Lady Plainsmen fly past Skyline

Richard Anderson photos
At top, Laramie's Ariela Schreibeis, 11, and Kylee Anderson, 20, run the ball up the court against Skyline. At bottom, Amber Vandiver takes the ball strong to the basket.


By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The Laramie High School girls’ basketball team never rests. Halftime might be the toughest time for them … they have to sit still.

The Lady Plainsmen revved up their RPMs for 32 minutes in stopping Skyline (Longmont, Colo.) 68-41 Friday night in the Laramie Girls Basketball Invite at Plainsman Gym.

Laramie (3-2) started and finished strong in winning its home opener. The Lady Plainsmen will close the two-day invitational on Saturday when they host Niwot (Colo.) at 10:30 a.m. and Lander Valley at 2 p.m. Niwot thumped Lander 61-32 in the first game on Friday.

The Lady Plainsmen put pressure on the Falcons from start to finish, regardless of the score. Although mistakes can happen when they move a little too fast, they say it is the only way they know how to play.

“That’s our game plan this year,” Laramie junior guard Alyssa Schmidt said. “We try to get in their space and cause turnovers. When we’re flustered, they are even more flustered. We just try to keep up the pressure all game long and good things happen.”

Walking the ball up the court might get a player a seat next to first-year head coach Rod Tyson, who is not afraid to substitute. In fact, a few times in the game, Tyson used the old hockey line shift, putting in five players at a time.

“The way we play, we have to (substitute) because we are a really fast-tempo team,” Schmidt said. “Obviously, we run out of energy pretty fast.”

Tyson played 15 players on Friday night, including 10 in all four quarters.

“It helps because our bench is so deep,” he said. “We can keep putting pressure on … apply pressure, apply pressure. I have been working with them for quite a while now and they know what I want and they know how to rotate. We actually had some poor rotations, but they make up for that with their speed.”

The game appears to be just an extension of practice, regardless of the player’s age. Freshman Ragen Wilson was one of even freshmen or sophomores to play in the game.

“We practice very hard and we just go out to do our best and know not to quit,” Wilson said. “We go out with the mindset to win and hopefully that is how it turns out. But we never stop. We don’t like to quit.”

Wilson played in the third and fourth quarters and gave the Lady Plainsmen a lift after Laramie struggled in the final half of the second quarter. Wilson scored 13 points, either finishing a break or using her quickness to beat her opponent with the drive.

“I go out and do my best. I try to block everybody out and just go for the shot when it is open,” Wilson said.

While Tyson isn’t afraid to play his bench, it really doesn’t matter what time of the game he does it; if they can keep the energy going, they’ll be in there.

“I trust everyone on the team. There is a lot of things they can do,” he said. “As the year progresses, hopefully, they will get a little more confidence in themselves and it will show even more.”

Schmidt had the hot hand, especially early with a pair of 3-pointers. She led all scorers with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Along with Wilson’s 13 points, junior Kylee Anderson added 12. Ten of the 15 Lady Plainsmen who played got in the score column.

“I think everyone is meshing together really well,” Schmidt said. “A lot of younger girls, including the freshmen, are stepping up and that is always nice to see. Whenever we step up, it’s a fun game.”

Laramie broke a 6-6 tie in the first quarter with 10 unanswered points and led by as much as 22-9 midway through the second before hitting a cold spell. The Lady Plainsmen actually missed all nine free throws attempted in the second quarter, but still led by 10 at halftime.

If the pace was fast in the first half, it only picked up in the final two quarters. The aggressive Lady Plainsmen defense never let Skyline get back in the game and wore the Falcons out down the stretch. Laramie outscored Skyline 43-26 in the second half.

“We’re really proud of our game tonight. There were a few things that we could have done better, but that game is over with and we’ll just go out and play well tomorrow,” Wilson said.

On area of struggle for Laramie came at the free-throw line. The Lady Plainsmen were just 17-of-38

“We have to do a better job of boxing out and obviously still make our free throws,” Tyson said.

Even when mistakes are made, the Lady Plainsmen’s aggressiveness and quickness have the ability to overshadow those miscues.

“A couple of plays there, one of the girls would have a turnover but go back and steal it,” Tyson said. “In the stats, it is a turnover and a steal, which sort of balances it out. We’ll take it. I think both teams got a little sloppy there, but a win is a win.”

Tyson getting another shot

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie High School girls' basketball head coach Rod Tyson watches a scrimmage Thursday night with some of his players.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Rod Tyson had it all planned. One more year of coaching the Laramie Junior High School ninth grade girls’ basketball team and then switch over to coach the boys -- with his son, Jareel, going into the eighth grade.

But Laramie girls’ head coach Bruce Schmidt resigned after last season and suddenly those plans went by the wayside.

Tyson’s daughter, Yalandra, was going into her sophomore season, and the tug to go for the Lady Plainsmen head job was too tough to ignore.

So now, the former Plainsmen all-state player, the former Wyoming Cowboy, was taking his second shot at being a head coach for Laramie High -- he coached the Plainsmen in the mid 1990s.

“We had it worked out. I was going to start working with the boys and work my way through that program,“ Tyson said after a late practice on Thursday. “But Coach Schmidt resigned and the girls wanted me to coach. I’ll coach for at least four years ... I’m going to try.”

Tyson is certainly no stranger to youth girls’ basketball, as he as been involved for several years, starting up again when his oldest daughter, Brittany, now a freshman in college, was in seventh grade. When he started the Laramie Youth Girls’ Basketball Program, they had seven girls. Now, they number in the fifties.

“Hopefully, it pays off,“ Tyson said. “We have a lot of girls who have worked hard. Some of them stopped to do other sports. It was a great experience for them and they learned a lot. It helps them in every sport.”

Because of his familiarity with the youth girls' program, stepping in as varsity head coach wasn’t too much of a transition.

“It really doesn’t seem so different, mainly because I have coached these girls for so long,” Tyson said. “Maybe if I would have come in and didn’t know the girls, it would be a little different. Most of the teams, we have played before. I’m just coaching now instead of watching them the last couple of years.”

Tyson was part of the last Plainsmen team to win a state basketball title in 1985. After beginning his coaching career in 1989 for then Lady Plainsmen head coach Paul Street, Tyson took over the Plainsmen program in the mid 1990s and struggled to get it going.

In his second stint as head coach, it might be a classic case of, “if I knew then what I know now.” Tyson said he is not near as cocky now as he was then as a young coach.

“It’s not about me as I used to think back then,” he said. “When you come out of college, you think you are an unbreakable type. You know, it’s ‘my way, boom, boom, boom.’ But there are other ways.”

Tyson credits many of the coaches he played for or coached under for guiding him. That goes back to high school under Dennis Diehl and Dale Parker, to his college coaches -- Jim Brandenburg and Benny Dees -- to Street and Schmidt.

