Wolverines win shootout with Gooding, 45-42

By: 
Steve Lyon

The Weiser High School Wolverines held off a fourth-quarter rally by Gooding to pick up a 45-42 win in a game that was epic in its momentum swings and second-half scoring heroics.
 Weiser’s coaches knew Gooding would bring a potent offense to Roy Dickerson Field for the non-conference game on Friday night. The Senators were led by an opportunistic runner and passer in Shane Jennings, a talented quarterback and all-around playmaker.
 The Wolverines have been equally successful in putting points on the scoreboard. Weiser has averaged about 38 points per game so far this season in non-conference wins over Buhl and Kellogg on the road.
 The Wolverines were able to move the ball down the field on their first possession against the Senators, despite fumbling and recovering the ball twice. Unable to get into the endzone, Weiser settled for a field goal and took the early 3-0 lead.
 Weiser’s defense held Jennings and the Gooding offense and forced the Senators to punt on their next possession. Weiser was able to block the punt and took over on Gooding’s 5-yard-line. With 2:27 left in the first quarter, Weiser quarterback Brett Spencer hit Bryce Crimin for a 5-yard touchdown.
 Weiser was up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter and the players were pumped up with the early lead.
 The Wolverines defense made a goal-line stance and stopped the Senators from scoring early in the second quarter. Weiser took over the ball on downs.     Weiser fumbled the ball for the third time in the first half and Gooding recovered with 8:03 left in the second quarter and good field position. Jennings connected with Colston Loveland for a 17-yard pass play that was good for the Senators’ first touchdown.
 Things went from bad to worse on Weiser’s next possession. A pass by Weiser quarterback Brett Spencer was picked off by none other than Shane Jennings, who roamed the defensive secondary for Gooding as well as handled quarterback duties.
 Jennings ran the interception back 41 yards for Gooding’s second touchdown. The Senators took the lead 14-10 with 7:41 left in the second quarter.
 Less than three minutes later, Gooding’s Jared Contrad found a hole and ran for a 21-yard touchdown. The Senators went for the two-point conversion and Jennings found Gavin Martin for the 3-yard pass play and two points. The Senators added to their lead and were up 21-10 with 4:45 left in the first half.
 Weiser got a momentum boost and another touchdown with 43 seconds left in the first half. Running back Jack Burke moved the ball to inside Gooding’s 10-yard line. From there, Spencer connected with receiver Caleb Harris for the 6-yard TD reception. Weiser trailed by a manageable 21-17 at halftime.
 The Wolverines did all the scoring in the third quarter. Spencer completed a pass to Crimin for an 11-yard touchdown reception with 4:16 left in the third quarter to take the lead back at 24-21.
 With 16 seconds left in the third quarter, Spencer found Weiser’s No.1 receiver Caleb Harris open once again for a 27-yard pass and the second touchdown of the quarter. Harris had 102 yards receiving and two touchdowns in his best game so far this season. Weiser was back in front of Gooding by the score of 31-21 at the end of the third quarter.
 The Senators, who are one of the top-ranked 3A teams in the state, were not going to roll over. Jennings found Jon Carpenter for a 10-yard touchdown reception with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The Senators went for the 2-point conversion. Jennings gave the ball to Kurtis Adkinson for the short scramble into the endzone. Weiser’s lead was narrowed to 2 points at 31-29.
 Weiser receiver Caleb Harris hasn’t been used a lot for kick returns, but he was deep for the Senators’ kickoff after the score. He fielded the ball, found a seam and ran 77 yards for a Weiser touchdown. The TD widened Weiser’s lead to 38-29 and made it a two-score game again with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter.
 Weiser quarterback Brett Spencer, who passed for three touchdowns and ran for one, kept the ball and ran it two yards for the second touchdown of the fourth quarter. Weiser was up 45-29 with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.
 In the final seven minutes of the game, the Senators scored two more touchdowns on their way to 492 yards in total offense for the night. Colston Loveland scampered for a 14-yard rushing touchdown. Loveland had three touchdowns in the game.
 With 3:37 left in the fourth quarter, Jennings, who had a big night passing with 336 yards in the air, connected with Loveland for a 10-yard pass play and touchdown.
 Gooding’s two scores in the final seven minutes were not enough to get past Weiser and the final score was 45-42 with the Wolverines getting the win.
 Weiser had 290 yard of offense in the game. Spencer made 15-of-24 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns.
 The running was tough going against the Senators and their big defensive line. For Weiser, Ande Jensen carried the ball four times for 28 yards. Layten Tolman had 10 rushes for 24 yards, followed by Jack Burke with 22 yards.
 Caleb Harris led the receivers with eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Kooper von Brethorst grabbed three passes for 45 yards. Bryce Crimin had two receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown.
 Harris also had the most yardage on kick returns with 77 and one touchdown. Seth Harris had five returns for 51 yards and Jack Burke had one return for 18 yards.
 Gooding’s 492 yards of offense was mostly through the air, with 336 yards of passing and 156 yards on the ground.

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Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
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