Early Mistakes Cost The Cowboys

The Cowboys welcomed the Garden Valley Wolverines to North Gem last Friday afternoon.  Coming off a big win the previous week the Cowboys were riding high feeling confident in their team.  The Cowboys, sitting at 2-1 on the season, were set to face off with the Wolverines who entered the contest undefeated.  Each team has very legitimate aspirations of making the playoffs and competing for a state title.  The Cowboys, with their ten man roster, pride themselves  on being tough and gritty.  Meanwhile, the Wolverines boast a deep roster with several players of substantial size.  Even in this early stage of the season, the two teams did share one common opponent.  That opponent is Castleford.  The Wolverines defeated Castleford 46-16 while North Gem won their game against Castleford 52-6.  In every aspect, the Cowboys and Wolverines looked like a great pairing to make for an exciting game.  

As the game got going, the Cowboys got off to an inauspicious start.  Following three consecutive kickoffs that went out of bounds, the Cowboys’ fourth kickoff was returned by the Wolverines for the game's first score.  Just seventeen seconds into the game, North Gem trailed 0-6.  On the Cowboys first offensive possession they initially moved the ball well, earning a first down and getting near midfield.  Unfortunately, quarterback Rustin Hatch would take a hit as he attempted to pitch the ball to Welker resulting in the pitch going awry and the Wolverines recovering the loose ball.  That was just an indication of how most of the first half of the game would go.  

Following another Wolverine score, the Cowboys offense would continue to struggle getting on the same page as they would have another bad pitch resulting in a big loss and forcing a punt.  The Wolverines would take advantage of the short field and score one more time before the end of the first quarter putting the Cowboys in a 20-0 hole.  

North Gem started the second quarter on offense and put together a solid drive using up about half of the time on the clock.  However, a failed fourth down attempt inside the twenty yard line would hand the ball back to the Wolverines.  Garden Valley added another score, pushing the lead to 28-0.  Following a touchback on the kickoff the Cowboys fumbled the ball and gave it right back to the Wolverines with yet another short field.  Garden Valley would punch in another score increasing the lead to 36-0.  After the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs again the Wolverines would drive the ball again down the field.  A bright spot to finish the half came when Welker got an interception deep in Cowboy territory to prevent another Wolverine score.

The halftime talk must have been a good one for the Cowboys as the second half would go much better for them.  North Gem’s opening drive saw them get back to their bread and butter of hard nosed running.  After a long drive down the field Yost finally found the endzone for the Cowboys putting up six points on the scoreboard.  The Wolverines would answer on a long drive of their own and the third quarter came to a close with the score at 44-6.  

The Cowboys started the fourth quarter much like they started the second half with a long drive that resulted in another Yost touchdown run around the end.  The score now sat at 44-12 with a little over eight minutes left in the game.  The game ground to a stand still as the remainder of the quarter became a defensive battle.  Neither team was able to find the end zone again and the game came to an end at 44-12.  The Cowboys had the edge in the second half but could not overcome the early mistakes.

This week the Cowboys travel to Challis for a critical conference match up with the Vikings.