Second win over Rocky sends Buffs to playoffs

 Final regular season home game Saturday vs. Wind River

If there was any doubt which team was better after their week four matchup, the Greybull Buffs erased it Friday night in Cowley, notching their second win of the season over the Rocky Mountain Grizzlies to clinch a berth in the Class 1A nine-man football playoffs.

The 33-14 rout bore little resemblance to their first game. In that Sept. 17 matchup in Greybull, the lead changed hands five times and the Buffs needed a late touchdown plunge by Lucas Bolzer and a defensive stand to emerge with an 18-14 win.

The rematch was a mismatch, as the Buffs started fast and never trailed while outgaining the Grizz 406 yards to 171 yards. Most of Greybull’s total came on the ground, as Bolzer churned out 177 yards on 27 carries and Wyatt Didrickson, who missed the first game with a shoulder injury, added another 142 yards on 12 totes.

“I’ve known our team was capable of playing that type of football since the beginning of the season,” said Coach Jeremy Pouska. “I think the guys are starting to believe more in themselves and in the team.

“They certainly put it all together last Friday, handling their opponent on all sides of the ball — offense, defense, special teams, everything.”

The Buffs scored in every quarter.  A Lucas Bolzer run of 39 yards started the scoring less than two minutes into the first quarter and the Buffs stretched their lead to 13-0 in the second quarter on a 1-yard run by Caiden Sorenson.

Bolzer and Didrickson added touchdown runs in the third quarter to push the Greybull lead to 27-0.

Didrickson added a second touchdown run midway through the fourth to silence the Rocky faithful.

Senior kicker Steele Davis was good on three of his five PAT attempts for the Buffs.

In addition to running up more than 400 yards from scrimmage, the Buffs played their crispest game of the season. Other than coming up short on two fourth-down tries, they had no turnovers and minimal penalties. “If we had three, I’d be surprised,” said Pouska, calling it his team’s best overall performance of the year.

This week

With a playoff berth secured, the next order of business for the Buffs is earning a home playoff game.  They can take a step toward doing that with a win Saturday against Wind River.  The teams will play a shortened JV game at noon, with the varsity contest to follow.  

Big Piney has already clinched the Class 1A West Conference title.

The Buffs can wrap up the No. 2 seed with a win over the Cougars, who sit at 1-5 after six weeks.

“We’re excited to have this opportunity,” said Pouska. “The main thing is to finish these last two weeks in the win column so we can hopefully solidify our second-place rank for the playoffs and host a home playoff game, which I think would great not only for the team and the program but also the community.”

Pouska said his team cannot afford to overlook Wind River because of its poor record. The Cougars played inspired ball early in their matchup with Shoshoni before fading in the second half.  “They’re a physical team with guys who are very capable of making plays,” he said.

Greybull 7 6 14 6 — 33

Rocky Mt. 0 0   8 6 — 14

G — Lucas Bolzer 39-yard run (Steele Davis kick)

G — Caiden Sorenson-1 yard run.

G — Bolzer 14-yard run (Davis kick)

G — Wyatt Didrickson 17-yard run (Davis kick)

RM — Joaquin Scheeler 1-yard pass from Lafe Files (Scheeler run)

G — Didrickson 54-yard run.

RM — Files 9-yard pass from Scheeler.

RUSHING — Greybull 52-371 (Lucas Bolzer 27-177, Wyatt Didrickson 12-142, Caden Hunt 3-25, Caiden Sorenson 8-25, Jesse Brown 1-1, Larry Longshore 1-1); Rocky Mt. 29-100 (Triffen Jolley 19-125, Mason Moss 2-4, Lafe Files 1-(-7), Joaquin Scheeler 7-(-22)

PASSING — Greybull 2-of-5 for 35 yards; Rocky Mt. 8-of-16 for 71 yards.

RECEIVING — Greybull: Yandel Hernandez 2-35.

DEFENSIVE STANDOUTS — Jesse Brown led with 7 tackles and 2 interceptions.  Sorenson had 5-5 tackles, Didrickson had 2.5 tackles and 2 sacks, Hernandez had 4-5 tackles and 1 sack and Bolzer had 3 tackles.