JACKSON, Wyo. — It will be a big test for the Broncs tonight as they host the Pocatello Indians. The teams have never met in their school’s histories (so the football game will already be one for the record books), but both clubs also come into the contest undefeated with identical 2-0 records.
Broncs head coach David Joyce did not like the way his team played in last week’s win over Bear Lake, calling it slow and sloppy.
“We played poorly—penalties, stuffed on the goal line in the red zone,” Joyce said. “I like the way we responded in the second half, but I don’t feel we came out of the gates ready to play. Bunch of busted coverages, and I don’t feel like we played our cleanest football.”
Joyce hopes to have his high-powered offense again clicking. Jackson is averaging 42 points a game after two wins on the road. The defense has been a bend-but-don’t-break affair with shakiness in the inexperienced secondary, something Pocatello may try to exploit.
The Indians have had luck in the passing game. Junior quarterback Zach Park has developed an affinity for wideout Matt Christensen, who has good size. Watch for Pokie to try and line Christensen up on Crain Evenson’s side. The junior corner struggled with fighting for the ball against taller receivers last week in one-on-one coverage.
“They’re good. They don’t do anything super fancy but they also don’t beat themselves,” Joyce said. “We’re going to have to play a lot better in the secondary if we want to have a shot of beating these guys.”
The Broncs will also have to take care of the football. Pocatello’s defense is aggressive. The Indians forced 5 turnovers in their opener against Madison, and added 3 takeaways last week against Idaho Falls.
Offensively, the Broncs can’t do much better than they have to start the season. Joyce would like to get a faster pace from the team as it runs its uptempo, no-huddle offense. At times last week, it was the zebras themselves that couldn’t keep up with the Broncs. Referees and sideline officials were often not ready for Jackson to snap the ball.
The Black & Orange can strike in a variety of ways. Brody Hasenack ran wild on the bears last week, gobbling up 275 yards rushing. Clancy Meagher provides a nice changeup to the fleet tailback with hard inside running.
In the absence of favorite target Nate Keipert (out with injury) Sadler Smith has spread the ball around. Sam Scott, Colter Dawson, and Sam Lopeman were all on the receiving end of Smith’s 14 completions last week. Smith also rushed for a pair of touchdowns last week on a designed option that gave Bear Lake fits.
Both teams sit at the top of their respective conferences. Dave Spillett’s Pocatello Indians hold first place in the 4A Great Basin East Conference; Jackson is tied for the top spot in the Wyoming’s 3A West with the Powell Panthers.
Kickoff 7 p.m., pregame and play-by-play coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. on KZ95 (95.3FM) and KZ95.live online. A special video livestream of the game will also be made available thanks to the Bronc Backers who facilitated coverage from SVI. Watch the game at SVI Media.
