After week off, Buffs return with home game vs. Rocky

No team in the Class 1A nine-man ranks is more ready for week three than the Greybull Buffs, who have not played a game since their 34-8 loss in Wright on Friday, Sept. 6.
The schedule makers had penciled in a Sept. 14 home game against the Powell JV, but that contest was cancelled — at Powell’s request.  Attempts to line up another opponent were unsuccessful.
As a result, the Buffs will finally get an opportunity move past their week one setback when they host Rocky Mountain today (Thursday, Sept. 19). Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
It’ll be the first of two regular season matchups with the Grizzlies.  But only the second one, which is set for Oct. 11 in Cowley, will count in the conference standings.
Wright
The Buffs will need to start better than they did against Wright. It was a rough opener on the road, as the Panthers built a 27-0 halftime lead and were never threatened in the second half.
The Buffs scored their only points on a 2-yard run by Lucas Bolzer with 3:21 left in the third.  They added the two-point conversion, on a strike from Caden Hunt to Caiden Sorenson.
But that was it for the offense. Greybull mustered only 125 total yards and had five turnovers.  Bolzer was credited with 107 rushing yards on 19 carries, but the “team” rushing total was 66 on 41 due to tackles for loss and sacks.
Through the air, starter Caden Hunt and backup Cord Edeler combined to complete 7-of-17 passes for 59 yards, but each of them also threw two interceptions.
Greybull played without one of its senior leaders in Wyatt Didrickson, down with an injured shoulder.  While it would have helped to have him on the field, particularly on defense, Pouska refused to use his absence as an excuse, saying his team simply came out flat.
With no game on the horizon, Pouska said he and his coaching staff spent last week correcting the mistakes the saw their players make in Wright.
“We really worked on a lot of things,” he said. “We tried to solidify our blocking scheme. In the Wright game, there were a lot of situations that we saw on film where guys were going in the wrong direction on some of their blocks or going a little too far, trying to block a safety when they missed a linebacker.  We really tried to simplify things and I think it paid dividends.  But we have to play how we practice.  You can do everything right in practice, but if it doesn’t happen in the game, it won’t matter.”
Rocky Mountain
Pouska described the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies as “a physical team that wants to play hard-nosed football,” adding, “We have to match their intensity.”
Even though it’ll be a non-conference game, Pouska said the stakes are high. “It’s an opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the season,” he said. “We need to come out and play physical, minimize our penalties and play sound football.
“Everyone just needs to do their jobs — receivers need to run the right routes, the linemen need to do better in their blocking schemes and the running backs need to run the right direction.”
After this week, just five games remain in the regular season. All are conference games, starting with a Sept. 27 game in Shoshoni. The next week will be homecoming, ending in an Oct. 5 matchup with Big Piney.
“It was a tough loss (in Wright), but I definitely think we learned a lot from it,” said Pouska. “I don’t think the team views it as a negative, like they’re giving up on the season.  They see a lot of football in front of them and a lot that we control.  
“We can still make a run and have a successful season.  We just need to take it a week at a time and be the best we can be.”