Written by: Keller Sherman
After years of struggling at the 4A classification, the Wood River Wolverines were approved to drop to the 3A classification on a football-only basis. The 2021 campaign resulted in a 1-8 record, but that did include a conference victory over Canyon Ridge. Even with the recent struggles of the program, head coach Shane Carden believes that his team is capable of making some noise in their new conference.
Multiple key players from last year’s team are back in 2022. They include Sawyer Grafft, Zack Dilworth, Jack Herlinger, Micah Shupe, Caleb Hothem, Gavin Hunter, and Ethan Desler. Two of those players received all-conference honors, with Dilworth and Hothem being selected to the first-team at defensive back and linebacker, respectively. One notable player lost from last year’s team is McCade Parke whom Carden described as a “great team leader that never came off of the field.”
Wood River will run a spread offense in 2022 and returns several starters at key positions. “Our spread offense will bring back our QB (Sawyer Grafft) and leading receiver, (Zack Dilworth), our top two running backs, (Caleb Hothem and Jack Herlinger) and our entire O-Line,” Carden said. “We have an older group that has been through a lot through out their career so they are a close group and know this offense well.” Carden said of the offense. He also hopes to see his team improve on finishing drives as he states “Too many times we moved the ball well and couldn’t finish drives in the endzone.”
Carden also expects that the defense will be greatly improved. “We have a lot more depth at our D-Line this year. Ethan Desler and Olin Patterson will lead that group,” Carden said. “We also are returning our main linebacker who had over 100 tackles last year, Caleb Hothem.”
Carden also expects to see more players step up on defense. He felt that Dilworth and Hothem were relied on too heavily last season, but feels that more players will contribute. In doing so, he believes this will help the team “create turnovers and get tackles.”
Injuries also plagued the team in 2021. Starting quarterback Sawyer Grafft went out with an injury in the third game of the season and other injuries severely limited the number of available players on the roster, even forcing the team to forfeit a game. Staying healthy will be very important and Carden believes Wood River can be a great team this season if they can do so.
The Wolverines will play a Week 0 game against South Fremont to start off the season. A win against the Cougars would go a long way towards starting off the 2022 campaign on a high note. They will then return home for two straight games against McCall-Donnelly and former conference foe Canyon Ridge. Wood River will then hit the road for a game at Jackson Hole, Wyoming before starting conference play.
The conference slate kicks off with a home date against Filer followed by a road game at Buhl. These should be winnable games for the Wolverines and winning both will be crucial to give the team momentum before they head into a difficult final stretch.
Wood River will have an early senior night when they welcome another former conference opponent in Jerome on September 30th followed by two straight conference games on the road against Kimberly and Gooding. If the Wolverines can pull an upset in one of these three games, it would go a long way in bringing more excitement around the program.
Carden is excited to see the growth that his players have had the past few seasons pay off with improved play on the field. After starting only 2 seniors at the end of last season, this year’s juniors and seniors are capable of taking this team far in 2022. Wood River is ready to make some noise at the 3A classification and prove that they belong with Gooding and Kimberly at the top of the Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference.