Resiliency and big plays fuel Warriors comeback victory over Riverton

WORLAND - Just like a top MLB pitcher or NFL QB, the Worland High School football team showed a remarkable ability to shake off mistakes and right their error with a big play. The Warriors never folded during their 33-30 homecoming victory over the Riverton Wolverines Friday night at Worland High School.

"They just kept playing hard. There were a lot of ups and a lot of downs and they just kept playing through it. We did a better job of moving on from the mistakes than we have in the past couple games. That's an area we're improving and that's part of the reason why we won tonight [Friday]," said WHS football coach Ryan Utterback.

Big plays were the staple for the Warriors (2-2) all night long as they opened their 3A East conference play against the Wolverines (0-4).

Junior running back Devon Mercado got the big plays rolling in the second quarter when he did his best Barry Sanders' impersonation, taking a simple pitch and following his blocks to the left side of the field, then on a dime cutting right, eluding several Wolverine defenders, got a big downfield block from receiver Luke Mortimer and crossed the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown. The score brought Worland within eight points of Riverton at 20-12.

In the final minutes of the third quarter, Bryan Viktorin not only blocked a Wolverine punt, deep in Riverton territory but beat everyone down the field to recover the ball in the end zone for six.

Viktorin's one-man wrecking play gave Worland a much-needed spark and turned the game into a one-possession advantage for Riverton at 23-19.

Riverton's following offensive possession after the blocked punt came down to a crucial fourth and short, from their own 39-yard line. The Wolverines appeared to have the first down until sophomore Rudy Sanford hit the Wolverine ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. Sanford held the runner up long enough for help to arrive and force a turnover on downs.

The Warriors picked up big chunks of yards from backs Mercado and Andrew Edholm, who returned from injury to play in his first game of the season. Sanford capped off the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Viktorin, giving Worland their first lead of the night, 26-23, with seven minutes remaining in the game.

A raucous home crowd cheered on the Warriors as they were headed for their second victory of the season, all they needed to do was hold on defense. A bend-but-don't-break defensive philosophy was the focus and with 3:28 remaining the Wolverines were down to one play.

Fourth and 4 from the Worland 44, and with good pressure from Warrior Peyton Woffinden, the Riverton QB got a throw off and found a Wolverine receiver for the long touchdown pass.

Now trailing 30-26 with 3:15 left in the game the Warriors needed a touchdown to win. Last week this scenario might have broken this team, instead, the team rallied to put together a game-winning drive.

Senior receiver Andy Deniz drew an important defensive pass interference to keep Worland's comeback hopes alive and bring the ball to the Worland 47. Utterback called for the "Andrew Special," a play the Warriors ran a few times earlier in the game. The play is essentially a halfback read option pass, in which Edholm takes a pitch from Sanford reads the defense and either passes it or keeps running.

Earlier in the game Edholm overthrew his receivers. However, with the game on the line, he hit Viktorin on the money, and Viktorin took the ball in for a 54-yard touchdown; putting Worland up 33-30 with 2:18.

"We called it the Andrew Special. Even when he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to come back or not, he was throwing that football in practice and his arm is looking great," said Utterback. "That's a play we worked on and knew would be there. It's a dangerous play because you can't guess. Bryan Viktorin has been a guy that's been quietly helping us out by catching touchdown passes."

"We had a lot of guys stepping up and doing what they're called upon to do. I tip my hat to Luke Goncalves today, he didn't touch the ball a lot today but he was blocking his butt off and got a ton of tackles. Everyone played their part and I appreciate how hard they played, and they left it all out there," he added.

As if throwing the game-winning touchdown wasn't enough Edholm picked off Riverton's QB for the game-sealing interception too.

Mercado led the Warriors in rushing with 12 carries for a 167 yards one touchdown. Edholm ran for 94 yards on 10 carries, Viktorin had two receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Luke Goncalves led the Warriors with 23 defensive points, nine assisted tackles and seven solo. Pudge Hofmann was second with 17.5 defensive points, eight assisted tackles and four solo.

It was an amazing victory for the Warriors and one that hopefully acts as a turning point in their season. They picked up an important conference win bringing them a game closer to securing a second consecutive postseason berth.

"Conference play is huge if you have any postseason hopes you have to win during conference. Starting off with a win that keeps our playoff dream alive, we have some tough teams to play and we'll have to come out victorious a couple more times. But it is a step in the right direction and we still have a lot more to do to get where we want to be," said Utterback.

The Warriors next game is against Rawlins at Rawlins High School with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

JAIME LUNA

Junior Jaime Luna was injured during Friday's win and taken to the Washakie County Medical Center as a precaution.