by Mike Uhl
Garden Valley, Idaho—Friday, August 26, 2011
It’s 3 p.m., both teams are on the field doing their warm-ups:
Rimrock “Raiders” in their green and white uniforms and the home town “Wolverines” in their purple and gold.It’s football time for another year. The grass is green, the afternoon hot air hits you in the face like a blast furnace. It’s hot, 100 degree hot. It’s football season. It’s my favorite time of the year. Fresh cut grass and popcorn, chips and WATER, cotton candy and pop. Moms and Dads, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, Sisters and Brothers, the old and the new born. It’s Phil Arnold announcing the game. It’s football time in Garden Valley.
The deeds of last year’s seniors Casey “Hurricane” Hileman, Dylan “Bone Crusher” Bass, Charlie “The Horse” Johnson, and Chad “Bam Bam” Jones, Zach “War Elephant” Smith, and “Bigfoot” Danny Breckenridge. These players are now seared into the grass of the Wolverines home field. The ghosts of all the Garden Valley players who have walked on this field are here. They are watching and cheering and blocking in their minds. This year’s players and team will set new records. Late at night, around campfires, these players and their exploits and daring deeds will be the inspirations for songs and tall tales told by dads to sons and wide-eyed middle school players.
Due to the extreme heat, the officials will call time-outs every six minutes for water breaks.
The announcer yells: Let’s Play FOOTBALLLLLL! The sound of a foot hitting the ball on the kick-off, echoes between the goal posts. The crowd roars, there is the rush of the players trying to find someone to block for the ball carrier.
The game has started!
Who will win? Who will lose? That’s not the question. For the players, it’s who will put all they have into that first five seconds after the ball is snapped. That is the question! If they can do that play after play for the whole game, your team will win today. It’s 5 seconds. One-Thousand One, One-Thousand Two, One-Thousand Three, One-Thousand Four, One-Thousand Five. EVERY PLAY, EVERY DOWN, EVERY QUARTER, EVERY HALF, EVERY GAME!
NOW ON TO THE FOOTBALL GAME!
Rimrock kicks the ball on the ground to Garden Valley... J.D. Fuhriman picks up the ball, runs to the 35-yard line. Wolverines’ first play for 2011 is a 1-yard loss. On 2nd & 11 it’s off-sides. On 3rd & 16 it’s an incomplete pass. It’s 3 plays and punt. It’s the first game and the nerves are at a high pitch for Garden Valley. Rimrock returns the punt 30 yards. The clock reads 10:32. QB Clay Cantrell hands off to Oscar Gomez who runs through the Wolverines defense for a 28-yard TD for the Raiders. Gomez runs around the right side to add 2 more points.
SCORE: Rimrock 8, Garden Valley 0.
Big number 79, Jorge Mondragon, will kick the ball for Rimrock. The ball bounces on the ground. J.D. Fuhriman picks up the ball and running to the right, is stopped by Bronson Gray.
Wolverines QB Nathan “Dynamite” Updike runs to the right and picks up 6. Jono Lawler tries the middle of the line and is stopped, dead in his tracks, by Pattee and Mondragon. Nathan drops back and hits a streaking Cody “The Cobra” Zeff down the left side of the field for a 1st down. A pass to Lance “Stones” Jones is just off his fingertips and falls incomplete. On 2nd & 10, a bad snap is recovered by Updike.
Now it’s 3rd and long. Nathan Black tackles QB Updike in the backfield for a loss. “Big D” David Bengoa comes in to punt the ball. What a kick, driving back the Raiders’ Cantrell, who still returns the ball 12 yards. With the ball on the 33, QB Cantrell hands off to Nathan Black going right for a long gain and is stopped by the “Renegade”. The play is called back on a penalty.
Ayala picks up 3 and is stopped hard by J.D. Fuhriman. Cantrell is stopped by “Dynamite” and “Stones” Jones for no gain. On a 3rd & 11, Ayala tries a screen pass to RB Black. Zach “The Raptor” Root stops the play. “The Cobra” and “Dynamite” Updike stop Rimrock for no gain and Garden Valley takes over on downs.
With the clock reading 5:08, QB Nathan Updike runs up the middle, dodging Raiders to score 6 points. On the next play, “Dynamite” runs around the right and into the end zone to add 2 more points.
SCORE: Garden Valley 8, Rimrock 8.
David “Big D” Bengoa booms a kick to Pattee. The Rimrock returner makes a good return to the 34-yard line and is stopped by “Stones” Jones with a shoestring tackle. QB Cantrell hands the ball to Gomez, who slips for no gain. Black takes the ball straight ahead for 1 tough yard. A pitch to Gomez around the right side for a 1st down, he is stopped by Benny “Killer Bee” Updike. With the ball on the 48, the Raiders’ Gomez goes around the right for another 1st down, stopped by J.D. and Zach Root.