“I’ve learned a little bit from everybody,” Tyson said. “That sort of makes who I am now as a coach, as opposed to being, 'it is going to be my way, too bad.' I try to adapt every day, I try to learn every day. I learn more form the girls. It’s not all about winning. It’s about enjoying the game and loving the game. Hopefully, they can enjoy it and we can do both.”

The biggest thing Tyson said he wants his players to do is believe in themselves. He said that if a player works hard, good things will happen. And of course, they need to play defense.

“If there is any individual out there who thinks they are better than the team, then we are never going to be any good.,” he said. “If you can’t get along with your team, I can’t work with you. That is the only way I can have it. The big goal for our team is to get better every day. I think we did that last week (at the McDonald‘s Invitational in Cheyenne). Against Kelly Walsh, it was probably the worst I had seen these girls play. We came back and played well against Rock Springs. We played really well against Natrona and played really well against Star Valley.”

The Lady Plainsmen finished 2-2 in the opening tournament and will host a three-game round-robin tournament Friday and Saturday at the LHS gym. Laramie hosts Skyline (Longmont, Colo.) Friday at 7:15 p.m., with Niwot, Colo., Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and Lander at 2 p.m.

To watch the Lady Plainsmen these days, you might need a program. Tyson likes to play as many kids as he can.

“I think we are pretty deep, talent-wise, but not with experience,” he said. “If there is any chance I can get those younger ones some experience, then I need them in there. It just helps our team get better.”

Tyson relies on his seniors for veteran leadership and his youngsters for a spark.

“I know what a lot of them can do. I try to rely on our seniors for leadership and sturdiness, but the younger girls are in there for speed and quickness. I like their aggressiveness,” he said. “If we put a younger group in, they may be smaller, but they are going to turn up the heat.”

Tyson has been involved in basketball for 37 years, nearly 20 as a coach. Even now as he has also been also coaching the LJHS eighth-grade team at the same time, it doesn’t get old.

“I enjoy it," Tyson said. “The kids are so different, so I get to work on different things in practice, trying to teach them.”

Thursday night in practice, Tyson scrimmaged his sophomores, juniors and seniors against a few male counterparts (non-basketball players at similar sizes). His girls more than held their own, and regardless of who was on the court, it was a team effort.

“All of our kids get along and the root for each other. If a couple of girls make a couple of good move, it gets them going,” Tyson said. “They like to have fun, and the only way to play basketball is to have fun. I’m pretty serious and tough on the girls, but I try to be as fair as possible. If they are working hard, they should get the opportunity at crunch time to see what they can do.”

Indoor practice facility closer to reality

Richard Anderson photo
Just one corner of the new indoor practice facility, located at 725 Skyline Drive.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

For youth outdoor sports such as soccer, football, lacrosse and baseball, the winter months are fairly nonexistent for productive practice. Even in the spring, it can be more miss than hit.

That’s all about to change with the upcoming youth indoor practice facility, located at 725 Skyline Drive in the old Western Flea Market building.

Thanks to the board of the Laramie Blizzard Soccer Club, the new indoor practice facility, almost wall-to-wall in synthetic sport turf, will be available for youth and some adult organizations when the weather turns ugly in Laramie.

“We’re very excited about it,” James Learned of the Blizzard told Sportsline Live (KOWB/KCGY radio) hosts David Settle and Richard Anderson on Wednesday night.

An open house, hosted by the Blizzard, is set for Friday from 6-8 p.m.

“We really want to encourage the public to come by a take a look, even if you come in for five minutes," Learned said. “Believe me, that is all that it will take. Once you see the hard work that has already been done, just making the place presentable and getting everything cleaned up, you’ll see the turf and it should be a done deal at that point.”

The practice surface measures 12,600 square feet or about 90x120 feet, with an additional straight 120-feet agility area. Not only can it be used for soccer, but other sports like football, lacrosse and baseball can continue to work out despite the adverse weather conditions that can plague the Laramie area.

Jon Boyer, developmental coach for the Blizzard, said the offseason in soccer is critical in the augmentation of a player individually.

“Really, what winter time gives us is time to start working on individual skills and develop our players more than we can do in the season,” Boyer said. “In the season, you do a lot team-wise. We have that speed and agility area, so when teams are practicing, we can get in there and work on coordination because kids are growing.

“It’s going to do a lot for the community, not just for our kids in the Blizzard, but it can make all kids better athletes in general.”

Learned said an important part of the facility is that a coach can work with his individuals or teams in any sport that they want. The fields are not lined in any particular way, it’s just an open area.

“We will have the ability to divide the playing surface in half, so we can give as many groups a chance to practice as possible," Learned said. “We even have an elevated area (6-8 inches) where there is an additional level of turf that runs the length of the playing surface. It is dedicated specifically to agility training. We’ll have some people available to run some agility courses. Coaches can use the time to set up their own agility drills while they are waiting for the field to open up. We’re really thinking about as many aspects of improving athletic performances as we can.”

While the facility isn’t large enough for full-scale game situations, what it does allow, especially in soccer, is to set up small-scale game, such as 4v4 or 5v5, to work on technique, problem areas.

“I think you can do the same thing for sports like football; work on your red zone offense, divide the field to work on specific things," Learned said. “Baseball is the same thing. We might get an opportunity to put in batting cages. There will be room to do whatever your imagination allows. As creative as you want to be as a coach, this facility allows you to do it.”

Laramie Blizzard President Don Barnes said the idea of an indoor facility is something he has thought about for several years, ever since he got into coaching. With Learned and his wife, Mariah, involved in Olympic developmental soccer, they have coached and been involved in clinics across the state and country where the synthetic turf has been utilized.

With the opportunity for the indoor facility at its present location emerging, they all knew it was too good to pass up.

“It’s more uses for this facility, more chances for kids to come in,” Barnes said. “The turf guy came in from Colorado Springs, Colo., and he told me they built one there and it filled up, so they built another one. It’s just that fast. I honestly believe that Laramie will support this because it is a neat facility, a needed facility for our area."

Because there are various costs involved in not only setting up the facility, but maintaining it, fees will be charged to participate, as well as various fundraisers. Learned said there will be several opportunities for business and individual donors to be part of it all.

“Right now, it is just a youth indoor practice facility, it has not been named," Learned said. “If there is a donor who is interested, then we would be interested in any or all suggestions. We know that there is a Rochelle Athletics Center, INVESCO has a field. We know there are ways even professional teams are trying to fund their high quality facilities. Beyond that, we have sponsorship opportunities much like the high school is currently doing, being able to sell banners, and there are various levels to go along with that. Certainly, we want our sponsors or donors to be recognized for their efforts.”

The fact that the Laramie facility will be the first of its kind in the state, it is an example for the entire state, Learned said, and he credits all of the volunteer work that has made it possible.

“They are really a shining example of what can happen,” Learned said. “It’s like the cliché, 'the heart of a volunteer.' They exemplify it.”

It’s already about to pay off, as the state Olympic developmental soccer team will spend a couple days this winter in Laramie training in the new facility.

