Timberwolves handle Pecatonica/Argyle
Submitted by admin on Fri, 10/25/2024 - 12:15
By A.J. Gates
With 324 yards rushing, the River Ridge Timberwolves asserted their dominance on the ground last Friday night in a 56-8 victory over visiting Pecatonica/Argyle to conclude the 2024 regular season schedule.
Coach Wade Winkers and his Timberwolves finished league play in the Six Rivers conference with a record of 5-2, finishing third in the league standings behind Potosi/Cassville (7-0) and Black Hawk/Warren (6-1).
Last Friday night’s victory over the Vikings was River Ridge’s fifth in a row, as they enter the WIAA postseason tournament with an overall record of 7-2.
Against the Vikings last Friday night, River Ridge found running room on the outside, with halfbacks Ty Adrian and Drake Barrineau combining for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
“We took advantage of some things that they were giving us on the outside. We ran a lot of jet sweeps at them. We ran for over 180 yards on just sweep plays alone,” said coach Winkers.
“We blocked well on the edge and I thought we had an advantage there. They’re a little more condensed and bigger inside so that made it a little harder to run the fullback,” Winkers explained.
Adrian led all rushers with 127 yards on just four carries, which included a 78-yard score late in the first quarter and a 22-yard touchdown early in the third.
Barrineau rushed for 56 yards on only three carries, including a 35-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the first quarter.
Even quarterback Brandon Davis found running room on the outside, rushing for 81 yards on six keepers, including a 33-yard score midway through the second quarter.
In all, The Timberwolves rushed for 324 yards and six touchdowns on 26 rushing attempts, and were able to get all of their seniors into the end zone, including wide out Carter Copsey. Not wanting to throw the ball with a big lead late in the game, coach Winkers put Copsey at halfback, who scored from six yards out late in the third quarter.
Senior fullback Andrew Nies concluded the contest with 37 yards on eight carries, including a three-yard TD plunge on River Ridge’s first offensive possession.
Through the air, Davis completed 3-of-8 passing attempts for 101 yards and one touchdown, which went to Adrian for 92 yards in the second quarter.
The Timberwolves also got a defensive score from sophomore linebacker Blake Reynolds, who returned an interception 16-yards to the end zone late in the opening quarter.
Defensively for the Timberwolves, Tony Hernandez led the team with five tackles and one sack, while Cael Koenig, Andrew Nies, Elliott Thornton and Tyler Breuer each had four tackles. Breuer, who is back in action after sustaining an injury earlier in the year, also had 2.5 sacks in his return.
With the regular season in the rear-view mirror, coach Winkers and his Timberwolves can now look forward to the playoffs, where they received the No. 5 seed in their division 7 tournament bracket.
The Timberwolves will open play next Friday night at No. 4 seed Cashton (5-4), who finished tied for third in the Scenic Bluffs conference with a league record of 4-3. Bangor (7-2) holds the top seed in the bracket, with Cochrane-Fountain City (8-1) the second seed and Potosi/Cassville (9-0) the third.
“We’re excited to be in the tournament, that’s the biggest thing,” said coach Winkers. “Now somebody is going to win five games in a row. I’m not saying that we think we can do that, but we’re confident we can win each week, so we’re going to go play a solid Cashton team from the Scenic Bluffs who traditionally has a good program. Then it’s survive and advance.”
“I think we’ve got a really nice football team that has earned the right to be in the tournament,” Winkers added. “I think we’re going to be a tough out for somebody else.”
From his scouting report on Cashton, the Eagles have good size and are a very run-heavy offense, that averaged 217.1 yards rushing per game this season.
“I think we’re a little bit more explosive than they are,” Winkers said of Cashton. “They’re a double tight team and we’re spreading things out a little bit. We understand what’s at stake and we’re excited.”
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