Grizzlies come up just short at second-ranked Greybull

The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies certainly had their opportunities in Greybull Friday night, but they couldn’t quite slay the dragon as they fell to the second-ranked Buffaloes 22-14.

The Grizz dug themselves an early 16-0 hole, then outscored the home team 14-6 the rest of the way, but turnovers cost the team as they attempted to come from behind to win.

“Defensively we played really well after the first two drives,” head coach Jessee Wilson said. “We made some mistakes early on that put us in a bit of a hole, but once our defense started clicking, we were able to make some key stops to help keep us in the game late. I thought Landon Pruett played a tremendous game all around, but he was a force on defense and did a great job of playing the option and making some big plays.

“Offensively, we were able to run the ball really effectively once we nailed down some assignments. Our line played really tough up front, and Triffen (Jolley) ran the ball well. Mason Moss also ran the ball really well and did a great job of playing honestly. His ability to make plays with his legs helped us stay in the game and opened up running lanes for Triffen as Greybull started dedicating a player to keep Mason from pulling the ball and running off the backside edge.”

Greybull took the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards to score, keeping the ball on the ground with senior fullback Caiden Sorenson, senior quarterback Caden Hunt and junior running backs Jesse Brown and Bennett Sanford taking turns carrying the ball. It took the Buffs 12 plays to score, but Sanford eventually scored from five yards out to put the Buffs on the scoreboard. Hunt passed to Brown for the two-point conversion, and Greybull led 8-0.

Rocky had trouble moving the ball on the first series for the Grizz and went three and out. Greybull then drove 79 yards to score again on a 15-yard keeper by Hunt (pass to Yandel Hernandez for two), and Greybull led 16-0 late in the first quarter.

It looked like it would be a long night for the Grizzlies, but they took the ensuing kickoff and drove 65 yards to score as Jolley and Moss ran the fall for some big plays. A key play was a 35-yard run by Moss that saw him break several tackles and dash to the 2-yard line. He then scored the touchdown, and Jolley ran in the two-point conversion. The Grizz were back in the game trailing 16-8 midway through the second quarter.

The Rocky defense rose up to force the Buffs three and out, and the Grizzlies scored again, this time covering 55 yards in eight plays. Jolley got the drive going with a 24-yard run, and Cooper Ward chipped in with a nine-yard burst. Moss hit Colten Bitton over the middle for eight, Jolley gained eight on two carries and Moss scored on a five-yard keeper. The run for two points failed, but Rocky was in the hunt, trailing 16-14.

Greybull drove to the Rocky 6, but on fourth and two, a diving Moss deflected a pass to the end zone, and the Grizz trailed by two at intermission, 16-14.

Frustrating half

Rocky had the ball first in the second half and drove into Greybull territory, but Moss’ third down pass from the Greybull 47 was picked off by Hunt and returned to the Rocky 44. Eleven plays later, Sanford scored from the one, and though a two-point pass was short, Greybull led 22-14 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.

The Grizz launched a comeback drive, moving from the 25 to the Buff 19 as Moss and Jolley gashed the Greybull defense on runs of 28 and 18 yards, respectively. On first and 10 at the Greybull 19 and the Buffalo defense reeling, Jolley broke free again and appeared to be heading for a sure touchdown, but the ball came loose and carried into the end zone for a touchback.

Rocky thwarted Greybull on a fake punt inside Buff territory. With the Grizz in business at the Greybull 41, Moss burst for 19 yards to the Greybull 22. But the drive stalled at that point, and Rocky turned the ball over on downs.

Greybull drove to the Rocky Mountain 41, but on fourth and three, Masen Twomey hit Sanford short of the first down, and Rocky had one more chance. The Grizz drove to the Greybull 31, but on second and eight, Greybull junior Anthony Chacon stepped in front of a Moss pass to Jaxson Miller, and Greybull had the ball with 1:25 left and ran out the clock for the win.

“Greybull did a good job of executing their game plan, and we knew they would stay in their wishbone offense and pound the rock if we weren’t able to stop them,” Wilson said. “Their offensive line did a good job of getting to the second level to make our linebackers’ job pretty difficult. They also didn’t turn the ball over, and I think that ended up being the difference in the game.”

The Grizzlies rushed for 216 yards and passed for 53 for 269 yards of total offense. Greybull rushed for 315 yards and did not complete a pass. Moss gained 106 yards rushing on 12 carries, Jolley 100 yards on 17 attempts. Ward carried twice for 10 yards. Moss completed five of 10 passes for 53 yards, and Pruett caught one pass for 27 yards, Ward one for 14, Bitton one for eight and Coby Wachob two for four.

Moss led the team with 28 defensive points, and Twomey had 27 points, Pruett 16, Jolley 15 and Tayt Beall 14.

“Mason Moss ran the ball really well, as did Triffen,” Wilson said. “Cooper Ward did a nice job of running and catching the ball, as well. Landon Pruett played the best game of his career on offense and defense, making a huge catch late in the fourth quarter, being an effective blocker at both H-back and tight end, and then defensively he was lights out.

“Defensively, we need to be more disciplined in terms of playing our gap assignments and getting off blocks. A big emphasis on offense this week will be to continue to work on protecting the ball. We had three turnovers last week, two of them in the red zone. Those fundamentals are huge aspects of the game, so they will be a major emphasis in this week’s practices.”

Home cooking

The Grizzlies will host Shoshoni Friday at 6 p.m. in the second-to-last home game of the season. The Wranglers are 3-3 on the season, 2-1 in conference play after defeating Wind River and Wyoming Indian in successive weekends.

“Shoshoni loves to throw the ball around all over the yard,” Wilson said. “It’ll be a big week for our defensive backs to step up to the challenge of facing a pass heavy offense. They do a great job of getting their athletes into space, so it will be essential that we tackle well this week and work on keeping their mobile quarterback inside of the pocket.”

Wilson said he still has plenty of faith in his squad.

“I love our guys’ effort week in and week out,” he said. “We went down 16-0 early in the Greybull game, and we battled back to make it 16-14 by halftime. In fact, in most games this year we have had to come from behind to get the win. I think it shows how resilient our kids are, and I am really proud of that. I told our kids this week that we just need to get over that last hump to be a really good football team.

“We are really close. When you look at the three games we have lost this year, they’ve been one score games against what I believe are the three best teams in nine-man football. In each of those games we’ve battled to get within striking distance but made just enough mistakes to not allow us to get the win. We’re very close to putting together a complete game, and I think we can do that here in the next couple of weeks when it matters the most.”