MOUNTAIN VIEW – The Pinedale High School Wranglers football team boarded the bus for a week six conference battle against the Mountain View Buffaloes on Friday, October 3.
An intense first quarter between the Wranglers and Buffaloes ended in a 7-7 tie with both teams reaching the end zone.
Mountain View pulled ahead with two touchdowns late in the second quarter for a 21-7 halftime lead. Two additional touchdowns by the Buffaloes in the third quarter placed Mountain View up, 34-7.
Despite the score, the Wranglers continued to battle against a tough opponent down to the final minute, culminating in touchdown in the fourth quarter to put a sizable dent in Mountain View’s lead, 41-14.
Both the Pinedale offense and defense posted positive plays throughout four quarters. The Wrangler offense tallied 274 yards rushing, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.
A scrappy Pinedale defense threw a big wrench into Mountain View’s passing game. The Wranglers held the Buffaloes to 100 yards passing, almost half the 198-yard average for Mountain View this season.
“We knew going in that Mountain View had the top offense in the state in terms of yards per game, so limiting an offense like that was the goal,” coach Mike Gregory wrote. “Overall, our guys stepped up to the challenge, limiting (Mountain View’s) dynamic pass game to about half of their season average. We answered with big plays of our own but were unable to put points on the board when we needed them most.”
Mountain View capitalized on “key scores” in the final moments of the first half and at the end of the game to “push the score higher than we would have hoped,” Gregory said.
“Our defense never quit, however,” Gregory added. “We forced multiple Mountain View fumbles, but all of them happened to bounce back into their hands. Their outside run and pass game put a lot of pressure on our corners, (senior) Quincy Mika and (senior) Ryder Siefkes, but those two consistently stepped up and limited what would have otherwise been big plays throughout the game.”
Up next, the Wranglers look forward to an opportunity to return to the win column with a home game against Lovell on Friday, October 10 at 6 p.m.
“We have seen some of the best in the state over the last two games and hung in for big stretches of both but came up short,” Gregory remarked. “Now we look to a critical matchup with Lovell to get back on a winning track.”
Pinedale hopes to get several players back to 100-percent health following injuries as the team prepares for the final half of the season.
“Our guys have a good sense of what we do well and what we still need to work on as we move into the back half of the season,” Gregory wrote. “I know they want nothing more than to get back out this week and prove they deserve to be in the conversation of teams in 2A that opponents should be worried about.”
Highlights and stats
Pinedale reached the end zone for its first touchdown in the opening quarter. Mika churned up 13 yards into the end zone before kicking in the extra point to tie the game, 7-7, as the second quarter began.
The Wranglers continued to battle through the fourth quarter, resulting in a second touchdown. Junior Caleb Parks reached the end zone on a one-yard rush. Mika made good on another extra point for Pinedale.
Junior Logan Emery paced the Wranglers offense throughout the game against Mountain View, collecting 134 yards rushing on nine carries. Mika totaled 27 yards rushing on six carries for one touchdown.
Senior quarterback Ian Rigo completed four passes for 99 yards.
On the Pinedale D-line, Siefkes led with 17 defensive points. Mika posted 11 defensive points with 10 apiece from Rigo and senior Landon Fornstrom.
