Jackson Mitchell heads down the field to tackle Lander's offense during the game Friday.
Running back Jaxxson Gomez gets taken down by Lander's defense. Gomez scored the first touchdown of the game and was named player of the game on offense Friday night.
This past Friday the Green River Wolves hosted the 1-0 Lander Tigers who were fresh off a 54- 0 home win over Pinedale. The Tigers kicked to the Wolves with the ball going deep out of the end zone, preventing any return. The Wolves' offense was unable to move the ball on their first series and got off a short punt to the tigers. Lander then ran three plays on the ground before their experienced senior quarterback threw an 18-yard strike for the first score of the game. With the P.A.T. kick good, Lander took a 7-0 lead to temporarily quiet the large Wolves home crowd.
After the Tigers kicked off, with the ball again going deep through the endzone, the Wolves took over on their own twenty yard line. They mounted an impressive eight-play drive with a series of runs featuring several different runners, culminating in a 35-yard touchdown run for the Wolves. After dropping the snap on the hold for the P.A.T., the holder alertly picked up the ball and ran it in for a two-point conversion and the Wolves were up 8-7 to the Tigers.
The Wolves' defense then stopped Lander on their next series and both teams had fumbles which ended their offensive drives.
The big play of the game occurred when Green River's senior quarterback Caleb Lake, fighting for extra yardage on a run, was piled on by three Lander defenders. Lake ended up with a game-ending injury, which caused a long delay in the game and seemed to shake up both the crowd and the Wolves team.
Lander's senior quarterback, a 6'3" excellent passer, went to work and with a solid running game Lander took over all the momentum and outscored the Wolves the rest of the game 37-8 to come up with a 44-16 victory and their second win of the young season to remain undefeated.
Players of the game for the Wolves were running back Jaxxson Gomez on offense, who scored the Wolves' first touchdown of the game on a 34-yard run, and Gage Finley on defense, who led the team with tackles and a fumble recovery.
Head Coach Cuthbertson commented that the fumble on the four-yard line when they were going in to score, followed by the injury to Lake, really took the wind out of their sails, particularly losing an experienced three-year quarterback who not only plays a key position but is a team leader. Thankfully the injury is not as serious as it at first appeared, but Lakes' availability is day-to-day and he will not be available this next game. Green River's next opponent Rawlins is huge up front with two 300-pound linemen, so the Wolves will have to prepare for a ground-and-pound type of offense. The Coach believes "his kids are fighters and they will show up ready to compete." Also the Coach noted that they have complete confidence in backup quarterbacks Kale Knezovich and Jaxxson Gomez, both of whom made some big plays in the Lander game.
The Wolves will have one more home game before hitting the road as they will take on the Rawlins Outlaws next Friday. The Outlaws are 1-0 on the season, having beaten winless Pinedale 0-2.
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