“We’ll be able to show off our wares to the rest of the state,” Learned said.

Last spring, the Laramie High School boys’ and girls’ soccer teams both won state titles and the Blizzard, year-in and year-out, have been among the state’s best programs. Barnes said this facility is going to bring that winning element to all sports.

“I think people will be copying us very quick. I think it will help our football program get back on top. You can do things on a turf that you can’t do in a gymnasium,” Barnes said.

While adult organizations can also use the facility, Learned said it will be the young athletes who will benefit the most.

“If we can get a few people together to just put an effort behind our kids, we can do some amazing things,” Learned said.
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For more on the indoor facility
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Mountain: Adapting to the times

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie head coach Jason Mountain, right, demonstrates a defensive move in a recent practice.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Jason Mountain doesn’t have years of experience in running a basketball program one way. Even if he did, that probably wouldn’t happen.

In this third year as Laramie High School head boys’ basketball coach and eighth year in the program, Mountain is only about 10 years from leading the Plainsmen to the state title game when he was a senior in high school.

When he took over for Rob Richardson two years ago, he led the Plainsmen to the state title game. Last year, Laramie also qualified for the state tournament. Time will tell if Mountain can get this year’s Plainsmen into title contenders. But that is always in the back of his mind.

Laramie opened the season Thursday at the McDonald’s Basketball Classic in Cheyenne and March is still a long ways away.

Mountain has confidence in this year’s team and certainly in the way he coaches.

“I don’t feel like I am necessarily as green as I may seem,” Mountain said. “I feel like I am starting to finally get a handle on things and understand how the politics of the game works, how the dynamic of practices go, how the whole situation works and breaks down with games and traveling and all of that stuff.”

It’s not that Mountain didn’t have a grasp on much of that before, but by mixing in a few Xs and Os, going to a few coaching clinics, he now takes things a little more serious as a head coach. He’s beginning to realize that his philosophy is changing from year-to-year as well.

“I’m learning more innovative ways to do things, and taking things from coaches that I like and getting rid of things I have taken from other coaches that thought I had liked,” he said. “I feel like I am getting more and more prepared each year. I just have to keep telling myself that I am trying to build a program here, so be patient and don’t hope for that instant gratification, it doesn’t happen over night.”

Two seasons ago, though, Mountain probably didn’t think that way. After all, he was a rookie head coach in the state title game. The Plainsmen fell to a very good Casper Natrona squad, but just Laramie’s appearance opened some eyes, especially those of the young head coach.

“It was bittersweet having that championship game come my way my first year, but I also felt that that team was capable,” he said. “I think I also made some good decisions in the post-season and my team played well. It just happened that my team peaked at the right time.”

Laramie was just 8-19 overall, although the Plainsmen did make another appearance at the state tournament.

“Last year, we did well to get to state, but the whole year certainly could have gone better for us,” he said.

Don’t expect Mountain to sit back and settle on one style or one coaching philosophy. In his mind, coaching high school athletics is all about being patient and adapting.

“I’m not going to sit here and say that there are not coaches who are amazing at doing the same thing year-in and year-out,” Mountain said. “I guess I feel like I have to adapt with the times and adapt with the players and work with the arsenal that I am given. I feel that if I have to mold kids into one system, it just doesn’t work for me. I high school, you can’t recruit. If I have a bunch of bigs one year, I might want to play to their strengths, play to their talent. If the next year I don’t have a lot of big players, I might want to play something that highlights the strength of my guards -- can we transition more, can I run a continuity offense? I think it is about adapting and changing with the times.”

Mountain’s overall coaching philosophy? Defensively, he said he is working on being a good man-to-man coach.

“Coaches are really a good zone coach or a really good man-to-man defensive coach. I want to be the type of coach who eventually gets my players to be able to work hard on defense the entire game,” he said. “I have always been a believer that defense wins championships and offense wins games.”

On offense, the faster, the better … that is, while still being under control.

“I like my guys to be able to score in transition and not have to set it up every time,” Mountain said. “It seems like my first couple of years, I have had to kind of slow things down at times.
That hasn’t been enjoyable to me, but that was what I have had to work with. This year, I think I can let the horses loose and let them play and create on their own. They have great basketball minds and they are great independent thinkers.”

Of course, Mountain thinks back to his playing days with the Plainsmen. He was one to never sit still.

“I never liked slowing it down much, being real methodical,” he said. “I certainly draw off my own personal experiences as a player, what worked best for me and what I enjoyed the most. I think every coach takes that with them and plays off of it.”

With that in mind, Mountain said most players like the quicker game, as well as the fans.

“They like an up-tempo game where there is a lot of scoring and a lot of fun. It works for me,” he said.

Mountain is rapidly putting a stamp on his program -- his entire program -- beginning with Rage Youth Basketball, a league he formed for young players in kindergarten through sixth grade.
Next year, he is going to expand the program to seventh grade. This past fall, he had about 200 young players learning the game.

“It’s been phenomenal for us. It has been a great feeder program,” he said. “Kids, when they start coming up in the seventh grade, they know a little bit more. It’s about fine-tuning, so when they come to us as freshmen, they know how to shoot a layup, they know what a defensive stance is instead of being so raw. It will help myself and the next coach down the road, helping them be competitive every single game and every single year.”

If that happens, Mountain, a physical education teacher at Slade Elementary School, will have basketball control of every grade in town.

“That’s exactly where I want to be,” he said.

Plainsmen fall to KW

The Laramie Plainsmen got the 2008-2009 seaqson off to a tough start, falling to Casper Kelly Walsh 81-62 Thursday afternoon in the McDonald's Basketball Classic in Cheyenne.

Kelly Walsh took control late in the first half and never really looked back. Laramie climbed within 11 with about three minutes left in the game, but could get no closer.

Dan Estes led the Plainsmen with 25 points, followed by Mason Orcutt with 14 points and Karsten Hiser with 10.

Laramie comes right back in the three-day tournament at 6:30 p.m. Thursday night and will face Star Valley.

Laramie Quarterback Club honors LHS fall senior athletes

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie head football coach Bob Knapton, right, presents Coleton Wilson with the Dewey McConnell Award as the outstanding LHS football senior.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The six Laramie High School fall head coaches gathered to honor their seniors Wednesday night in the annual Laramie Quarterback Club Fall Seniors Banquet at the Laramie Country Club.

It was an up and down fall sports season for Laramie High School, but it was all good as far as the six head coaches were concerned. Senior leadership is the name of the game and LHS had plenty of that this fall.

Seniors were honored in football, volleyball, girls’ swimming and boys’ and girls’ cross country, tennis and golf.

The annual Dewey McConnell Award was also presented to quarterback Coleton Wilson for the outstanding LHS senior football player.

“When I first got here last spring, he was at every camp, he came to every weight-lifting day that we had open; everything we had going on, he was there,” LHS coach Bob Knapton said. “He did a great job as a leader for us. I just think he is a heck of a kid. I hope what some of these seniors have done this year rubs off to our junior class.”

