Wolves eliminated in playoffs

The No. 3 seeded Green River Wolves had to hit the road for the long trip east to take on the No. 2 seeded Torrington Trailblazers on their home field.

While it was disappointing to work so hard and come so close, head football coach Don Maggi said "it was a tough game to lose, and that while it is never easy, especially when you put so much into a season."

"We are extremely proud of the effort of our kids showed against Torrington and all season long," he said.

The Wolves got the ball first and quarterback Chance Hofer wasted no time utilizing junior tight end Anthony Mitchell for a 14-yard gain in the first series, but the defense stiffened and the Wolves had to punt.

Torrington took over and moved the ball, but had to settle for a field goal as the Wolves defense played tough, aided by a big stop by senior Cole White.

On the next offensive series, Hofer hit fellow senior Devin Love for 12 yards and after a 15-yard penalty against Torrington, Hofer connected with another senior, Candon Croft, on a screen pass for 7 yards.

Hofer then took the ball himself and showed some excellent moves to take the ball in for the first touchdown of the game and a 7-3 Wolves lead.

Hofer, who entered the game as the leading passer in 3A, finished the game with 134 yards rushing with two touchdowns on 14 carries as his offensive line opened some holes.

Unfortunately, on the very next play, the Wolves' special teams had a let down and Torrington returned the ball 95 yards for a touchdown, immediately regaining a lead they never relinquished.

On the next series, the Wolves saw lighting strike twice as Torrington came up with another big play.

Hofer was intercepted and the Trailblazers took advantage with a short drive ending in a touchdown pass into the end zone for a 17-7 lead.

In the first series of the second half, junior Dallan Serrano sacked Torrington's quarterback to set the tone and the Wolves stopped Torrington's offense on forth down.

The offense then took over, but was stopped on three downs and the Wolves appeared to have to punt, but Hofer took off running instead for a gain of 20 yards and a first down on the fake.

Hofer then picked up another big gain of 23 yards on a broken play, before taking it in for the touchdown on the next play to narrow the gap to 17-13, though the point after attempt was no good.

On the next series Torrington went deep on a pass play with White coming up with another big play as he intercepted the ball in the end zone and the Wolves had new life late in the game.

Torrington's defense came up big however and shut down the Wolves' big play offense to seal the victory and a spot in the championship game against Cody, who defeated previously undefeated Star Valley.

Despite the obvious disappointment, coach Maggi only had good things to say about his team's effort.

"They did things the right way, practicing and playing hard and preparing well and simply came up a little short in the state semi-final game..., a game nine other 3A schools would have loved to be playing in," he said.

The coach went on to say "it was a fun group to coach and it was a blessing to watch them grow as individuals and as a team."

Maggi said the team they will miss their seniors tremendously.

"It was a class that not only had talented players and solid leadership, it had good people," he said.

Maggi also said the seniors set a great example for other classes to follow.

He feels they have some key members returning and some good young players coming up and if they stay involved, work hard and follow the team's motto "do your job," prospects will be good for the coming seasons.