Box Score
March 22nd, 2003 Layton Longhorns vs. Pocatello Silverbacks

POCATELLO 14 LAYTON 6

MARSH VALLEY – What was expected to be a tune-up for the regular season turned out to be a defensive battle that wasn’t decided until the game’s final minute when Pocatello’s Nathan Sams pounced on a Layton fumble to dash the Longhorn’s chances of stealing a victory from the hometown Silverbacks. The Sams fumble recovery was one of one of 11 turnovers (Pocatello 4, Layton 7) in a hard-hitting game in which two tough defenses stole the show.

The rust was apparent as both teams struggled to move the ball in the 1st quarter. The Longhorns had an opportunity to draw first blood as they lined up to attempt a long field goal after the Silverbacks 4th down attempt fell short giving Layton the ball on the Silverbacks side of the field. Jake Ball came through untouched to block the Layton kick to keep the score knotted at zero. After a Trent Sutton interception return to the Layton 4 yard line, Pocatello got on the board when quarterback Jeff Belnap found his brother Brent Belnap open in the end zone.

Jeff Belnap rolls and finds brother Brent Belnap for the games first score.

Another interception by Silverback defensive lineman, Spencer Perry, off a Layton screen pass led to the Silverbacks second score late in the second quarter. Perry did just about everything Saturday except drive the team bus as he racked up 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and the interception. Following Perry’s interception Belnap found his favorite target All-American Brock Gunter streaking down the seam as he outran the Longhorn secondary en route to a 61 yard TD.

The score remained 14-0 until 7:35 in the 4th quarter when Layton’s Wyrick found Gobe wide open in the end zone on a beautifully executed reverse pass play from 30 yards out. The PAT failed leaving the Longhorns down 14-6. With less than 2 minutes to go Pocatello fumbled the ball giving Layton one last chance to pull the upset, but the Silverback D was able to hold on for the victory.

Brock Gunter continued to give opposing defenses nightmares with 4 receptions for 88 yards and 1 TD, and the offensive line of Ayotte, Hancock, Ketzenburg, Blevin, and Olsen did a good job in providing pass protection. The defense had several standouts including Al Covingtion (7 tackles), Cameron Hicks (6 tackles, 1 Int), and Tyler Wheatley (4 tackles, 1.5 sacks).

Although, sloppy at times it was a hard found game in which both teams portrayed class and sportsmanship. The Silverbacks would like to thank Layton for the game and wish them luck in their upcoming UFL season. The Silverbacks will be off next weekend but return to action April 5th when they host the Madison Lionz in their RMFL season opener.

Silverbacks kick-off their 2003 campaign to return to the RMFL championship game for the third straight year with a sloppy but gritty victory.

Layton

Pocatello

Scoring Summary:

Second Quarter:

Pocatello: B.Belnap 4-yard pass from J.Belnap (J.Belnap kick) 11:04
Pocatello: Gunter 61-yard pass from J.Belnap (J.Belnap kick) 1:18

Fourth Quarter:

Layton: Gobe 30-yard pass from Wyrick (kick failed) 7:35

	Layton	Pocatello
First Downs	11	8
Rushes, Yards	35-141	26-53
Passes	10-27-4	6-13-1
Passing Yards	125	117
Sacked-Yds Lost	4-24	1-6
Total Net Yards	242	164
Punts, Average	2-47.5	4-43.6
Penalties, Yards	7-45	4-25
Fumbles, Lost	4-3	3-3

Individual Statistics:

Rushing: Layton - Hill 12-56, Wyrick 5-36, Jacobson 11-33, Fuentes 4-8, Van Brunt 2-5, Belford 1-3. Pocatello - B.Belnap 21-39, J.Belnap 4-9, Wheatley 1-5.

Passing: Layton - Fuentes 9-26-4-95-0, Wyrick 1-1-0-30-1. Pocatello - J.Belnap 6-13-1-117-2.

Receiving: Layton - Slater 3-35, Gobe 1-30, Wyrick 2-27, #12 2-26, Barber 2-20. Pocatello - Gunter 4-88, Orchard 1-25, B.Belnap 1-4.

Tackles: Layton - Eggerman 6, Slater 5, Belford 5, Davies 4, Caldwell 4, Harper 3, Manning 2, Sullins 1 (1 sack), Hill, Wyrick 1, Lemon 1, Jacobson 1, Spence 1. Pocatello - Covington 7, Trent Sutton 7, Troy Sutton 6, Hicks 6, Perry 5 (1.5 sacks), Ball 5 (1 sack), Fisher 4, Wheatley 4 (1.5 sacks), Howerton 3, Suetopka 3, Guardipee 2, Ayotte 1 (1 sack), Ketzenberg 1, Haworth 1, Crangle 1, Contreras 1.

Interceptions: Layton - Hill. Pocatello - Trent Sutton 2, Hicks 1, Perry 1.

Missed Field Goals: Layton 1 (blocked).