SHELLEY − On a hot, late summer Friday evening in Shelley, all eyes were on the Russets and Blackfoot Broncos football opener.
But the packed crowd would leave disappointed as Blackfoot (1-0) played spoiler, grinding out an 8-7 win over Shelley (0-1).
Both the Broncos’ offensive and defensive lines were stout, the former of which was aided by a pair of people movers in seniors Carter Ethington and Lawrence Cousineau.
“It was a very physical game, and, I mean, it came down to the wire,” Ethington told the Post Register postgame. “… I think the best thing that came out of this is we kept fighting through it.”
“We just gotta finish on the offensive side, and have no turnovers and get the little things done and we’ll be alright,” Cousineau said. “Defense is pretty good this year.”
After the initial feeling-out process, which included two Blackfoot punts and one by Shelley, Russets senior Kyrev Hawker broke the ice with a 90-yard touchdown run on third and short, sending his home crowd into a frenzy as he ran past the Broncos’ sideline and into the end zone.
Shelley’s defense kept the pressure on with a quick three-and-out, setting up senior quarterback Alex Beck and his offense for another possession, this time starting near midfield. On third-and-7 in Blackfoot territory, Beck rolled right and before he ran out of space, connected with senior wide receiver Tryson Gundersen for a crucial conversion.
However, Beck suffered an apparent midsection injury on an ensuing run play, exiting the game and handing the keys to the offense over to junior McCoy Remington. Blackfoot senior Keaton Shoaf intercepted Remington on fourth-and-long, but Beck would return the next possession.
On a fourth-and-long of their own, Broncos senior quarterback Parker Wright, making his first start, threw a dime to senior playmaker Briggs Esplin, setting them up just inches away from the goal line with 31.6 seconds in the quarter. Blackfoot capped off the two-minute drill with a pitch to Esplin and sophomore Mason Taylor added the two-point conversion run, giving his team an 8-7 advantage.
“It’s good to play these kind of games. We knew Shelley would be tough. This is kind of a Bingham County rivalry game,” head coach Josh Stewart said.
In the third, both teams traded quality drives, but met the same fate: fourth-and-short stoppages. First, it was the Blackfoot defensive front rising to the occasion. Next, after marching into the Russets’ red zone, Shelley sophomore Crosby Winder made a massive tackle on a scrambling Wright.
The Bronco defense, helped by big-time efforts from senior defensive linemen and twins Kaleo Brooks and Kai Brooks, prevented Beck and his offense from chunk plays and controlled the trenches. The Russets punted with eight minutes left in regulation, and Esplin, so dangerous with the ball in his hands, cut through the black and red sea to set Blackfoot up at the Shelley 30-yard line.
Approaching the end zone again, the clock winding down, the Broncos appeared ready to add an insurance score. Instead, they fumbled at the four, Russets senior Jasen Blakely recovered it and suddenly, Shelley had a shot to win the game.
As was the case all night, Blackfoot’s defense was up for the task, forcing a three-and-out.
The Russets did have three timeouts with about four minutes remaining. But, the Broncos did enough, picking up a pair of first downs and bleeding that clock to triple zeroes, surviving a feisty Shelley group and picking up a season-opening victory.
“Would rather win ugly than lose pretty,” Stewart said.