Wood River High School football players had a kick winning their final football game of the season, 9-8 over the Canyon Ridge Riverhawks on a rainy Friday in Twin Falls.
Actually, the Wolverines in rallying from a 6-0 halftime deficit had two clutch kicks—the first a monster 69-yard punt by junior Kasey Barker that dictated field position for most of the second half, the second a game-winning 31-yard field goal by soph Haylee Thompson.
Junior Nathan Farrow, the team's leading scorer this fall, provided the only Hailey touchdown on a 14-yard fourth-down scamper that tied the game 6-6 late in the third quarter. Farrow, who usually runs the ball in heavy traffic, thought it was a big kick running to daylight around end.
Alex Padilla didn't have a kick, rather two toes that straddled the sideline in a highlight-reel catch worth of Randy Moss that gave Wood River its only pass reception Friday. It led to the decisive field goal.
The Wolverine defense, meanwhile, had a kick holding the Canyon Ridge offense to 35 rushing yards during a second half played entirely in driving rain. Linebacker Barker said, "We brought it together and fought hard on defense."
Indeed, Wood River fought hard the whole game but didn't see the results until the second half of the Great Basin Conference contest. It was entirely in character for first-year coach Kevin Stilling's Hailey squad.
Stilling, in the team huddle before the game, told the Wolverines he wanted one thing most of all—that they play until the final whistle. He said afterward, "By and large that's what this group of kids has done all year. They've played their butts off, all the way until the final whistle every game."
They needed to against Canyon Ridge in a game that settled fifth place in the six-team Great Basin Conference (GBC).
Canyon Ridge came out ready to play. The Riverhawks, banged up and missing their top two quarterbacks, started third-string junior Colton Sweesy. All Sweesy did was capably direct the methodical 'Hawks offense that dominated the first 17 minutes of the 48-minute game.
The Hawks had the ball for 13 of the first 17 minutes, owned a 105-36 edge in yardage, a 29-7 advantage in plays and a 6-1 edge in first downs.
Coach Bill Hicks' squad finally capitalized on all its grinding with an 11-play, five-minute drive after a Matt Kippes fumble recovery that put the team's first rushing touchdown of the entire season on the board, 6-0 'Hawks. Barker blocked the extra point kick.
With rain intensifying, Wood River's defense needed a stop before half to stay within striking range. The Hailey rushing offense hadn't established any traction, in large part because 6-0, 240-pound junior tackle Alex Thomas injured his knee on Wood River's first play of the game.
Stilling said, "Alex Thomas is by far our best lineman. He's the heart and soul of the line.
"With Alex out and Canyon Ridge's defense putting nine in the box, we couldn't afford to slip off a single block. Throughout the first half we made a few mistakes and kept slipping off our blocks. Our only successes came in unbalanced formations."
The Wolverines averaged 185 yards rushing per game in their last three league contests against Burley, Jerome and Twin Falls. In the first half against Canyon Ridge, the visitors had 29 yards rushing. They needed defense to keep them in the game—and "D" responded.
Senior Nick Chase (a team-high 12 tackles) stopped 'Hawks sophomore Nick Kytle (56 rushing yards, 1 TD) at the Wolverine 12-yard-line, just shy of a first down with about three minutes left in the half.
In their rush to convert a third-and-one play, the 'Hawks false-started and then were caught holding on a third-down pass. Two incomplete passes followed, the second knocked down by John Bartoletta.
Canyon Ridge had one more good chance in Wolverine turf before the half, but Braxton Parish intercepted a long pass and returned it 27 yards.
At halftime, Stilling said Wood River made adjustments to what he called his "patchwork line," most importantly moving 6-2, 190-pound senior Chauncey McGraw to Thomas' strong side tackle spot. "We weren't earth movers out there, but we had a little more success after the half," he said.
Barker's wind-aided punting provided the biggest boost.
Stopped cold on its first possession of the second half, Wood River gave the ball to Barker. He booted a gigantic 69-yard punt that bounced, rolled and splashed all the way to the 'Hawks one-yard-line.
