Football: Wolves have new emphasis on 'D'

VIRGINIA CITY - Even though offensive statistics look great on paper, they don't always translate into wins or championships.

Consider the Coleville Wolves and their 84-0 Western A eight-man win against Virginia City on Saturday afternoon. The Wolves have averaged 78.4 points per game on their way to a 5-0 record so far this season, but afterward, they spoke first and foremost about their performance on the defensive side of the ball.

"Our defense has finally figured it out," said Jason Peters, who doubles as standout quarterback and middle linebacker for the Wolves. "It's a lot different this year. We've got a good (defensive) coach and a different approach to playing defense. Our offensive stats are down this year, but it's all a lot easier because of our defense."

Coleville has only allowed eight points in its last three games and pitched shutouts against McDermitt and Virginia City.

"Our defense is what gets the offense rolling," said Emmi Sandoval, who intercepted two passes and was in on five tackles.

The Wolves were rolling from the start on Saturday, scoring on each of their nine first-half possessions. Thanks to that defense, Coleville only had to start one of those nine possessions from its own side of midfield and needed 33 plays to score nine touchdowns.

Peters, who has accumulated more than 7,000 yards passing during his career at Coleville, was 10-for-19 for 132 yards and five touchdowns on this day.

Sandoval had five receptions for 49 yards and two TDs, while Cody Clark, Jay Clark and John Hamilton all caught one TD pass each. Hamilton, a sophomore running back, topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the third straight week with 155 yards and two TDs on nine carries.

"Hamilton gives us another breakaway guy in the middle of the offense,"

Coleville coach Will Sandy said. "He's just one more weapon we have."

Oh, and all those stats were compiled in the first half while Coleville cruised to a 68-0 lead. The Wolves used their second-team offense during the final two quarters, which were played with a running clock. Cody Clark ran 46 yards for a touchdown, aided by a downfield block from Kambel Kenaston, and Clark later threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Josh Huhta.

Again, don't overlook a defense that allowed 53 yards in total offense, four first downs and forced three turnovers. Lucas Vasquez, Steven Koelling-Lynch, Matt Randall and Peters were all in on qu arterback sacks. And the Wolves were especially aggressive on first-down plays - six of which resulted in negative yardage.

"We want to be proactive, not reactive. We try to make things happen, not to wait for them to happen," defensive coordinator Cody Carlisle said. "Our goal is to play the best defensive game possible.

"The guys realized last year that offense doesn't win championships," he added. "You have to play all three - offense, defense and special teams - and the kids have bought into it. They have really played disciplined and they're having fun with it."

Coleville's primary goal for the season is to win its last game in November.

"The defense has been so much better this year, it's really helped our offense," Sandy said. "Last year, we were getting into shootouts; we were averaging almost 70 points a game, but we were giving up 50. And if anybody doesn't believe defense makes a difference, all they have to do is look at Coleville vs. Alamo."

For the record, Pahranagat Valley (Alamo) defeated Coleville to advance to last year's state 1A championship game, 128-74. That's no misprint, either.

"That was a big wakeup call," said Peters, who threw 10 touchdown passes in a losing cause that day. "Everyone came back ready to work this summer.

Everyone was in the weight room working to get stronger so we could have the kind of season we want. That (state championship) is one everyone's mind. We have to stay focused and I think we will be able to do that. We have enough veterans on this team who know what it takes."

Added senior Jay Clark, "Stats won't matter if we don't win state. That's the only stat we're worried about."