The Wolverines defense is tired of Rimrock getting 1st downs. Thomas “Iron Man” Grimm hits the runner so hard that the ball pops out and he recovers the ball. Starting at the 40, QB Updike hits Jones with a 5-yard pass. Next, “Dynamite” Updike goes up the middle to pick up 4. It’s 3rd and 1 yard to go. Jono Lawler takes a pitch going right, for a 1st down. The Raiders’ Black tackles QB Updike in the backfield for a loss of 5. Garden Valley tries a pass that falls incomplete. Another incomplete pass and it’s punt time for “Big D”. Cantrell picks up 30 on the return. Black gets another 6. Cody “The Cobra” Zeff stops Pattee to end the First Quarter.
SCORE tied 8 to 8.
SCORE: Rimrock 14, Garden Valley 8.
The Raiders’ squib kicks the ball bouncing on the ground. Michael “The Flash” Yearsley falls on the ball. “Dynamite” gets the ball from the center; dodging tacklers, he spots J.D. streaking down the left side of the field on a 60-yard scoring run. The clock reads 9:31 and Garden Valley ties the score. The extra point try was no good.
SCORE: Garden Valley 14, Rimrock 14.
On the kickoff, “The Law” Lawler stops Pattee. Gomez runs up the middle for 7 yards. He picks up another 1st down on the next play and is stopped by “Iron Man” Thomas Grimm. The clock reads 7:50. The Raiders’ QB Cantrell drops back to pass, lets the ball loose. “The Cobra” Cody Zeff jumps the route and intercepts the pass for Garden Valley. The Wolverines run 3 plays on 4th and short. J.D. takes a pitch in the backfield but slips for a loss. Rimrock takes over on downs. On the 1st play, Cantrell hands the ball to Gomez running straight up the middle to score 6 more points. Nathan Black uses his 220 pounds to punch the ball in for 2 points.
SCORE: Rimrock 22, Garden Valley 14.
The score board reads 5:32 til the half and Garden Valley falls on the kick off. The Wolverines go on a 13-play drive. With 14.1 seconds til the half, they score a touchdown and the 2 extra points to tie the game at 22. How did these warriors do this? It started with an incomplete pass, then a pass to Jono Lawler for a 1st down. Then Jono up the middle for 4 yards, then Lance Jones takes the ball on an end around to get a 1st down. From the 42, QB Updike hits Cody Zeff with a pass to the 19-yard line. Another pass to “Speedy” J.D. Fuhriman out of the backfield for a 1st down. “Stones” Jones gets the ball to pick up 3 more yards. On 3rd and long from the shoot-gun, QB Nathan Updike floats a pass between the outstretched hands of the defenders to Lance “Stones” Jones for a 1st down. 2 plays later, Garden Valley is within streaking distance. Rimrock is trying everything to stop the home team.
Cody “The Cobra” Zeff cuts across the middle of the field and a pass from the QB floats into his hands for 6 points. Another pass into the right corner of the end zone to Lance “Stones” Jones adds 2 to tie up the score.
SCORE: Garden Valley 22, Rimrock 22.
It’s half time and everyone heads to the shade and to get water. It was a long first half of football. Temperature close to 100 degrees. Seems like the Wolverines will be a passing team this year.
Rimrock gets the ball to start the 3rd quarter. They go on a 12-play scoring drive, despite the best efforts of “The Law” Jono Lawler, J.D. “Renegade” Fuhriman, Kavik “Mad Dog” Fairburn, and the other five starters. The clock reads 5:52 when Nathan Black breaks tackles up the middle, for 9 yards as he crosses the goal line for 6 points. Extra point try is no good.
SCORE: Rimrock 28, Garden Valley 22
As is his nature, Ramon Salinas kicks off to the Wolverines, with the ball bouncing on the ground. Cody Zeff picks the ball off the ground for a 10-yard return. Garden Valley goes on an 11-play scoring drive to end the 3rd quarter. First play of the 4th quarter, the Wolverines get the touchdown and the extra points, to go ahead by 2 points.
1) QB tries to run right, stopped for a loss of 4.
2) Pass over the middle to Jones picks up 13 yards.
3) QB sneak picks up 1 yard and a 1st down.
4) QB Updike hits J.D. over the middle for a good gain.
5) J.D. tries to run right for no gain.
6) Dynamite Updike hits Stones Jones on a screen pass.
7) Incomplete pass to Zeff.
8) Jones runs left on an end sweep and picks up 5 more yards.
9) QB Lance Jones runs right and picks up 2 tough yards.10) On 4th & 5, QB hits Cody “The Cobra” Zeff for a 1st down.
11) Jono Lawler runs right and is stopped by Pattee at the 10.
END OF THE THIRD QUARTER: SCORE: Rimrock 28, Garden Valley 22.
Start of the 4th quarter, Wolverines have the ball on the 10-yard line. The ball is snapped. “The Dynamite” QB Updike runs left around the line with some great blocking by his teammates. Nathan crosses the goal line to score a touchdown—6 points for Garden Valley. This ties the game at 28. This took 12 seconds. For the 2-point try, QB Updike has Lance “Stones” Jones run a pass pattern over the middle and he hits him with a perfect pass. The catch gives the home team a 2 point lead.