When talking about Wilson, Knapton also spoke many of the same attributes about his nine seniors who stuck it out for the season. The Plainsmen struggled with just one win, but Knapton said his seniors were inspirational.

“The season didn’t go as well as we wanted it to go, but these seniors put in a lot of hard work and gutted it out. I appreciate everything they did.”

Four of those seniors were in attendance -- Wilson, Nick Armijo. Nick Yelton and Alex Zuniga.

Veteran Laramie swim coach Tom Hudson began the night by talking about his three seniors for the Lady Plainsmen, who struggled with experience and finished eighth at the state meet. Only one senior was in attendance -- Margo Hammann.

“I was proud of the way the girls competed all year long,” Hudson said.

Laramie tennis coach Carlos Mellizo said his seniors were key to the team’s success during the season. Both Laramie teams finished in sixth place at the state meet. Those seniors at the banquet were Kiley Dodson, Jessica Swierczek, Mason Orcutt, Ryne Ibarra and Dan Nachtigal.

“We had a really successful season in my mind and saw improvements from both the boys and girls,” Mellizo said.

LHS golf coach Kurk Aegerter just finished his 16th season at the helm and talked about how much he enjoyed this year’s team, led by some outstanding seniors. The Plainsmen finished fifth at the state tournament, with the Lady Plainsmen in seventh place.

Senior golfers at the banquet were Maigen Rettinger, Hannah Nerone and Eric Parrish.

“Golf is a different beast, I always say. I’m very blessed to have that job …. 16 years,” Aegerter said. “It’s so enjoyable, something we would pay to do.”

First-year Lady Plainsmen volleyball coach Trisha Witkop said her five seniors taught her as much as she could teach them. The Lady Plainsmen finished 14-18 on the season.

“These girls were incredibly patient and helpful this season,” Witkop said. “I thought this year was going to be tough bringing in a new technique and coaching staff. But these girls adapted and came in with an open mind.

Lady Plainsmen seniors in attendance were Brea Curry, Melissa Dozier, Kaylynn Jaycox, Becca Halsey and Maddie Francis.

Cross country coach Greg Schabron, praised his seniors for helping him in his first year at the helm. The Laramie boys won the regional meet for the first time in 14 years and placed a strong third at the state meet. The Lady Plainsmen were eighth at the state meet.

Senior harriers at the banquet were Jacob Heath and Angela Peterson.

“They just happen to be our team captains. They did a great job,” Schabron said.

Indians use big plays to stop Plainsmen

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie junior Jon Sorenson runs away from the Central defenders on a 45-yard gain Friday night at Deti Stadium.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

One big play led to another, then to another, then to another, then to another …

It was the story of the Laramie Plainsmen’s season and night, as Cheyenne Central overcame a 6-0 deficit to thump the Plainsmen 42-6 Friday night at Deti Stadium.

The big plays obviously didn’t go Laramie’s way, as it ended its season 1-8 overall, including 0-5 in South Conference action. Cheyenne Central, 3-2 and 3-5, will move on to next week’s state quarterfinals.

For much of the first half, the Plainsmen appeared to be at least on their way to a competitive game. In fact, Laramie controlled the ball for much of the first and second quarters, but still went into the locker room down 21-6 at halftime.

A matter of two plays resulted in a potential 14-point swing in the game.

Trailing 7-6, Laramie was on its away to a possible score when junior wingback Jon Sorenson took a screen pass and rambled 27 yards to the Central 10-yard line. But Sorenson was hit from behind and fumbled, with Central recovering on the 8-yard line.

One play later, the Indians struck pay dirt when running back Brad Ramsey took the hand-off on a draw play and scored from 92 yards. Instead of trailing, the Indians were up 14-6.

“When you are in a game like this and the plays are there, you have to make them and you have to keep the momentum,” first-year Laramie head coach Bob Knapton said. “Our kids know it is the last ballgame, and if they don’t keep the momentum, you can see it starting to slide down.

“We run a fake punt and get the first down and then throw an interception. If we finish that off and score, the kids are up and the kids are fired up and playing hard. We run a screen down to the 10 and we fumble it. You have to finish these things off.”

Later in the second quarter, Central gave the Plainsmen two golden opportunities to do something, as Josh Borm fumbled two straight punt returns, with Laramie recovering. But the Plainsmen couldn’t move the football and gave Central the ball back with 1:45 left on the clock.

The Indians took advantage, as quarterback Conner Long drove his team 72 yards on just five plays, hitting Kyle Grott on a 16-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone with no time left on the clock.

That seemed to zap the life out of the Plainsmen and Central took that 21-6 lead and added three scores in the second half for the easy win.

The Plainsmen got on the scoreboard first on a 4-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Charles Swearingen, capping a 10-play, 81-yard drive. The score was set up by a 45-yard run by Sorenson.

Central came right back for the lead, thanks to long kickoff return by Michael Davis to the Plainsmen 13-yard line. Long scored three plays later on a 1-yard sneak.

The Indians used a little trickery early in the third quarter, when Ramsey took the pitch and then tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to Grott, giving Central 28-7 lead. The Indians closed the scoring on a 23-yard run by Ramsey with 4:23 left in the third and a 5-yard touchdown pass from Long to tight end Trevor Mordhorst one play into the fourth quarter.

The Plainsmen actually ran 22 more plays from scrimmage (64-42), but the Indians out-gained Laramie in total yardage, 452-305. Ramsey had 131 yards rushing on just six carries and Long was 14 of 23 passing for 263 yards. Grott caught five passes for 136 yards.

Sorenson had his second straight 100-yard plus rushing game, with 103 yards on 20 carries. He had 187 yard last week against Rock Springs. Coleton Wilson completed 7 of 20 passes for 111 yards. He had two passes intercepted.

Despite a tough season, Knapton said it is just a matter of working hard and trying to improve going into next season. Laramie had just nine seniors play in Friday’s game and will try to build on some positives.

One of the positives Friday night was no personal foul penalties, a problem for the team at times this season.

"We finished on a good note that way,” Knapton said. “We talked to them about that. You will come out, you will come out if you start playing that way. We finished up playing good, clean ball, but the momentum is a big thing with high school kids.

