Grizz stop Big Piney 27-0 for conference road win

The Rocky Mountain Grizzlies are on a roll. One week after crushing Southeast 57-12 in Yoder to open the regular season, the Grizz opened 1A West 9-man play by hitting the road again, shutting out the Big Piney Punchers 27-0 in Big Piney.

The Grizzlies didn’t appear to be affected by the five-hour bus ride to Sublette County and scored on the opening possession, driving 88 yards to score in 13 plays. The drive included a 20-yard pass from Mason Moss to Cooper Ward, a 24-yard pass from Moss to Jaxx May, a nine-yard run by Ward and on third and 16 at the Piney 30, an 18-yard completion to May.

Ward scored on a four-yard run, and Moss kicked the PAT to put Rocky up 7-0.

“They came out in a completely different defense than what we had prepared for,” head coach Jessee Wilson said. “Luckily, they just copied what Pine Bluffs did in the state championship (game) last year, and I’d watched that game way too many times, so I knew what to do against that. … We got some good chunks on our throwing.”

Big Piney moved the ball into Rocky territory but fumbled on an attempted reverse. Senior Jaxson Miller “was right there” to recover the fumble, Wilson said.

The Grizz had the ball at their own 43, and after a holding penalty set the offense back 10 yards, Sam Loyning gained nine yards on a run, and Moss then hit Ward on a 56-yard touchdown pass. Rocky led 14-0 late in the first quarter.

“That kind of took the wind out of their sails,” Wilson said. “It was something that I’d seen on film, the way that they were covering something. I thought if they come out in this kind of look that we ended up getting, we could go to that. It was a little RPO (run/pass option) from Mason to Cooper. It was pretty cool.

“Big Piney would move the ball, but they could just never finish a drive. … They would dink and dump and dink and dump. And one of our big priorities on defense was making sure we didn’t give them a big play, because they have some pretty explosive athletes. So we wanted to keep them in front of us, and I thought our DBs did a really good job of that.”

Big Piney drove deep into Rocky territory but gave the ball up on downs following a holding penalty. The Grizz then drove 72 yards to score again, mixing running and passing plays, Wilson noted, including a nine-yard pass to Ward on third and six, a 15-yard run by Ward and a 22-yard burst by Loyning. After seven-yard runs by Moss and Loyning Moss went around end for one yard and a touchdown – 21-0 Rocky in the second quarter.

Once again, the Punchers crossed midfield on the ensuing series, reaching the Lovell 29, but on third and long Masen Twomey sacked the quarterback and “punched the ball away” as the second quarter came to a close.

Second half

The Punchers had the ball to start the second and saw their drive thwarted by a sack from Miller. Following a Big Piney punt, the Grizz started a drive that ended in a turnover. Wilson said Ryan Grant made a “tremendous” one-handed catch, but after he secured the ball, a Big Piney defender punched the ball free, and the Punchers recovered.

The Punchers felt the effects of an aggressive defense on the ensuing series, along with the rest of the game, Wilson said, noting that Twomey and Moss were “laying the wood on some kids,” adding, “That poor quarterback. I think he’s just a sophomore.”

Getting the ball back on downs, the Grizzlies drove 60 yards to score on an 18-yard pass to Evin Clendenen on a tight end seam route. The PAT was blocked, leaving Rocky up 27-0 late in the third quarter.

A pair of miscues halted the final Rocky drive, but Moss unleashed a 67-yard punt to the end zone. Big Piney moved the ball into Rocky Mountain territory, but an interception by Ward near the goal line sealed the shutout for the Grizzlies.

Wilson said he was pleased with his team’s performance, though there are several things to work on.

“I was mostly happy with just the attitude, the effort and the energy that we played with,” he said. “It was super evident from the first whistle that we were going to play very physically, and everybody was going to play as hard as they could, and that’s not always the case, especially when you go on a six-hour drive down to Big Piney. I thought we came off the bus and did a tremendous job of getting ready to play. And we kind of jumped all over them from the start. We were super physical, and that goes a long way, so was really pleased with that.

“To start the game with an 88-yard drive and go down there and score, that’s exactly what we want to do. So that really set the tone. I thought the physical play we had on defense was really great. Justin (Moss) did a really great job of coming up with a defensive game plan.”

Final stats

Moss had a perfect game throwing the ball, going 10 for 10 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Ward caught three passes for 85 yards, May three for 56 yards, Grant three for 32 and Clendenen one for 18.

The Grizz rushed for 193 yards. Moss had 12 carries for 87 yards, Loyning 12 for 65 yards and Ward six for 38. Big Piney passed for 115 yards and rushed for 115, as well.

Moss finished with 23 defensive points, Twomey 21, Miller 14 and May 13.

No game this week

The school has been unable to schedule a game to replace the September 18 Shoshoni game after the Wranglers cancelled their varsity season. Wilson said the Grizzlies will use the break to “clean some stuff up,” adding, “As far as execution goes on offense, we’re still lacking in some areas.”

He said energy and effort can go a long way and make up for mistakes in execution, but when the team can do all three, “we’re going to be pretty tough.”

The next game on the schedule is a Thursday, Sept. 24, contest at Pavillion against the Wind River Cougars. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The next home game is set for Friday, Oct. 2, against Upton at 2 p.m.