Wolverines thrash Pirates 70-13; will rest in first round of playoffs

Published by admin on Wed, 10/30/2024 - 7:00pm

Senior Austin Ashley, No. 9 center, gets a hand on the ball as a Payette kicker attempts a point-after following a Pirate touchdown. The Wolverines beat up on the Pirates, handing them a 70-13 loss Friday at home. They earned the SRV Championship title last week by beating Cole Valley Christian 59-0. Weiser has a bye-week this week before hosting the winner of the Moscow vs. American Falls game that plays out on Friday, Nov. 1. Photo by Keith Bryant.
By: 
Philip A. Janquart

Backups score 22 points in second half of Friday’s victory

The game was all but decided in the first quarter of Weiser’s impressive 70-13 victory over Payette at home Friday.

 The Wolverines had taken a commanding 48-0 lead by the second quarter, prompting the Weiser coaching staff to sit most starters the entire second half. 
 Payette (4-5, 1-4) sits near the bottom of the SRV Conference, one place ahead of conference newcomer Cole Valley Christian (0-5, 1-8).
 Conversely, the Wolverines are leading the SRV with a 7-2 overall record and are unbeaten in conference standings at 5-0, with a five-game winning streak.
 Rival Homedale is 8-1 overall, with a 30-6 loss to Weiser Oct. 4, which puts the Trojans in second place. The Wolverines secured the SRV Conference title last week with a 59-0 win over Cole Valley.
 Sophomore Klete Cook took over at quarterback early in the third quarter of Friday’s game after a 20-yard rushing touchdown by senior Kash Cobb. 
 Senior Kaghen Cluff followed up with a 6-yard touchdown on the ground, with junior Shayd Crossly adding the extra point to widen Weiser’s lead to 61-0.
 Cook added a 10-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, followed by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by senior offensive tackle Isai Herrera that brought the Weiser crowd to its feet. Senior Luke Sarich scored from the 3-yard line for the two-point conversion to make up for a missed extra point in the first quarter.
 Payette would score 13 points, 7 late in the third and 6 late in the fourth to end the game.
 “The kids were excited to play; the backups were excited to play,” said Weiser head coach Tom Harrison. “They played the whole second half. For the most part, we didn’t play any starters the second half.”
 He said that his team continues to improve and build on momentum that started five games ago with a 61-22 victory over Melba.
 The Wolverines have been on a mission since dropping the first two games of the season.
 “We’ve been learning some things about ourselves,” Harrison said, noting that his players are learning from their mistakes. “They seem to be picking things up pretty good and the coaches are doing a good job of prepping the kids who are being very coachable.”
 Part of the challenge at this point, he said, is making sure that his players stay hungry.
 “Hopefully they can stay humble and understand that we can be beaten by anybody,” Harrison said. “We have to guard against being vain or being something we don’t want to be. We want to be humble and confident in our abilities while having faith in our coaches and faith in each other. That can carry us a long way.”
 He noted that his team will not be idle during its first-round bye-week, the Wolverines taking the opportunity to fine tune some things.
 “We need to get better in our passing game in some areas,” Harrison said. “There are always improvements we can make, including on special teams. We are going to try to get that done this week. We are going to work on the details, get down to the small things that can make us better. There are always things we can work on and we have the right coaches to help get it down.”
 Senior Xander Gray led in the receiving department with 2 receptions for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns, followed by Sarich with 1 catch for 31 yards. 
 Weiser running backs combined for 319 yards on the ground, with senior Weston Black rushing for 70 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns. Cobb had 63 yards on 4 carries and 2 touchdowns. Ty Cobb gained 57 yards on 4 carries while junior Cole Ingle had 38 yards on 3 carries and 1 touchdown.
 Kolin Cook went 5 of 5 passing for 116 yards and 4 touchdowns, with Klete Cook going 2 for 2 and 1 touchdown.
 The Wolverines amassed 448 yards of total offense.
 Klete Cook led all tacklers with 6 total and 5 solo followed by Stockton Young with five total and two solo. Ty Cobb had 4 tackles and two quarterback sacks.
 Weiser has a first-round bye this week and will play the winner of the play-in game between No. 6 Moscow and No. 11 American Falls.
Team 1 2 3 4 T
Weiser 20 28 14 8 70
Payette 0 0 7 6 13
 

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18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
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