“We have a lot of work to do and we’re going to get after them. That’s what we talked about on the field afterwards … getting everybody to camps, getting everybody lifting -- not just half the team. If you are going to play, you better show up to practice.”
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INDIANS 42, PLAINSMEN 6
Central 0 21 14 7 — 42
Laramie 6 0 0 0 — 6
First Quarter
LHS -- Charles Swearingen 4 run (kick failed)
Second Quarter
CC -- Conner Long 1 run (Brad Ramsey kick)
CC -- Brad Ramsey 92 run (Brad Ramsey kick)
CC -- Kyle Grott 16 pass from Conner Long (Brad Ramsey kick)
Third Quarter
CC -- Kyle Grott 31 pass from Brad Ramsey (Brad Ramsey kick)
CC -- Brad Ramsey 23 run (Brad Ramsey kick)
Fourth Quarter
CC -- Trevor Mordhorst 5 pass from Conner Long (Brad Ramsey kick)
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Cheyenne Central — Brad Ramsey 6-131 & 2TDs, Conner Long 5-26 & 1TD, Michael Davis 4-36, Thad Lain 2-(minus 3), Austin Breckenridge 2-(minus). Totals: 19-189. Laramie — Jon Sorenson 20-103, Charles Swearingen 8-26 & 1TD, Luke Knapton 7-37, Coleton Wilson 5-14, Nathan Cowper 2-4, Phillip Callahan 2-10. Totals: 44-194.
PASSING
Cheyenne Central — Conner Long 13-23-2 & 2TD, Brad Ramsey 1--1-0 31 & 1TD. Totals: 14-24-2 263 & 3TDs. Laramie — Coleton Wilson 7-20-2 111. Totals: 7-20-2 111.
RECEIVING
Cheyenne Central — Kyle Grott 5-136 & 2TDs, Trevor Mordhorst 5-87 & 1TD, Kevin Cox 2-17, Josh Borm 1-7, Austin Breckenridge 1-16. Totals: 14-263. Laramie — Jon Sorenson 2-41, Tyler English 2-40, Luke Knapton 1-28, Kelby Wilkison 1-7, Jacob Weise 1-5. Totals: 7-111.

Plainsmen look to finish strong

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie coach Bob Knapton talks to senior Allen West during a time out in a recent home game.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

The game doesn’t have the meaning like they had hoped it would, but the Laramie Plainsmen have plenty to play for Friday night in their season finale against Cheyenne Central.

Laramie had hoped to be playing for a state playoffs berth against the Indians, but will instead play for a little momentum for next season and pride. Kickoff at Deti Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

Laramie needed to beat Rock Springs last week and then topple Central on Friday to have a shot at the playoffs. The Plainsmen, however, dropped a disheartening 35-28 overtime loss to the Tigers in a game that LHS led 28-7 a minute into the fourth quarter.

Laramie, 0-4 in South Conference play and 1-7 overall, struggled with a couple of questionable calls, its emotion and then stopping the Tigers at the end last week.

Laramie head coach Bob Knapton said it was a good opportunity missed to get into the playoffs and also a tough way to learn.

“It was a good lesson for us because our kids need to know that no matter what happens, you have to be focused on what our goal is and our goal was to win that game,” Knapton said. “You have to play hard and try not to commit as many fouls as you can. We had the opportunity to win. We had to move the ball and we had to run the clock; we had to run it out. But you can’t get frustrated to just cave things in. That’s what we’ve been working on.”

Laramie had 14 penalties for 133 yards, including several personal foul and unsportsmanlike calls.

“It’s been a roller coaster," Knapton said. “We’ve had some games where we come out and only have one penalty for 15 yards. That’s great, playing tough. Next game some guys start yipping and yapping and the penalties start building up. They have to learn how to discipline themselves or somebody is going to discipline them for them.”

With that, a few Plainsmen will either sit out the game or parts of it against Central.

“Are they good enough to be in the playoffs? Yes,“ Knapton said. “But what kept them from it? Some people had their own demises with running their mouth and getting penalties and it kept that team closer and closer and allowed them to score.”

The Indians will move on to the playoffs at 2-2, but have struggled at times for a 2-5 overall mark. Last week the Indians dropped a 37-29 decision to top-rated Sheridan in a game they rallied late to make close.

Central’s strength is on offense, as the Indians sport the No. 2 rusher in the state in Brad Ramsey (133.9 ypg) and the No. 2 passer in Conner Long (86-of-136, 1,052 yards, nine touchdowns).

“They can generate yards with the passes and they work to spread you out,” Knapton said. “They have a good receiver they can throw the ball and they can run the ball. It will be a good challenge for our defense to play them tough.”

Defensively, Central has struggled, giving up an average of 28.4 points and 384 yards per game.

“On the flip side of it, a lot of people have scored a lot of points on them also,” Knapton said. “That’s what we’re looking at. If we want to keep the ball away from them, we have to score a lot of points and do ball control.”

The game will be the final football contest for nine Plainsmen seniors -- Alex Zuniga, Coleton Wilson, James VanKirk, Trent Schneider, Aaron Chism, Allen West, Nick Armijo, Jacob Weise and Nick Yelton.

Knapton said it will also be a game the underclassmen can pick up a little momentum for next season.

“Hopefully, we can go out, play tough and work on some things that we want to work on, especially for some of the kids who are going to be around next year, and for the seniors who are playing to finish strong and play with some pride,” Knapton said.
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Plainsmen Statistics
(Counting Steamboat Springs game)
Rushing
Jon Sorenson: 108-646 & 6TDs; Charles Swearingen: 89-462 & 3TDs; Mike Lanich: 34-73 & 1TD; Coleton Wilson: 41-65 & 2TDs; Kelby Wilkison: 2-26 & 0TDs; Nathan Cowper: 3-6; Allen West: 1-0 & 0TDs; Luke Knapton: 45-247 & 1TD, Phillip Callahan 17-47 & 0TDs, Derek Shaneman 1-2, Nate Clark 1-(minus 5). Totals: 317-1,479 & 13 TDS
Passing
Coleton Wilson: 27-71-4 269 & 1TD, Jon Sorenson 0-9-1 0. Totals: 27-80-5 269 & 1TD.
Receiving
Tyler English: 1-25 & 0TDs; Marshall Fisher 3-33 & 0TDs, Nathan Cowper 5-49 & 0TDs; Jon Sorenson 6-42 & 1TD; Luke Knapton 6-56 & 0TDs; Charles Swearingen 4-40 & 0TDs, Rylan Harding 2-28 & 0TDs. Totals: 27-269 & 1TD.
Defense
Luke Knapton 153.5 points, Tyler English 85, Nathan Cowper 78, Allen West 73, Jon Sorenson 71, Kelby Wilkison 67, Nick Armijo 55, Nathan Clark 43, Rylan Harding 38, Trent Schneider 37, Austin Ontiveroz 25, Ben Farber 23, Charles Swearingen 22, Dylan Kramshuster 14, Coleton Wilson 14, Nick Yelton 11.5, Devin Garcia 5.5, Wes Dalles 6.5, Alex Zuniga 4, Bryce Kemzt 2, Tyler Cowdel 2, Dillon Elliott 1, Phillip Callahan 3, Brody Burnett 1.

Tigers rally past Plainsmen

By Wyoming Sports.org

ROCK SPRINGS -- The Laramie Plainsmen did just about everything right for the first three quarters plus a little change.

Then they lost their cool and the game.

The Plainsmen built a 28-7 lead over Rock Springs a minute into the fourth quarter, but saw the Tigers take advantage of several Laramie penalties and rally back to a 35-28 victory in overtime Friday night in a critical South Conference game.

