Hundreds of students, parents and friends crammed into Wood River High School's commons area Wednesday night for the 2009 high school football banquet, marking the end of coach Kevin Stilling's first season at the Hailey helm.
Stilling said, "Your sons and one daughter did a great job of buying into what I was selling them. They never quit, even though they played with the lead only nine minutes and two seconds all season—and we still managed to win two games."
The coach thanked his coaching staff, paid tribute to varsity players and handed out awards to the 2-6 squad. Junior varsity coach Matt Nelson played a similar role at the banquet with his 3-5 team, proclaiming, "Wood River is going to be tough in the future."
Named Most Inspirational Player was senior Nick Chase. Most Improved was junior Alex Padilla. Best Offensive Player was senior Tyler Peters. Best Defensive Player was senior Evan Puluti.
Peters was the only three-year letterman. The eight two-year lettermen were Juan Martinez, Nathan Farrow, Chase, Juve Ruiz, Kasey Barker, Jose Patlan, Colton Seely and Alex Thomas.
Earning Coaches Awards were junior John Bartoletta (Iron Wolverine weightlifting honor) and junior Farrow (the "Cross the Line Award").
Six Wolverines were "huddle leaders," which meant they took a 10-week leadership course last winter and played a leadership role for this year's team. They were Chase, Martinez, Peters, Patlan, Seely and Chauncey McGraw.
"To the juniors," said McGraw, a 6-2, 190-pound senior, "I want to say, be the change that you want to see."
This year's rushing leaders were Peters 109 carries for 572 yards, Farrow 98 carries for 388 yards, and Padilla 25 carries for 185 yards. Tackle leaders were Farrow 49, Chase 48 and sophomore Braxton Parish 47.
Scoring leaders were Farrow (4 TDs, 24 points), Peters (3 TDs, 20 points), Chase (1 TD, 8 points), Puluti (1 TD, 6 points), Haylee Thompson (5 points including a 31-yard field goal) and Martinez (2 points, 2 TD passes, 1 conversion pass).
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