Twice, Canyon Ridge tried to dig out of its hole. Twice the Wolverine defense stopped the 'Hawks, Evan Puluti partially blocking the second Canyon Ridge punt from the end zone.
Wood River took over at the 'Hawks 23-yard-line and gave the ball to Farrow four times. On fourth-and-one, he sprinted around a wide-open left end for his fourth touchdown and a 6-6 tie. Thompson's extra-point kick was long enough and high enough, but wide to the right.
Canyon Ridge answered back with a quick attack up to midfield. There, Puluti (9 tackles) busted through and smashed 'Hawks runner Braydon Metcalf in the backfield. Metcalf fumbled and Farrow recovered at the Riverhawks' 48-yard-line.
Five Wolverine running plays had mixed results, giving Stilling's squad a third-and-15 set-up. "We hadn't planned on throwing the ball at all. We had one incompletion in the first half. But we had to throw in this case," Stilling said. He strongly urged senior quarterback Juan Martinez to make sure he threw it where Canyon Ridge couldn't intercept it.
That's what Martinez did.
He threw safely deep and toward the sideline, way high and right and down to the 'Hawks 15-yard-stripe. Padilla reached as far as he could, with his feet still in bounds, leaning like a hypotenuse, and somehow caught the aerial for a huge 28-yard pass completion.
"Just a great catch by Alex Padilla," said Stilling.
Before the game, Wood River equipment manager Dale Martin had spent a good half hour holding the ball for Haylee Thompson's kicking practice. It was Thompson's first game back after suffering a microfractured knee injury. She was a bit erratic in practice, but she made some kicks up to 35 yards, with Martin holding.
She had already gone through the pressure of being out there with the game on the line. Thompson had provided Wood River with the winning margin in its only previous win, booting two extra points in a 14-13 upset victory at Wendell back on Sept. 11.
When the Wolverine offense stalled at the 'Hawks 14-yard-line, Thompson came out with Martinez holding and calmly struck a 31-yard field goal, her first ever, for a 9-6 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Give a lot of credit to 'Hawks quarterback Sweesy in trying to rally his team. Completing two passes for 27 yards and running a 25-yard keeper himself, Sweesy directed Canyon Ridge on a 12-play, 61-yard, seven-minute drive all the way to the Wolverine one-yard-line.
There, the Wood River defense made a goal line stand helped when Sweesy lost his footing on a third-and-goal QB sneak. On fourth down, the game on the line, Chase made a great tackle causing a fumble on a pitch play. Kytle alertly picked up the fumble, but Puluti tackled him to the ground and stopped Canyon Ridge's last threat at the nine-yard-line.
Wood River (2-6, 1-4 league, 2-2 away) finished in fifth place, with Canyon Ridge (1-7, 1-4) in sixth. Final top four GBC playoff contender standings were #1 Twin Falls (4-4, 4-1), #2 Jerome (5-3, 4-1), #3 Minico (4-5, 3-2) and #4 Burley (2-6, 2-3).
All in all, it was a good football finale week for the Wolverine program. Coach Matt Nelson's junior varsity defeated Canyon Ridge 25-8 Thursday in Hailey and ended up with three wins including home successes over Gooding and Wendell.
WRHS Line Score
Wood River 9, Canyon Ridge 8
WOOD RIVER 0 0 6 3 9
CANYON RIDGE 0 6 0 2 8
SCORING
1st half
Canyon Ridge—Nick Kytle, 1-yard run (kick blocked); 7:22 2nd (6-0 CR)
2nd half
Wood River—Nathan Farrow, 14-yard run (kick failed); 2:49 3rd (6-6)
Wood River—Haylee Thompson, 31-yard field goal; 8:15 4th (9-6 WR)
Canyon Ridge—Safety, Wood River quarterback Juan Martinez intentionally runs out of end zone; 0:05 4th (9-8 WR)
KEY STATS WOOD RIVER CANYON RIDGE
Offensive plays 42 70
Time of possession 17:47 30:13
1st downs, rush 2 6
1st downs, pass 1 6
1st downs, penalty 0 0
1st downs, total 3 12
Rushes, yards 34-59 41-139
Yards per carry 1.7 3.4
Fumbles lost 2 1
Completions, passes 1-2 6-13
Completion percentage 50% 46%
Passing yards 28 93
Yards per completion 28.0 15.5
Intercepted by 1 0
Sacks by, yards 2-5 1-7
Returns, yards 5-58 4-15
Total yards gained 138 242
Penalties 2-21 6-42
Punts, yardage 3-143 4-110
Yards per punt 47.7 27.5
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Wood River
Rushing—Nathan Farrow 14-38, 2 1sts, 1 TD; Tyler Peters 16-26; Juan Martinez 4, -5.