It was a critical and devastating loss for the Plainsmen, who were eliminated from state playoff possibilities. Laramie, 0-4 in league play and 1-6 overall, had to win Friday night and next week against Central to have a shot at the playoffs.

The Plainsmen shot themselves in the foot in the final minutes against a Rock Springs team (2-2, 3-4) that did little offensively until the final quarter. Laramie had 14 penalties for 133 yards in the game, with several personal foul or unsportsmanlike penalties. Starting center and defensive end Ben Farber was ejected for Laramie in the fourth quarter and wingback Jon Sorenson was also sat down by the LHS coaches in crunch time. Sorenson had run for 187 yards and three scores before being disciplined.

Laramie coach Bob Knapton was not happy with how his team reacted to some questionable calls, but also said his team didn’t get too many breaks.

“It was just terrible,” Knapton said on the KOWB postgame show. “We have to learn that we are not going to get a lot of calls and we certainly didn’t get any calls tonight. But when that happens, they are just going to have to ignore it.”

The Plainsmen also didn’t quite get the final break in overtime when junior wingback Luke Knapton was stopped apparently inches short of the goal line on fourth down after a 5-yard pass from senior quarterback Coleton Wilson.

Bob Knapton argued that his son broke the goal line plane. The Plainsmen also lost the football midway in the fourth quarter when Rock Springs recovered an onside kick that appeared to be touched last by a Laramie player before the ball went out of bounds.

Knapton said the Rock Springs coaches told him after the game that it was a bad call.
Add it up and it was a tough night at the end for the Plainsmen, who also struggled defensively in the final quarter against an otherwise anemic Rock Springs offense.

Things were certainly favorable for the Plainsmen early, as Laramie scored twice in the second quarter on a 1-yard run and 5-yard run by Sorenson. Laramie led 21-0 on a 2-yard run by junior fullback Charles Swearingen in the third quarter and then 28-7 on a 63-yard touchdown run by Sorenson one minute into the fourth quarter.

But the Tigers came back behind the running of Luke Aust and Neil Novak. Aust, who had a 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, brought Rock Springs back on a 14-yard score to make it 28-14 and Novak, after the onside kick and a couple of Laramie penalties, made it 28-21 just one minute later on a 2-yard touchdown run.

With five minutes left in the game, the Tigers tied the game after a 46-yard pass interception return by Caleb Tygum. The Tigers scored 21 points in just over three minutes.

The game went into overtime and Laramie elected to play defense. The Plainsmen didn’t play much defense as it turned out, as Aust scored on a 10-yard run on the first play.

The Plainsmen couldn’t match the scored and the Tigers celebrated the win and likely a berth into the state playoffs.

Laramie will close the season Friday night at home against Cheyenne Central.
---
TIGERS 35, PLAINSMEN 28 (ot)
Laramie 0 14 7 7 0 — 28
Rock Springs 0 0 7 21 7 — 35
Second Quarter
LHS -- Jon Sorenson 1 run (Alex Zuniga kick))
LHS -- Jon Sorenson 5 run (Alex Zuniga kick))
Third Quarter
LHS -- Charles Swearingen 2 run (Alex Zuniga kick))
RS -- Luke Aust 26 run (Alec Lever kick)
Fourth Quarter
LHS -- Jon Sorenson 63 run (Alex Zuniga kick))
RS -- Luke Aust 14 run (Alec Lever kick)
RS -- Neil Novak 2 run (Alec Lever kick)
RS -- Caleb Tygum 46 interception return (Alec Lever kick)
Overtime
RS -- Luke Aust 10 run (Alec Lever kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Laramie — Jon Sorenson 14-187 & 3TD, Charles Swearingen 18-80, Luke Knapton 13-39, Coleton Wilson 3-7, Nathan Cowper 3-6. Totals: 51-319. Rock Springs — Neil Novak 20-110 & TD, Luke Aust 7-68 & 3TD, Wesley Padilla 8-37, Darin Radke 1-12. Totals: 36-227.
Passing
Laramie — Coleton Wilson 9-3-1 36. Totals: 9-3-1 36. Rock Springs — Wesley Padilla 15-6-0 21, Neil Novak 1-0-1 0. Totals: 16-6-1 21.
Receiving
Laramie — Marshall Fisher 1-19, Charles Swearingen 1-12, Luke Knapton 1-5. Totals: 3-36. Rock Springs — Cory Petek 2-12, Darin Radke 1-6, Neil Novak 2-0, Austin Prevedel 1-3. Totals: 6-21.

Plainsmen in must-win game at Rock Springs

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

It’s officially do or die time for the Laramie Plainsmen in their quest to make the state playoffs.
A win over Rock Springs Friday night and Cheyenne Central next week could put the Plainsmen in the playoffs. One more loss, especially against the Tigers, will keep them out.

“It would be a slim or none chance of getting in, we need to win this week,” Laramie coach Bob Knapton said.

Kickoff in Rock Springs is slated for 7 p.m.

The likely target to get into the playoffs will be two wins. At 0-3 in South Conference play, Laramie cannot afford another loss. They‘ll go up against a Rock Springs team that is 1-2.

“They are going to look at this game to they and win it so they can seal themselves in to," Knapton said. “There might be some teams with two wins and one of them might not make them in.”

The Plainsmen, meanwhile, have had a yo-yo type of season offensively and defensively. When the Laramie offense performs well, the defense doesn‘t. When the defense is respectable, the offense struggles.

The Plainsmen have been hut out two times in their last three games -- 23-0 by Scottsbluff, Neb. And 33-0 last week by No. 2 Green River. When Laramie moved the ball and scored well two weeks ago against Evanston, it gave up 51 points.

“We need to go out there and play ball. Kind of like we did against Green River, but we need to get some offense generated,” Knapton said. “We need to get going, we need some people to step up and start making some plays.”

In the loss to Green River, gave up a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a bad snap on a punt that eventually led to a touchdown. Other than those mistakes, it was probably the cleanest game they had played in a while. Those turnovers, however, hurt, and that can’t happen against the tigers on Friday, Knapton said.

“We can’t be fumbling, we can’t have bad snaps,” he said. “We can’t give them anything that would get the momentum to go the other way. We have to get the momentum going our way. We have to stop them, shut them down and score some points. It’s time.”

Rock Springs is 2-4 overall, with wins over Evanston (16-10) and Jackson (30-16) two weeks ago.

“They can step up and stop people,” Knapton said. “Defensively, they are pretty tough. Offensively, they have been struggling. It’s time for us to step up and make our own breaks instead of just playing well enough until we make some mistakes and we fall behind. We have to get in our minds, have a good attitude and have no penalties.”

The Tigers are 11th (last) in the state in total offense, averaging 173 yards game. Laramie is ninth at 231 yards a game.

Quarterback Wesley Padilla leads the tigers in both rushing and passing, with 212 yards rushing and 40 of 88 passing for 398 yards, two touchdowns and nine interceptions.

