Prep football: Soldotna running game too much for young Teton
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POCATELLO – The Soldotna Stars came down from Alaska to compete in the Rocky Mountain Rumble in Pocatello Saturday.
Apparently, they came to chew bubble gum and run the ball — and they were all out of bubble gum.
The Stars ran for 434 yards, with five different players rushing for at least 30 yards in a 35-7 win over Teton.
Bad movie jokes aside, Teton coach David Joyce knew what his young team was up against. The bright side is that there will be no other opponents on the schedule with a running scheme like the Stars. Bright side Part 2 is that the young Timberwolves team got another week of experience to get better despite dropping to 0-2.
“The first game was the first game (starting) for 21 of 22 kids that played,” Joyce said of a 26-14 loss to a good Declo team last week. “We had 21 new starters and we made rookie mistakes. I wanted to see those corrected this game and when you’re playing a team that is polished and is as physical as Soldotna was, I thought we actually held our own a lot better.”
The Stars took a 14-0 lead at the half with the big play coming on a 70-yard touchdown run by Andon Wolverton.
When the Stars tried to pass, the Teton defense was ready with Colt Kay picking off two passes on consecutive possessions. The Timberwolves however couldn’t take advantage of the turnovers.
A Teton fumble resulted in another Soldotna score just before the half.
Soldotna’s ground game dominated the third quarter as the Stars put together a nine-play, 69-yard drive, and a 12-play, 71-yard drive in the quarter, both ending in touchdowns for a 35-0 lead.
Teton finally got on the board in the fourth quarter as Kay ran for a four-yard touchdown.
“We knew going into this season that we would be pretty young and pretty inexperienced,” Joyce said, adding the program was in the same situation two years ago. But this year’s squad is facing a tougher early-season schedule.
“Soldotna didn’t come down here for a tickling match. We just have to weather the storm until we get the experience,” he said.
Kay finished with 58 yards and Luke Nelson added 57 yards. Nelson also passed for 87 yards.