Rebels shut out by Wind River

By Karla Pomeroy

The Riverside Rebels ran into a hard-hitting, physical Wind River defense that shut out the Rebels offense Friday night as the Rebels suffered a 37-0 conference loss with one more game to play in the regular season.
Wind River got off to a quick start with Riverside staring out of a 21-0 hole at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars took the opening drive 59 yards for their first score, mixing it up offensively with a passing and running attack. Senior Justin Whitt ran it in from 3 yards out for the touchdown. The PAT was good and Wind River led 7-0 with 9:57 to play in the quarter.
Riverside gained just 7 yards on their first possession of the game, giving Wind River decent field possession. However on third-and-15, the pass was broken up and Riverside forced the Cougars to punt.
On Riverside’s first play on the ensuing drive, they fumbled and Wind River had a short field starting at the Rebels’ 17-yard line. After a 1-yard run, a 10-yard pass gave Wind River first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Two plays later Jeff Joyce intercepted a Trent Jordan pass to stop the threat. Riverside, however, gave the ball right back on an interception. The Cougars passed their way down the field, ending the drive on a 4-yard pass from Jordan to Gage Blankenship. After the PAT, Wind River led 14-0.
Riverside’s next possession ended quickly on another turnover with Wind River having just 20 yards to go to reach the end zone. They scored quickly on a 19-yard pass. The Cougars led 21-0.
Riverside picked up a couple of first downs on its next drive that went into the second quarter. The drive stalled on an incomplete pass and an illegal procedure penalty.
Riverside’s defense kept Wind River out of the end zone in the second quarter, leaving the score 21-0 at the halftime in favor of the Cougars.
“Wind River got off to a quick start and we came out flat,” Coach Michael McGuire said. He said for the most part the defense played well, but gave up some big plays.
The turnovers did not help the offensive momentum, McGuire said, “We hurt ourselves early in the game. With a team as talented as Wind River they are hard enough to beat without making mistakes.”
He said Wind River is one of the more physical teams they have played, next to Kemmerer this season. “They were faster than we thought they would be,” he added.
The Rebels came out firing to open the second half as Matt Craft completed a 30-yard pass to Cole Mosegard. After another short completion, though, the drive stalled.
On Wind River’s second possession of the half, starting at the 44-yard line, a short pass play ended in a 44-yard touchdown play. Wind River led 28-0 with 3:19 to play in the third quarter.
Riverside moved the ball down the field on its next possession that included a 37-yard pass from Craft to Mike Herebia. The drive stalled at the 17 with a sack and two penalties.
Wind River put together its next scoring drive that went into the fourth quarter and ended with Michael Runner scoring on a 9-yard run. After the PAT, Wind River led 35-0 with 11:26 to play in the game.
Riverside started its next possession on its own 10-yard line. The drive ended with a net loss of 2 yards. The snap on the punt went over the head of punter Cody Fagley and out of the end zone, giving Wind River a safety and an increase in the lead, 37-0.
On the ensuing kick off, Fagley was injured on the special teams play, suffering a mild concussion.
A fumble, recovered by Bobby Anderson, stopped Wind River’s next drive and Riverside had its best chance to score, moving the ball to the 2-yard line. On a fourth-and-goal play, Jordan Herman was unable to connect with Matt Craft, giving the ball back to Wind River on downs.
Wind River tried scoring one more time but the field goal missed.
McGuire said, offensively Riverside was overmatched with Wind River’s defensive line that blitzed Craft a lot during the game.
While the statistics don’t show it, McGuire said the team did move the ball well at times, especially in the passing game.
Riverside had just six first downs and carried the ball 28 times for a minus 9 yards. Craft and Jordan combined for 10 completions on 21 attempts for 92 yards. Mosegard had three receptions for 39 yards, Ben Anson two catches for 14 yards and Herebia one for 37 yards
Wind River had 110 yards rushing on 33 carries and 362 yards passing on 18 completions.
McGuire said he was pleased with the run defense for Riverside, since it is something they struggled with recently. He said 56 of Wind River’s 110 yards came in the fourth quarter.
Joyce led the team defensively with 16 assisted and four solo tackles for 32 defensive points. Craft had 23 points, Anson 17.5 points, Anderson 15.5 points, Herebia 15 points and Andy Vollan 13 points
He said the team needs to be more consistent in its execution of both offensive and defensive plays.

Senior night
Riverside hosts its final game of the 2008 season when rival Greybull comes to Basin for a 7 p.m. kick off Friday night. Coach McGuire said Fagley, who went out of Friday’s game with a mild concussion is questionable for the game. He said he will leave the decision to Fagley’s parents if he receives a doctor’s OK to play.
Gunner Garland is still out with the torn ACL and offensive lineman Ricardo DeNiz, who saw limited time against Friday, is questionable on the amount of time he will see.
“Defensively we’ve got to be more sound in our assignments. Greybull plays an option-based offense and we have to be in the right place and make the right reads,” McGuire said. Offensively, McGuire said the key is to take care of the ball. He said Riverside will be working hard to get the running game going early in the game.
“It’s a good rivalry game and should be a good game,” McGuire said.
He added that the focus this week is only on the Greybull game and Riverside is not looking toward the post season. “We are focused on Greybull and getting our seniors a win in their final home game.
The game will be the final hurrah for seniors Matt Craft, Cole Mosegard, Caleb Flores, Jeff Joyce, Phil Hoffman, Catlin Caines and Andy Vollan.