Fruitland upends Wendell 54-6

By Larry Hurrle
Argus Observer
Saturday, October 31, 2009 10:34 PM PDT

Larry Hurrle | Argus Observer Fruitland’s Daulton Blackwell looks for running room around the end of the Grizzly line, while a Wendell defender tries to run him down. Fruitland did all the running and ran Wendell out of town with 54-6 defeat.

FRUITLAND — It was no mystery that Fruitland would rely on its running game as the Grizzlies entered the Idaho 3A state football playoffs Friday night.

Fruitland distributed the ball to 10 different running backs Friday and churned out 416 yards on the ground as the Grizzlies walked away with a 54-6 victory over Wendell in the opening round.

The Grizzlies threw the ball just three times in the game. Two of those passes fell incomplete, while the third was intercepted.

Going into the game, Fruitland head coach Bruce Schlaich knew Wendell lacked depth and wanted to jump on the Trojans quickly to take the momentum.

Fruitland did just that. The Grizzlies nearly intercepted a pass on the opening play of the game, then Jaxson Suitter recovered a fumble on the third play from scrimmage to set up a first-and-goal from the eight. Two plays later, Daulton Blackwell burst through from four yards away for the opening score of the game just 1:15 into the first quarter.

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“We thought if we could get after them early maybe it would kind of break their spirit a little bit and make things a little bit easier on us,” Schlaich said following the game. “They’re a young team and they just want to come in an survive it and we just want to get it done. We got it done in a big way.”

That big way kicked in with 6:10 left in the first quarter when junior running back Jordan Martin broke through Wendell’s interior line and raced 61 yards for Fruitland’s second touchdown of the game.

Following a Fruitland turnover that put Wendell at the Fruitland 32, the Grizzlies turned back any threat of the Trojans gaining momentum when Wendell tried a little trickery with a halfback pass to the end zone.

Coleson Warrington read the play for Fruitland, however, and knocked the pass away. One play later, Wendell turned the ball over on downs.

Fruitland didn’t let any grass grow under its feet on the following possession. In just five plays, the Grizzlies were staring at a first-and-goal at the Wendell one yard line, thanks in part to a 53 yard pickup by Blackwell on the first play of the drive.

On the first play of the second quarter, Fruitland put the game out of reach when Martin broke over from the 1 yard line for a 21-0 margin.

Fruitland would score three more times in the second quarter, to sit on a 41-0 lead going into halftime.

In the second half, Fruitland backed away using most of its second team and junior varsity players the rest of the way. Justin Seamons, a freshman running back, earned his first two varsity touchdowns of the season in the fourth quarter, scoring from 1 yard and 17 yards away.

Wendell’s only score of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Tyler Pearson found an opening in the Grizzly defense and scampered 19 yards to pay dirt.

Fruitland, which had been plagued by fumbles all year, lacked in that category Friday night. The Grizzlies put the ball on the ground just once and came away with the recovery.

“That’s a new trend, I hope,” Schlaich said with a laugh.

Fruitland’s only turnover came on an interception when quarterback Ryan Wright was hit as he threw and John Campbell tracked down the fledgling pass.

Defensively, Fruitland held Wendell to 149 yards on the ground, while the Trojans’ passing game was almost nonexistent.

Wendell completed just six of 21 passes for 34 yards, while Fruitland intercepted four of quarterback Nolan Stouder’s passes.

“We were real pleased with our defense tonight,” Schlaich said. “We could have had a shutout, but we put our young guys in a let them play.”

Martin led all rushers on the night with 172 yards on 12 carries, while Blackwell accumulated 128 yards on 10 carries. Seamons also had a strong night for Fruitland, gaining 56 yards on nine carries.

Fruitland returns to action this week against Orofino (6-3). The Maniacs defeated Priest River in the opening round of the playoffs Friday night 27-21 to earn the right to travel to Fruitland. Game time has not been announced.

“They get tougher from here on out,” Schlaich said about the upcoming contest with Orofino. “We’ll prepare and we’ll be ready. We’ll get back to work on Monday and we’ll get after it.”