Titans fall to hungry Garden Valley Wolverines

The scientific name for the wolverine is “gulo gulo,” a Latin term which means glutton. The wolverine is known to eat quickly and voraciously, crushing through bone and teeth, making it a robust survivor. 

 And so it was that last Friday night in Garden Valley. The Wolverines came with hearty appetites for their homecoming victory against the Tri-Valley Titans. 

 Winning the toss, the Titans elected to kick-off to the Wolverines, and in quick order Garden Valley marched down the field and put eight points on the scoreboard. The Titans then took their turn with the pigskin and made a stomping march of their own that resulted in a 21-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Mink to Orion Southwick to add six points to the scoreboard after a failed two point conversion. 

 Garden Valley took another turn resulting in their second touchdown and adding six more to the scoreboard after the Titans denied their two point conversion attempt. The first quarter ended with a score of 14 to 6 in favor of the Wolverines.

 With blazing power the Titans reached the end zone for the second time with an 8-yard quarterback keeper by Jayden Mink. After another failed two-point conversion attempt, the Titans had pulled within two points. Before the quarter ended, however, the Wolverines pawed their way into the end zone and added a two-point conversion to make the score 22 to 12 at halftime. 

 Down by 10 points, the Titans had the first right of attack after a long halftime break, but the Wolverines burrowed in and stopped their attempt and tacked on another eight points. With thundering resolve, the Titans pulled out a stunning drive and struck the end zone with a 12-yard lightning pass from Mink to Barnett for a touchdown and two point conversion pass from Mink to Reed Thulander. In answer, the Wolverines scored another touchdown and two-point conversion to end the third quarter 36-20

 The Wolverines weren’t finished yet. The fourth quarter started with another touchdown by the Wolverines and two-point conversion, widening the gap. Then, on a fumbled lateral pass by the Titans, the Wolverines scooped up the loose ball and ran the short distance for another touchdown and two point conversion to satisfy their feeding frenzy. 

 Stunned, but not entirely broken, the Titans rallied with a scorching 32-yard touchdown strike in the air from Mink to Barnett. But sinking their teeth in yet again, the Wolverines managed to hit the end zone one last time. 

 With the clock running out the Titans hustled to get on the scoreboard again and did so after a forced fumble from Larry Bodnar and fumble recovery by Jarret Mink that set up the final touchdown of the game with a fitting 5-yard rush by Jayden Mink and two point conversion by Barnett. The final buzzer sounded with a score of 56-34 in favor of the Wolverines.

 Leading the Titan defense were Orion Southwick with 14 tackles, one for loss, and 1 pass tip, and Jayden Mink, Jarret Mink, and Reed Thulander contributing 9 tackles a piece. 

 Following the game, Coach Bob Johnson summed up his thoughts.

 “We scored enough points to win the game, but we just couldn’t get defensive stops when we needed them. However, our kids played hard and made it an exciting game.”

 The Titans will take on the challenge to defend their home turf next Friday, Oct. 5, for their homecoming game against Horseshoe Bend at 7 p.m.