Wolverines shutout Buhl 24-0 in season opener

The Weiser High School varsity football team opened the season just the way head coach Tom Harrison and his staff were hoping, by handing Buhl a loss to start 2022 off right.

 “Yeah, it was our goal to start the season on a positive note and win our season opener, and we did,” Harrison said following Friday’s 24-0 goose egg. “We made some mistakes, and they did some things we weren’t expecting, but teams aren’t going to come and lay down for us, not when they are playing the defending state champions.”

 Buhl, which won the coin toss, started the game off deep in its own territory thanks, in part, to a high, booming kickoff by junior Ryndon Olsen, Weiser’s coverage personnel pinning the Indians on their own 13-yard line.

 Quarterback Austin Fransen attempted a run on the first play but was sacked by Weiser senior Maddox Stevens who caught Fransen in the backfield for a one-yard loss.

 Two plays later, senior Levi Estes introduced himself, forcing fourth and 12 for the Indians.

 A penalty on the ensuing play, however, resulted in a first down, allowing Buhl to utilize their main weapons, senior backs Jayce Bower and Gage Babington who couldn’t gain much ground on the Wolverine defense. It forced Fransen to the air who went 1 for 4 on the series, ultimately turning the ball over on downs.

 Despite good field position at the Buhl 27-yard line, the Wolverines were unable to get anything going. 

 Weiser transfer quarterback Andrew Enders found Malakye Scott in the right corner of the end zone, but the play was ruled out of bounds.

 A broken play on fourth and goal ended the Wolverine’s first offensive drive, Buhl taking over on its own 5-yard line.

 Buhl took over on downs, recording three first downs, but could not get past the 24-yard line where a high snap went over the kicker’s head during a punt. Malakye Scott recovered the ball on the 20-yard line.

 It didn’t take long for Weiser to get moving. A run by junior Kaleb Grove brought the ball to the 15 and a pass to Brock Spencer took the Wolverines to the 5-yard line. Two plays later, Enders ran the ball into the endzone from the 1-yard line for the team’s first touchdown of the season, and the first for Enders, who transferred from Nyssa, as a Wolverine.

 The PAT by Olsen was good, putting Weiser up 7-0 with 4:44 left in the first half. Buhl was unable to answer.

 Weiser came out of the locker room motivated, Enders completing a 23-yard touchdown pass to senior Brayden Walker on the team’s first drive of the second half. Olsen’s kick sailed through the uprights, making it 14-0, with 9:53 remaining in the third quarter.

 Olsen would hit a 35-yard field goal that initially looked to be high, but short. The ball, however, made it over the bar, making the score 17-0 Weiser.

 With just over a minute left to play, Enders scored his second touchdown of the game on the ground, a 9-yard naked boot to the right. Olsen’s PAT was good, making it 24-0.

 Harrison said he was impressed with his team’s strong second-half performance.

 “We found some things out about our team, some things we can do and some things we can’t, but we will keep working on those things,” he said following the game. “Offensively, we would have liked to score a little bit more in the first half. We had some opportunities but had some miscues. We had a little bit better idea the second half what to expect and scoring coming right out of the gate, that was huge. I credit our coaches for making good adjustments and getting our kids doing what they needed to do.”

 In terms of defense, Harrison said the Wolverines were “spot-on.”

 Senior Levi Estes led the team in solo tackles with 5, including 1 tackle for loss, followed by senior Ammon Caviness with 4 solo tackles and 1.5 for loss. Sophomore Xander Gray recorded 3 solo tackles, 1 assist, and .5 tackle for loss.

 Enders went 10 for 17 through the air for 104 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on 8 attempts and recorded two touchdowns.

 “He did good,” Harrison said of his new quarterback. “He made some mistakes, but he also made some nice plays for us. I thought we did pretty good and, defensively, that was the big thing. When you shut a team out, that’s pretty good.”

 Kaleb Grove led the Wolverines in rushing with 43 yards on 8 attempts, followed by Scott Malakye who had 24 yards on 3 attempts, and Kash Cobb, with 23 yards on 3 attempts. Brock Spencer led the team in catches with two for 31 yards. Brayden Walker had 1 catch for 23 yards and a touchdown.

 

Team 1 2 3 4 T

Buhl 0 0 0 0 0

Weiser 0 7 7 10 24

 

Second Quarter

4:44 – A. Enders 1 yard run (R. Olsen kick)

Third Quarter

9:53 – A. Enders 23-yard pass to B. Walker (R. Olsen Kick)

Fourth Quarter 

10:35 – R. Olsen 35-yard FG;1:05 – A. Enders 9-yard run (R. Olsen kick)