A quick start is always essential for the Plainsmen.

“Whoever gets on top first and gets going, that’s going to help momentum-wise,” Knapton said

No. 2 Wolves roll past Plainsmen

Richard Anderson photo
Green River quarterback Drew Martinez makes a move on a Laramie defender Friday night at Deti Stadium.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

A late second-quarter gift turned the momentum and it was more than enough for the Green River Wolves, as they rolled to a 33-0 win over the Laramie Plainsmen Friday night at Deti Stadium.

A bad snap on a punt by the Plainsmen late in the second quarter gave the Wolves the ball on the Laramie 9-yard line and Green River scored as time ran out for a 12-0 lead. The talented and No. 2 Wolves then took advantage of a few more Laramie mistakes and put the game away early in the third quarter.

With the win, Green River is now 3-0 in South Conference play and 5-1 overall, while the Plainsmen fell to 0-3 and 1-6.

Despite the lop-sided defeat on the scoreboard, the Plainsmen stayed with the Wolves at times, but again was not able to finish drives offensively or make key tackles on defense that led to big plays.

And when a team is struggling like the Plainsmen are, bad breaks seem to follow them around. Laramie looked as if it might keep the Wolves out of the end zone late in the second quarter, as Green River was called for a false start penalty on the 1-yard line with just three seconds left. But the play was called dead before the false start because of an equipment problem, nullifying the penalty. The Wolves got one more chance and capitalized on a 1-yard plunge by fullback Cooper Palmer.

Instead of trailing by just a 6-0 score at halftime, the Plainsmen were down 12-0.

“From what I know, I thought they threw a flag, but it was an equipment problem and the guy blew the whistle before they could run the actual play,” Laramie head coach Bob Knapton said. “It stopped the clock and they had to fix whatever was going on. It was very bad timing for us, but what can you say? They’re out of time outs and had just three seconds left, but he had something dragging on the ground. It was more of a safety thing.

“That was a tough break for us and we can sit here and blame that, but I wanted to keep my kids focused and playing hard," Knapton added. “I thought they came out and played a great game for us. Our biggest thing was to come out and be ready to play ball with no personal fouls, which we did, and that kept us in the ballgame.”

The Plainsmen had over 100 yards of penalties in each of the previous two games, but had just one penalty for 15 yards on Friday night.

“I think our kids played really tough and hard, and they have to learn to play that way,” Knapton said. “We have to learn to come out and play good, clean football, and we have to start now. The next step is that we have to make your own breaks. It’s a tough game, but you can’t let something like that happen. We just can’t give them some of those breaks like that.”

Green River’s athleticism and talent took over in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns and the Wolves added one more score in the fourth.

The Plainsmen had 14 first downs in the game, to 12 for the Wolves. Green River did have a 371-168 advantage in total yards, striking big with 278 yards coming on just six plays -- 118 yards on three passes and 98 yards on three runs.

The Plainsmen also had another bad snap on a punt deep in their own territory in the second half and didn’t wrap up a few times defensively, including a big 48-yard punt return by Andrew Meredith that led to the first score of the game, a 10-yard run by Colter Rood.

“Some of those younger guys have to make plays on special teams," Knapton said. "We have guys playing offense and defense and we’ll run them to death if they are on the punt and kickoff teams too. Our kids are going to have to learn to step up and make some plays for us.”

The Wolves made plenty of big plays, especially quarterback Drew Martinez, and that also led to scores. He had several nice open-field moves that led to big runs, scoring on a 40-yard scamper in the fourth quarter. Martinez, who also had a 37-yard run earlier in the drive, finished with 124 yards rushing on just seven carries. He was also 6 of 10 passing for 139 yards.

“He’s a shifty guy, he’s a heck of a quarterback; he is quick,” Knapton said. “But we should have made some better tackles.”

Green River’s two touchdowns in the third quarter came on a 63-yard fumble recovery by Mitch Roberts and a 21-yard run by Palmer..

Offensively, Laramie moved the ball from the 30 to the 30 fairly well in the game, but stalled on downs.

Laramie ran the ball for 132 yards on 48 carries and quarterback Coleton Wilson was just 3 of 15 passing for 16 yards.

“We tried some different stuff, but they have some great athletes,” Knapton said. “They have some D-backs that can turn and run with our guys. Sometimes you have to match them athlete-to-athlete. I thought we had a good scheme and I thought we stuck to it and played good, hard ball, and that is what I wanted to see. In the last two games, if we play like that we will be in good shape.”

Laramie will be on the road next Friday at Rock Springs and then close the regular season on Oct. 24 at home against Cheyenne Central.
---
WOLVES 33, PLAINSMEN 0
Green River 6 6 14 7 -- 33
Laramie 0 0 0 0 -- 0
First Quarter
GR-- Colter Rood 10 run (kicked block)
Second Quarter
GR -- Cooper Palmer 1 run (pass failed)
Third Quarter
GR -- Mitch Roberts 63 fumble recovery (Colter Rood kick)
GR -- Cooper Palmer 21 run (Colter Rood kick)
Fourth Quarter
GR -- Drew Martinez 40 run (Colter Rood kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Green River -- Colter Rood 9-21 & 1TD, Mike James 6-21, Cooper Palmer 12-61 & 2TDs, Drew Martinez 7-124 & 1TD, Stevie Jones 1-4, Cody Smart 1-(minus 4), Luis Flores 1-(minus 2), Andrew Meredith 1-7. Totals: 38-232 & 4TDs. Laramie -- Jon Sorenson 18-26, Charles Swearingen 9-44, Luke Knapton 6-15, Coleton Wilson 7-26, Mike Lanich 3-24, Phillip Callahan 1-2, Kelby Wilkison 1-6. Totals -- 46-152.
Passing
Green River -- Drew Martinez 6-10-1 139. Totals -- 6-10-1 139. Laramie -- Coleton Wilson 3-15-0 16. Totals: 3-15-0 16.
Receiving
Green River -- Coltor Rood 1-33, Mike James 3-76, Cooper Palmer 1-(minus 2), Cody Smart 2-38, Mitch Roberts 1-32. Totals -- 6-139. Laramie -- Luke Knapton 1-17, Nathan Cowper 1-2, Marshall Fisher 1-(minus 3). Totals -- 3-16.

Big challenge for Plainsmen

Richard Anderson photo
The Laramie Plainsmen will host No. 2 Green River Friday night at Deti Stadium.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Despite a couple of tough weeks, the Laramie High School football team still has plenty to play for this season. Friday night‘s foe, though, won’t likely feel sorry for the Plainsmen.

The Plainsmen, 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in South Conference action, need a couple of wins to have a shot at the state playoffs this season and will look for a breakthrough against No. 2 Green River Friday night at 7 p.m. at Deti Stadium.

Despite some long odds on paper, Laramie head coach Bob Knapton said they might as well start that late-season push this weekend.

