Wolves show "never say quit" attitude against Cody

This past Friday at the Wolves' Homecoming varsity football game, Green River played host to the number one team in 3A, the undefeated perennial power Cody Broncs. Cody is dominating the state statistics in virtually all areas - offense, defense and special teams. The Broncs wasted no time as they ran and passed the ball for 437 yards in the first half to establish a 62-0 score by half time.

Cody has 84 players on their roster compared to the Wolves' 44, and also has the first, second and third highest scores in the state this year prior to this contest, with over 560 yards in total offense in multiple games.

The Broncs took the opening kickoff right down the field with an assortment of runs and passes. Despite one excellent pass break up by senior Raab Poignee, they were able to score on a 25-yard run to take an early 7-0 lead. The Wolves' offense was stopped on their first possession and Cody took over and scored again, this time on a pass play, to take a 14-0 lead. The Wolves' offense got the ball and three plays later they were stopped and had to punt to Cody. Alex Hudson and James Herwaldt made some good stops, but Cody scored again on a seven-yard run to up their lead to 21-0. Once again, Cody's defense came up big and stopped the Wolves on three plays and they had to punt. Cody scored on a 15-yard run to make it 28-0 and the route was on.

On the kickoff, the Wolves fumbled the ball and Cody recovered it at the 10-yard line. On their first play they completed a pass to make the score 35-0. After another unsuccessful offensive series, Green River punted to Cody who took the ball right down the field once again and scored on a 22-yard run to up the score to 42-0. Cody then did a squib kick which they recovered, but three plays later Green River's Poignee came up with an interception to stop the Broncs for the first time in the first half and the Wolves got the ball back. The Wolves ran three plays to start the second quarter and once more were stopped and had to punt. On Cody's third offensive play of this series, they ran a quarterback keeper in for a touchdown. With the point after missed, they took a 48-0 lead early in the second quarter.

The Wolves then mounted their best effort of the first half, which included a 38-yard run by James Herwaldt and a big run by Sophomore Quarterback Max Hintz. The Wolves went for it on fourth down, but their pass fell incomplete and the ball went back to Cody. Cody scored twice more in the first half on a pass and later a 77-yard run to end the half with an impressive performance and a 62-0 lead.

The second half involved a running clock due to the one-sided score and went very fast, with Cody pulling their starters and the Wolves continuing to play hard despite the score. Hintz eventually hooked up with senior Axel MacKinnon on a 40-yard catch and run. With the P.A.T. kick good, the score was 62-7. The defense kept Cody's reserves from scoring the entire second half with a solid team effort.

Quarterback Hintz was 6/8 in the second half for 70 yards and a touchdown while James Herwaldt led in rushing. The Wolves turned the ball over six times to Cody's one turnover.

After the game, Green River's Head Coach Blaine Christensen indicated that he was proud of his team's "never say quit" attitude in how they played in the second half. He was also encouraged by the continued improvement of the offense, though they will need to continue to improve this season and develop a winning culture longterm. Raab Poignee was singled out for two pass break ups, a pass interception and two pass catches on offense.

Green River hits the road to play Jackson this Friday before finishing the season with home games against Star Valley and finally Evanston.