Five Grizzlies receive postseason gridiron honors

Four members of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Grizzlies football squad were awarded all-conference honors last week, plus one honorable mention selection, head coach Jessee Wilson announced this week.

Juniors Tayt Beall and Triffen Jolley were voted onto the Class 1A 9-man All-State squad, and they were joined on the 1A West All-Conference team by senior Hayden Wambeke and freshman Mason Moss, a rare achievement for a freshman.

Sophomore Joaquin Scheeler received honorable mention recognition.

Wilson said he was extremely happy with having two players chosen all-state, given the fact that the Grizzlies went 1-6 this season.

Beall was a standout offensive guard and defensive tackle for the Grizzlies this season. He was fourth on the team in defensive points with 70 including 37 tackles – 24 assisted and 13 solo, five tackles for a loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

“He was an anchor on both sides of the line,” Wilson said. “He’s not getting moved on defense. Defensive tackle is kind of a thankless job where sometimes you don’t accumulate a lot of stats. You’re taking on blockers for linebackers. But Tayt was still able to accumulate defensive stats anyway. He averaged about 10 defensive points per game. In nine-man, they’ve got to own their gap and are often double-teamed.

 “As a guard he was a puller and maybe put more kids on their back than I can remember. He’s tenacious, and for fundamentals he’s one of the best if not the best. Watching him do his stuff is a thing of beauty.”

Jolley led the team and finished third in the state in rushing offense as a running back with 120.2 yards per game, gaining 721 yards on 105 attempts, 6.9 yards per carry, with four touchdowns. He also caught seven passes for 81 yards. He was second on the team in defensive points and sixth in the state as a linebacker, finishing with 118 points including 64 tackles, 31 solo, six tackles for a loss, one sack, one fumble recovery and three forced fumbles.

“Trif is kind of the heart and soul of our team in a lot of ways,” Wilson said. “His teammates voted to give him the Spirit of the Grizz Award (after the season). He’s tough as nails, and he made the transition from H-back to running back and did a nice job running the ball for us. He got hurt midway through the first Greybull game and missed the Big Piney game but still rushed for 721 yards.

“Defensively, he was all over the field. He’s just a high motor guy playing sideline to sideline, and he’s an instinctive player. But the biggest thing about Triffen is his work ethic and toughness. He plays with reckless abandon and is fun to coach.”

Wambeke started at offensive guard and defensive tackle as a senior and finished sixth on the team with 53 defensive points on 37 tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks.

“Similar to Tayt, he’s just a really tough kid,” Wilson said. “We asked him to down block a lot, and he did a really nice job of crushing the interior of the defensive line, which opened up space. He’s just another tough kid, solid and super dependable. He did a good job directing the offensive line and bringing Hudson (May) along at tight end when Matthew Crosby went down.

“He was like Tayt on defense. Nobody ran on us inside, and a lot of it was due to those two. I’ll miss coaching him. He’s a great kid.”

Moss is the only freshman to be named all-conference. As a free safety, he led the team and was fourth in the state with 20.3 defensive points per game (142 defensive points) on 65 tackles – 28 assisted and 37 solo, plus a fumble recovery, four interceptions and six pass breakups.

“Mason is a really hard-working kid,” Wilson said. “He’s in the weight room constantly and never misses a workout during the summer.  And he’s a super smart kid. I figured he would play (as a freshman) – he’s a superb athlete – and I didn’t necessarily figure he would start on both sides of the ball.

“He’s a hammer on defense. He’s technically solid, and I’m really excited to see how he develops over the next few years.”

Moss started at wide receiver on offense.

“He had never played receiver before, but I would have been stupid if I didn’t put a 6-4 kid who runs a 4.8 40 on the field,” Wilson said. “He produced, too, (17 receptions for 157 yards and a touchdown). He came down with several 50-50 balls. The coolest thing about Mason is that he really wants to learn and wants to be great in all sports. I’m really excited about Mason.”

Honorable mention

Scheeler was a jack of all trades for the Grizzlies, lining up at H-back, running back and quarterback on offense and a linebacker on defense. He finished second on the team with 217 yards rushing on 53 attempts with four touchdowns, and he hit 13 of 22 passes as a quarterback for 106 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 52 yards.

“The thing about Joaquin, he just wants to be on the field and help his team win,” Wilson noted. “He’s a good leader as a sophomore and does a good job keeping his composure under fire. We put him all over the place. He’s a Swiss Army knife.

“He did a nice job filling in on offense when needed. He did a good job blocking for Triffen, then looked good as a running back. As a quarterback he played pretty decent. He was really efficient throwing the ball. He throws a nice ball with good touch.

“He really shined on defense. He’s very much like Hayden, getting people lined up, and he likes to hit people.”

Scheeler finished third on the team with 115 defensive points on 61 tackles, 27 solo, 10 tackles for a loss, three sacks and three forced fumbles.