Passing—Juan Martinez 1-2, 28 yards, 1 1st.
Receiving—Alex Padilla 1-28, 1 1st.
Fumble recoveries (1)—Nathan Farrow 1.
Interceptions (1)—Braxton Parish 1 with 27-yard return.
Sacks—Alex Thomas 1-5; Evan Puluti 1-0.
Kickoff returns—Evan Puluti 1-0; Lashon Smith 1, -1.
Punt returns—Alex Padilla 2-32.
Tackles (68)—Nick Chase 12, Kasey Barker 9, Evan Puluti 9, Juan Martinez 6, Nathan Farrow 6, Jose Patlan 5, Chauncey McGraw 5, Tyler Peters 5, John Bartoletta 4, Braxton Parish 3, Alex Padilla 2, Jake Miczulski 1, Alex Thomas 1.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS—Canyon Ridge
Rushing leaders—Braydon Metcalf 20-56, 1 1st; Nick Kytle 17-56, 3 1sts, 1 TD; Colton Sweesy 4-27, 2 1sts.
Passing—Colton Sweesy 6-13, 93 yards, 6 1sts, 1 interception.
Receiving—Nick Kytle 4-67, 4 1sts; Derek Bastion 1-15, 1 1st; Jacob Burton 1-11, 1 1st.
Fumble recoveries (2)—Nick Kytle 1, Matt Kippes 1.
Sacks (1)—Matt Kippes 1-7.
Kickoff returns—Carlos Cantu 1-15; Derek Bastion 1-12; Braydon Metcalf 1-8.
Tackle leaders—Nick Kytle 9, Jake Warner 8, Colton McNew 4, Braydon Metcalf 3, Robby Harrington 3, Brandon Bradshaw 3, Siyavosh Askari 3, Matt Kippes 2, Jared Roe 2, Carlos Cantu 2, Garret Martin 1, Anthony Garcia 1, Derek Bastion 1.
Wood River
Football Composite 2009
TOTAL SCORING
Opponents 81 55 79 26 0 241 (34.4)
Wood River 0 8 14 36 0 58 (8.3)
RESULTS (1-6 overall, 0-4 home, 1-2 away, 0-4 Great Basin Conference)
Sept. 4 (Home) Buhl 46, Wood River 0
Sept. 11 (Away) Wood River 14, Wendell 13
Sept. 18 (Away) Gooding 12, Wood River 8
Sept. 25 (Away) Minico 28, Wood River 0
Oct. 2 (Home) Burley 35, Wood River 14
Oct. 9 (Home) Jerome 62, Wood River 22
Oct. 16 (Home) Twin Falls 45, Wood River 0
SCORING TD CONV PTS.
Tyler Peters 3 1 20
Nathan Farrow 3 0 18
Nick Chase 1 1 8
Evan Puluti 1 0 6
Juan Martinez 0 1 2
Haylee Thompson 0 2 2
Note: Wood River also scored a safety.
Touchdown passes—Juan Martinez 2. Conversion passes—Juan Martinez 1. Notes—Wood River has scored in 6 of 28 quarters....Wood River has successfully made 5 of 8 conversions (62% success rate)....Wood River has scored 8 TD—5 on runs from scrimmage, 2 on passes, 1 on defense.
Wood River senior Tyler Peters didn’t find much running room on a rainy Friday night in Twin Falls, but Peters and his Wolverine teams nevertheless captured a 9-8 Great Basin Conference win over the Canyon Ridge Riverhawks. Photo by David N. Seelig
