4A Football Tour: Aaron Woodward takes reins at quarterback for Sheridan

Boedecker re-aggravated an injury in the first quarter of the Broncs’ 49-21 victory Oct. 21, 2016, at Cheyenne South. Woodward took over and was shaky early, completing just 5 of 11 passes for 35 yards and a touchdown to help Sheridan take a 21-14 lead into halftime.

Sheridan offensive coordinator Jeff Mowry pulled Woodward aside at the intermission and started a cram session on the finer points of the scheme.

“They went through a lot of the offense with me at halftime,” Woodward said Wednesday. “We were drawing plays up on the mirror.”

Woodward went on to complete 9 of 10 passes for 128 yards and a score in the second half.

“He stepped in and took control in the second half of that game,” junior running back Parker Christensen said. “You could hear the confidence in his voice increasing as that game went on.”

Hurried mid-game study sessions aren’t necessary any more. Woodward enters his senior campaign as the Broncs’ starter.

“He has been the guy all summer, and he’s the guy right now,” coach Don Julian said. “He has done a really nice job and looks ready to take the reins.”

The experience of last season is going to pay dividends this fall, Julian added.

“When (Woodward) was thrown in there in the heat of battle against South, he had to play three-and-a-half quarters without the benefit of having a week to prepare for it,” the coach said. “He just had to go out there and do it. That experience – in both the playing time and having to just go out there and do it without worrying too much about it – was invaluable.”

Woodward is the younger brother of 2009 Wyoming Gatorade Player of the Year Austin Woodward. He grew up playing quarterback, but was such a good athlete Julian and his staff knew they had to find a way to get him on the field.

That’s why he ended up catching 11 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns. The athleticism that got Woodward onto the field as a receiver makes him a running threat as a quarterback.

“There’s a dual-threat element to him,” Julian said.

Woodward doesn’t just have a grasp of the playbook, he is already commanding the huddle, lineman Blayne Baker said.

“He is doing a really great job of getting everyone on the same page and getting everyone on track,” said Baker, who has verbally committed to the University of Wyoming. “You can definitely see where that little bit of playing time helped.”

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.