kang@journalnalnet.com

Last Friday night couldn't have passed any more awfully for Wes Howard.

Not only did the senior Pocatello running back have to sit out his team's loss against Skyline for disciplinary reasons, he couldn't even listen to the game on the radio.

"I got score updates from the Century station. I didn't know what radio station it was on," Howard said. "It was kind of a double whammy."

Howard got to witness Pocatello's latest football game, a 34-13 win over Jerome on Friday at Holt Arena, from his favorite vantage point - right on the field.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound bruiser announced his return with pomp, bulldozing over a bunch of Jerome defenders on Poky's very first play from scrimmage. It was the first of his many spectacular runs, all of which added up to 228 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

"Wes had an awful big game," Pocatello coach Tom Harrison said. "He came back and had a lot more vigor than I've seen. He just had a whale of a game."

Of course, Howard didn't do it all himself.

A week after surrendering 56 points against Skyline, Pocatello's defense stifled Jerome for the most part and pitched a shutout in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Indians' offense once again showcased an emerging aerial threat in wide receiver Kyle Hanson, who hauled in three passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.

All those developments had the Indians feeling pretty good heading into their biggest game of the season next Friday - the annual Black and Blue Bowl against Highland.

"Everyone's excited now," Hanson said. "We're going to be pumped. We're going to be ready to go."

Howard had a lot to do with how bouyant the Indians (2-4) felt.

He pounded out a 26-yard run on the Indians' first offensive play. One snap later, Howard broke off a 36-yard touchdown, shaking off several Jerome defenders along the way.

Howard's second touchdown was a 63-yard scamper that gave Pocatello a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter.

"Everyone was going out and hitting somebody and opening up some holes," Howard said. "All I had to do was run through it, so it wasn't hard. When your line's doing that for you and guys are making blocks downfield, it works out pretty good for you."

As much as Howard punished Jerome with his running, it was Hanson's big receptions that turned the game Poky's way.

The Tigers scored right before halftime to slice the deficit to 14-13 and temporarily quiet Poky's section of fans.

After attempting just two passes the entire first half, Poky quarterback Tyler Hargraves came out firing in the third quarter. He fooled the Tigers with a play-action fake before finding Hanson downfield on a 38-yard pass. That led to a 6-yard Jake Valentine run that gave the Indians a more comfortable cushion.

On Poky's next drive, Hargraves hit Hanson again, this time for a 64-yard touchdown pass for a 27-13 advantage.

"That was a big play," Hanson said. "Every time you get a big play, they're flat. We come out pumped, and our defense comes out pumped. It gets a few good stops, and it's over for them."

Indeed, Jerome rarely threatened in the second half. In the Tigers' six drives after halftime, the Indians forced four punts, recovered a fumble and picked off a pass.

All that was left for the Indians to do by the fourth quarter was run out the clock - and they had the perfect person for that in Howard.

Howard was almost too good in that role. The Indians seemed content pounding out run after run, but Howard turned two late carries into 31-yard gains.

On the second, he crashed loudly into a Jerome defender at the line of scrimmage but bounced off looking like he hadn't felt a thing. Howard then cruised into the end zone untouched for the final score.

After the game, he admitted the game went by a bit too quickly for his liking and that he "didn't want the clock to run out."

Well, Howard and the Indians got the next best alternative.

"I was just glad that we came out on top and the game got over while we were ahead," Howard said. "I was real fired up to be back. Just to get to play the game was huge."

Pocatello 34, Jerome 13

Jerome 0 13 0 0 - 13

Pocatello 7 7 13 7 - 34

Scoring summary

P - Wes Howard 36 run (kick good)

J - Billy Wight 7 pass from Cameron Stauffer (kick good)

P - Wes Howard 63 run (kick good)

J - Gus Callen 22 pass from Cameron Stauffer (run failed)

P - Jake Valentine 6 run (run failed)

P - Kyle Hanson 64 pass from Tyler Hargraves (kick good)

P - Wes Howard 31 run (kick good)

Individual statistics

Rushing: Pocatello - Wes Howard 15-228, Jake Valentine 7-80, Shaw Green 8-19, Jerron Batts 5-35, Joshua Pollard 1-(-10), Tyler Hargraves 1-13. Jerome - Ross Hilliard 12-49, Cameron Stauffer 16-54, Dylan Dowton 3-28.

Passing: Pocatello - 4-8-156-1-1. Jerome - Cameron Stauffer 19-35-159-2-1, Billy wight 0-1-0-0-0.

Receiving: Pocatello - Jake Valentine 1-5, Kyle Hanson 3-151. Jerome - Ross Hilliard 3-1, Billy Wight 4-21, Gus Callen 7-97, Hayden Thacker 4-34, Richard Gibson 1-4.