Orofino Falls Short of State Title

Orofino Falls Short of State Title
West Jefferson's defensive dominance puts end to Maniacs' unbeaten run in 2A finale, 20-6

By Josh Wright of The Tribune

Saturday, November 17, 2007


MOSCOW - A block in the back was called, a devastating sack followed and Orofino was staring at second-and-30 deep in its own territory. These sorts of situations weren't quirky, now-and-then occurrences for the Maniacs on Friday night.

No, they were practically a way of life.

Grounded by miserable field position and an overwhelming West Jefferson defense, the Maniacs bowed to the Panthers of Terreton 20-6 in the Idaho Class 2A state championship game.

A crowd of around 4,000 at the Kibbie Dome watched Orofino come one step shy of its first title in school history. It finishes the season at 11-1.

"What a magical season for the kids," Maniacs coach Galen Kuykendall said. "It just hurts when you fall a little bit short."

West Jefferson (10-2) yielded a meager 138 yards and sacked quarterback D.J. Wright five times to break through for its first state crown. But it didn't come without a little late-game drama.

Orofino scored on a 4-yard pass from Wright to Michael Welch to chop its deficit to 14-6 with 4:31 left. After forcing a West Jefferson punt - the first since early in the first quarter - the Maniacs then picked up a rare first down near midfield.

But the drive quickly fizzled, and the Panthers sealed the win with Michael Bybee's 50-yard dash up the middle with 91 seconds remaining. As the 175-pound tailback reached the end zone, West J's sideline erupted in celebration.

"We got a little scared there at the end," said Bybee, who finished with 129 rushing yards on 25 attempts. "But we came out and we totally dominated. Our line's played awesome all year."

For the most part, West J controlled the trenches against the Maniacs, who played without veteran right guard Kyle Wilson (knee injury) for much of the game. Orofino mustered only 95 yards on the ground compared to the Panthers' 232.

Perhaps the most important factor, though, was field position. West J's two first-half scoring drives were 24 yards each. Both were punctuated by 1-yard dives from Bybee and quarterback Mitch Bitter, respectively.

The Maniacs, meanwhile, started inside their own 30 on four possessions to begin the game.

"That was the story of the whole first half," Kuykendall said. "They kept us on a short field, and it's tough to play defense on a short field. We weren't able to get anything generated offensively to get us field position."

Orofino's penalty yards (35) almost equalled its offensive output in the same span (46). The seven flags whistled against the club were costly, but so too were a pair of fumbles that were recovered by Austin Lambertson. The first takeway set up West J's opening TD march.

One of the Panthers' most pivotal drives came to start the second half. Although they didn't score, they consumed over eight minutes with 16 plays.

"It didn't give us a lot of time to be battling back," Kuykendall said. "Them controlling the ball most of the third quarter killed us."

West Jefferson prevailed despite 27 yards on 2-of-15 passing from Bitter. He had only one completion of significance. But with Bybee and Preston McCulloch - who's a "shifty little devil," Panther lineman Elijah Putnam said - the Panthers were content to stay on the ground.

"It feels great," West J coach Tobee Christiansen said. "There's no other way to describe it. I've won a couple as a player. To win it as a coach and seeing how happy it makes the players is (great)."


West Jefferson 8 6 0 6-20

Orofino 0 0 0 6- 6

West Jefferson - Michael Bybee 1 run (Ty McDonald pass from Mitch Bitter)

West Jefferson - Bitter 1 run (pass failed)

Orofino - Michael Welch 4 pass from D.J. Wright (run failed)

West Jefferson - Bybee 50 run (run failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - West Jefferson: Michael Bybee 25-129, Preston McCulloch 15-70, Mitch Bitter 7-33. Orofono: Carey Chambers 11-57, Doug Williams 9-32, D.J Wright 8-(minus 11), Joey Wityczak 1-10, Dylan Midstokke 1-7.

Passing - West Jefferson: Bitter 2-15-1-27. Orofino: Wright 12-27-0-43.

Receiving - West Jefferson: Tyson Hansen 1-27, Ryan Sauer 1-0. Orofino: Michael Welch 3-32, Midstokke 4-19, Williams 2-8, Chambers 1-5, Wityczak 1-4, Zac Goodrich 1-0.