SCORE: Garden Valley 30, Rimrock 28.
Garden Valley kicks to Rimrock. Bronson Gray picks up the ball for the Raiders and returns it to the 40-yard line. Pattee tries the center of the line and is stopped by Updike, Grimm and “Stones” Jones for no gain. Pattee runs right, picks up 7, and is stopped by J.D. and “Mad Dog” Fairburn. QB Clay Cantrell is hit hard and fumbles the ball. “Iron Man” Grimm recovers the ball for Garden Valley. With this turn-around, the Wolverines go on a 12-play scoring drive.
1) QB Updike dives up the middle on a keeper—picks up 4.
2) Complete pass to Jones stopped by Pattee for Rimrock.
3) J.D. runs right into the end zone. Penalty TD, not good.
4) Jono Lawler tries the middle, picks up 2 tough yards.
5) Pitch to J.D. around the right for a nice gain.
6) QB Updike hands the ball to Lawler for the 1st down.
7) J.D. is tackled in the backfield for a loss of 2.
8) 2nd & 17 pass from Updike to Zeff down to the 30-yard line.
9) QB Updike drops back and is tackled in the backfield.
10) Next pass is intercepted; ball comes back on penalty.
11) Garden Valley’s J.D. runs up the gut for good yards.
12) With the clock reading 3:10, QB Lance “Stones” Jones takes the ball up the middle with some great blocks by his line, to score 6 points for the Wolverines. The extra point try is with Jones faking the ball to Lawler up the middle. Running right and outrunning the defense to the end zone, for 2.
SCORE: Garden Valley 38, Rimrock 28.
Garden Valley kicks to Cantrell, who returns the ball 13 yards. The Rimrock Raiders have 3:10 til the end of the game to come back. Can they do it?
Gomez gains 5, stopped by Updike, Grimm, Jones, and Zeff. Black gets the ball, picks up the 1st down. Cantrell throws an incomplete pass. Black gets the ball running left, gets 19 yards and a 1st down. Cantrell runs left, stopped by Benny Hayden. Black runs straight ahead, picks up yards and is stopped by Jones, Zeff and Fuhriman. 2nd down from the 2, Gomez runs straight ahead to score 6 points for Rimrock. The Raiders will go for 2. Christian Ayala gets the ball running up the middle to add the 2 extra points.
SCORE: Garden Valley 38, Rimrock 36.
The clock reads 1:19 til the end of the game. Rimrock tries an onside kick. Cody Zeff recovers the ball for Garden Valley. “The Law” is stopped for no gain. Updike fumbles the ball, it’s recovered by the Wolverines. One minute til the end of the game. It’s 3rd & 10, Lance Jones makes a pass to Lawler for 1-yard pick up. “Big D” David Bengoa punts the ball to Gomez, he runs left down the sideline and almost scores but is pushed out of bounds. The clock reads 38.6 seconds til the end of the game.
QB Cantrell tries a pass down field, it’s broken up by “Renegade” J.D. Fuhriman. THE TIME TIL THE GAME IS OVER 30.1 seconds. Another incomplete pass by Cantrell. Time 25.1 seconds. Gomez gets the ball and is running down the left sideline—he is pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line. The game is stopped, they call for an ambulance: Gomez is not moving. A hush falls over the whole field. All the players take a knee and remove their helmets. The clock reads 15.4 til the game is over. It’s 1st down goal to goal from the one.
When the game restarts, QB Cantrell hands the ball to 220 pounder Nathan Black, who bulls his way across the goal line to score 6. The extra point try is good.
SCORE: Rimrock 44, Garden Valley 38.
Garden Valley has 12.2 seconds to make a comeback. Rimrock does attempt an onside kick. Cody Zeff runs the ball down the right sideline for a good return. Wolverines will get the ball at the 44-yard line. Garden Valley is set with a new formation. A direct snap to J.D. Fuhriman and a pass down field into the outstretched hands of Cody Zeff for a completion as the final gun sounds.
FINAL SCORE: RIMROCK 44, GARDEN VALLEY 38.
NOW FOR THE FIFTH QUARTER.
The J.V. Game
#1-Kit Fairburn, #9-Jimmy Dovel, #12-Benny Hayden,
#21-Michael Yearsley, #34-David Bengoa,
#46-Avery Brantner, #58-Benny Updike,
#75-Brad Christensen, #90 Chad Christensen.
The game goes back and forth, no team really gets going, until with 1:10 to play, Wolverines’ Michael “Flash” Yearsley throws a pass to Benny “Killer Bee” Updike, to score 6 points.
FINAL SCORE: Garden Valley JV 6, Rimrock JV 0
THIS WEEK’S GAME: Friday, September 2, 2011, 4 pm, at the GV School field, against Horseshoe Bend.
SUPPORT THE TEAM!!!
Great job Mike..I love seeing your stories about the team!
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