Weiser breaks eight-year losing streak, beats Homedale 30-6

It’s always a great day to be a Wolverine, but it was extra special Friday night, the varsity football team handing 5-0 Homedale a 30-6 loss.

 After an apparent eight-year slump, regularly succumbing to their No. 1 conference foe, the Wolverines were able to dominate the Trojans on a windy night at Roy Dickerson Memorial Field. Weiser’s overall record is now 4-2 and 2-0 in conference play.

 “It was a good, solid team effort and I’m just real proud of them right now, and I’m proud of our coaches,” head coach Tom Harrison said following the game. “I’m happy for our kids, I’m happy for our community and I’m happy for our school. It was a big night. This is a big thing because I’ve been here, like, five years and we haven’t won this game, but it’s finally happened and it’s a good feeling right now.”

 Harrison added that he is proud of his players for their execution of a game plan devised by a coaching staff intent on reversing roles against Homedale.

 “We had a decent plan today,” he said. “Defensively, we did some things, and we made them play under pressure. You know, they are a good football team and for them to have to play under pressure like that, they aren’t used to that, and it was a game changer.”

 Weiser’s game plan was to run the ball hard on offense and contain Homedale’s outside run game on defense, which the Wolverines executed almost flawlessly.

 Senior offensive and defensive lineman Isai Herrera said it felt great to finally beat the Trojans.

 “We always look forward to this game,” he said. “It’s one of the games we circle on our calendar every year and we worked really hard this week. All of our guys are so committed, and everybody stayed focused through practice the whole time.

 “We know they lost a good quarterback last year, but they also dominated us last year with a lot of outside runs, so our coaches’ big focus was having our defensive ends contain those running backs and taking out their lead blockers, and then also shifting the rest of the defensive line with it to get more guys there, and just huddle up and make a tackle.”

 He said the plan on offense was to run all over the Trojan defense.

 “Yeah, that was our plan, to bulldoze through them, just run the ball down their throats, keep going and get as many yards on each carry as we can, and take out as many people as we can, and get big, ‘ole holes for our running backs to get through. Everybody did their job, so it was a great game. It’s amazing to make history for our school. It’s the first time, I believe, in eight years that we beat them.”

The game:

 Weiser opened the game on offense and for a very short time, it looked as though it would be a rough ride, senior Kolin Cook throwing an interception on third and 10 on a pass intended for senior receiver Xander Gray.

 Homedale took over on offense, but Cook later redeemed himself with an interception on defense, running from Weiser’s 13-yard line to the 50-yard line. A Homedale personal foul put the ball on the Trojans’ 35-yard line.

 Senior Kash Cobb and junior Cole Ingle began moving the ball toward the endzone, the series ending with a 9-yard Ingle touchdown. Senior Diego Delgadillo’s extra point made it 7-0 Weiser.

 The Wolverines caught the Trojans by surprise when Delgadillo kicked an onside kick, which was recovered by senior Elvis Williams, Weiser taking the ball at the 50-yard line.

 The series ended with a 41-yard Delgadillo field goal, giving Weiser a 10-0 advantage just four seconds into the second quarter. Delgadillo blasted the ensuing kickoff into the back of Homedale’s endzone for a touchback.

 Not even a minute later, the Wolverines took advantage of a high snap from Homedale’s center to quarterback Uranga Xavier, junior linebacker Ty Cobb picking up the ball and scoring another touchdown for Weiser.

 Delgadillo’s extra point made it 17-0 Weiser.

 The Wolverine defense was tenacious, knocking down passes and swarming Homedale running backs. Herrera and Ty Cobb shared a sack on Xavier on a fourth-down try with 5:11 left in the half, which remained 17-0 Weiser through the break.

 Homedale scored on a 4-yard run by Luke Henry, but the Trojans’ extra-point attempt went wide right.

 Weiser would score again on a 5-yard run by Ingle with 3:29 left in the third quarter, the Wolverines extending their lead to 24-6.

 Elvis Williams recovered a fumble in the endzone for a touchdown almost three minutes into the fourth quarter. Later, as a result of pressure by Ty Cobb and Dylann Ashley, Xavior threw into triple coverage, Gray and Kolin Cook knocking the ball from receiver Rafael Cuenca’s hands and Luke Sarich catching the rebound.

 Weiser had another opportunity to score with seconds left in the game, but let time run out.

Team 1 2 3 4 T

Homedale 0 0 6 0 6

Weiser 7 10 7 6 30