, 71-yard pass from Cameron Stauffer (Roman Vazquez kick); 4:12 1st (21-0 J)
Jerome—Ross Hillier, 13-yard run (Roman Vazquez kick); 2:39 1st (28-0 J)
Jerome—Billy Wight, 21-yard pass from Cameron Stauffer (Roman Vazquez kick); 11:54 2nd (35-0 J)
Jerome—Ross Hillier, 12-yard run (Roman Vazquez kick); 8:55 2nd (42-0 J)
Jerome—Ross Hillier, 15-yard run (Roman Vazquez kick); 7:07 2nd (49-0 J)
2nd half
Jerome—Dylan Dowton, 1-yard run (Roman Vazquez kick); 8:31 3rd (56-0 J)
Wood River—Tyler Peters, 1-yard run (Nick Chase, pass from Juan Martinez); 4:12 3rd (56-8 J)
Jerome—Arnold Zuvala, 4-yard run (kick failed); 0:35 3rd (62-8 J)
Wood River—Nathan Farrow, 3-yard run (run failed); 4:25 4th (62-14 J)
Wood River—Nathan Farrow, 1-yard run (Juan Martinez run); 1:06 4th (62-22 J)
KEY STATS JEROME WOOD RIVER
Offensive plays 49 71
Time of possession 17:10 30:50
1st downs, rush 6 12
1st downs, pass 2 0
1st downs, penalty 0 2
1st downs, total 8 14
Rushes, yards 30-113 50-234
Yards per carry 3.8 4.7
Fumbles lost 2 4
Completions, passes 7-7 2-7
Completion percentage 100% 28%
Passing yards 161 4
Yards per completion 23.0 2.0
Intercepted by 1 0
Sacks by, yards 2-19 0-0
Returns, yards 7-94 8-125
Total yards gained 368 344
Penalties 3-32 3-25
Punts, yardage 1-42 3-59
Yards per punt 42.0 19.7
Blocked punts 1 0
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Wood River
Rushing—Tyler Peters 19-137, 7 1sts, 1 TD; Nathan Farrow 24-79, 3 1sts, 2 TD; Nick Chase 3-14, 2 1sts; Alex Padilla 2-6; Juan Martinez 1-3, 1 conv.
Passing—Juan Martinez 2-7, 4 yards, 1 conv., 1 interception.
Receiving—Nick Chase 1-3, 1 conv.; Tyler Peters 1-1.
Fumble recoveries (2)—Connor Braatz 1; Nathan Farrow 1.
Kickoff returns—Alex Padilla 3-69; Braxton Parish 4-50; Nick Chase 1-6.
Tackles (43)—Tyler Peters 8, Kasey Barker 6, Evan Puluti 5, Nick Chase 5, Jose Patlan 3, Jimmy Williams 3, Alex Padilla 3, Alex Thomas 3, Nathan Farrow 2, Kevin Jensen 2, Juan Martinez 1, Connor Braatz 1, Ben Hofferber 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Jerome
Rushing leaders—Ross Hillier 9-58, 1 1st, 4 TD; Jake Hollifield 3-21; Arnold Zuvala 2-21, 1 1st, 1 TD; D.J. Worthington 2-14, 1 1st; Dylan Dowton 6-12, 1 1st, 1 TD; Cameron Stauffer 2-12, 1 1st; James Nishimoto 1-9.
Passing—Cameron Stauffer 7-7, 161 yards, 2 1sts, 3 TD.
Receiving—Gus Callen 3-104, 1st, 1 TD; Billy Wight 2-30, 1 TD; Payson Lott 1-15, 1 1st; Heyden Thacker 1-12, 1 TD.
Fumble recoveries (4)—Russell Ciocca 1, Cody McCoy 1, Tyler Powell 1, Milton Hernandez 1.
Interceptions (1)—Steward Bach 1 with a 30-yard return.
Sacks (2)—Cody McCoy 1-10; Tyler Powell, Layne Lasike and Zach Leavitt 1-9.
Kickoff returns—Cody McCoy 3-51.
Punt blocks—Milton Hernandez 1.
Tackle leaders—Cody McCoy 8, Tyler Powell 7, Layne Lasike 5, Dylan Dowton 5, Jordan McCully 4, Steven Hoskovec 4, Bridon Suitter 4.
Wood River High School first-year football coach Kevin Stilling has learned a lot about the Great Basin Conference grid wars and his grid program—and is looking forward to more improvement in the years ahead. Photo by David N. Seelig