“This is a great opportunity for our team,” Knapton said. “You play a good team and people are going to look at that good team. There are a lot of people scouting that team. They have a lot of players who may go play somewhere. You want to do a good job? Do a good job against a good team and you’ll get noticed.”

While it would be a big win over Green River, Laramie’s next two opponents are also fighting for the playoffs as well. Knapton said his players need to realize that although this is going to be a tough game, the season is not over, as they close against Rock Springs and Cheyenne Central.

“The way it works out, the other two teams that need to get in the playoffs are the two teams we have left to play,” he said. “When you look at Rock Springs and Central, they’re not guaranteed in either. If they want in, they have to beat us. If we want in, we have to beat them. We have some games left that, if we pull it all together, we can make things happen.”

For the Plainsmen to have success Friday night and for the rest of the season, they need to put both sides of the football together at once. At times this season, the Laramie defense has been fairly solid while the offense has struggled. Last week, the Laramie offense piled up nearly 400 yards on offense and scored three touchdown, but the defense couldn’t stop Evanston’s rushing attack, led by Cory Anthos (271 yards of total offense) in the 51-23 loss.

“If you’re going to score, you still have to stop people. That’s our big thing,” Knapton said. “We finally got to the point where we can put some more things to get outside, we can do a few more things with our offense to kind of keep them from bunching up on us. But it is like a flip-flop. One week our offense doesn’t do much and our defense was keeping us in games. Now, all of the sudden, our defense is letting people run all over us. We have to get to the point where both of them come together.”

To say the Wolves will be a challenge for the Laramie defense might be an understatement. Green River comes into the game averaging 38 points per contest and has had 17 players run the football this season, averaging a state-high 345 yards per game.

“We have people not filling (holes), not making tackles, not doing the stuff that they are supposed to be doing,” Knapton said. “We’ve worked a lot on that. We’re trying to find people; we’re rotating some guys around. You better be able to come up from the outside and be able to read it, come up and make a tackle. This will be a good week to see if that is starting to pay off, because they have a lot of good running backs and they attack the outside pretty good. They have a lot of misdirection, they have some good linemen. We want to see how we stack up.”

The Wolves have five players running for at least 100 yards this season, led by Colter Rood’s 447 yards on 46 carries and Mike James with 421 yards on 44 rushes. Quarterback Drew Martinez has run the ball 34 times for 385 yards, followed by Derek Cutler with 199 yards and Cooper Palmer with 123 yards.

“Their second-string running backs are just as good,” Knapton said. “They have five or six running backs who can run the ball, who have good speed. We’re going to read our keys right, so we know where the ball is going. We’ll see how it works out.”

Martinez is also 24 of 39 passing for 495 yards and four touchdowns for the Wolves (4-1 on the season, 2-0 in league play). Green River’s only loss was at Gillette, 14-13 on Sept. 20. Last week, the Wolves crushed Kelly Walsh 57-27.

“I think when they lost that game to Gillette, it woke them up a bit,” Knapton said. “I think they are trying to prove a point. They beat Kelly Walsh pretty bad. They were up on them pretty good and they were doing quite a few things to make sure they were scoring more points. I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of mercy from them. If they can score 60 points, they’ll score 60 points. If they can score 70, they’ll score 70.”

Another area of concern for the Plainsmen has been with penalties. Last week, Laramie was flagged 16 times for 163 yards.

“We’re going to have to have our kids ready to play ball and we’re going to eliminate some of our penalties,” Knapton said. “It’s like I told the kids; if you can’t eliminate some of your penalties, you’re not going to be out there. They better straighten up and play football the way it is supposed to be played, not getting frustrated and mad and getting personal fouls. Our biggest goal is that we make sure we go out there and play football and eliminate penalties.”

Health-wise, junior starting wingback Jon Sorenson has been hobbled by a knee injury and could be limited against the Wolves. The Plainsmen have also been hit with some sickness this week as well.
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Plainsmen vs. Wolves
LHS starting lineup
Offense
QB -- Coleton Wilson (6-2, 205, Sr.)
FB -- Charles Swearingen (6-0, 215, Jr.)
WB -- Luke Knapton (6-2, 180, Jr.)
TE -- Marshall Fisher (6-2, 205, Jr.)
LT -- James Van Kirk (6-1, 230, Sr.)
LG -- Allan Saunders (5-11, 215, Jr.)
C -- Ben Farber (6-1, 245, Jr.)
RG -- Allen West (6-3, 225, Sr.)
RT -- Nick Yelton (6-3, 245, Sr.)
TE -- Tyler English (6-2, 195, Jr.)
WB -- Jon Sorenson (6-0, 195, Jr.)
PK -- Alex Zuniga (5-8, 155, Sr.)
Defense
Tackle -- Ben Farber (6-1, 245, Jr.)
Nose guard -- Wes Dalles (6-0, 175, So.)
Tackle -- Nick Armijo (6-0, 205, Sr.)
DE -- Charles Swearingen (6-0, 215, Jr.)
WLB -- Nathan Clark (5-8, 165, Jr.)
BLB -- Tyler English (6-2, 195, Jr.)
MLB -- Luke Knapton (6-2, 180, Jr.)
FC -- Nathan Cowper (6-2, 175, Jr.)
BC -- Kelby Wilkison (5-11, 165, Jr.)
SS -- Jon Sorenson (6-0, 195, Jr.)
FS -- Rylan Harding (5-11, 175, Jr.)
---
Plainsmen Statistics
(Counting Steamboat Springs game)
Rushing
Jon Sorenson: 76-433 & 3TD; Charles Swearingen: 62-338 & 2TDs; Mike Lanich: 31-49 & 1TD; Coleton Wilson: 31-32 & 2TDs; Kelby Wilkison: 1-17 & 0TDs; Allen West: 1-0 & 0TDs; Luke Knapton: 45-247 & 1TD, Phillip Callahan 17-47 & 0TDs, Derek Shaneman 1-2, Nate Clark 1-(minus 5). Totals: 266-1,160 & 9 TDS
Passing
Coleton Wilson: 24-62-3 233 & 1TD, Jon Sorenson 0-9-1 0. Totals: 24-71-4 233 & 1TD.
Receiving
Tyler English: 1-25 & 0TDs; Marshall Fisher 2-14 & 0TDs, Nathan Cowper 5-49 & 0TDs; Jon Sorenson 6-42 & 1TD; Luke Knapton 5-47 & 0TDs; Charles Swearingen 3-28 & 0TDs, Rylan Harding 2-28 & 0TDs. Totals: 24-233 & 1TD.
Defense
Luke Knapton 116.5 points, Allen West 56, Tyler English 55, Kelby Wilkison 54, Nathan Cowper 50, Jon Sorenson 48,, Nick Armijo 48, Nathan Clark 29, Rylan Harding 28,, Austin Ontiveroz 24, Charles Swearingen 22, Trent Schneider 21, Ben Farber 18 , Dylan Kramshuster 9, Coleton Wilson 7, Devin Garcia 5.5, Nick Yelton 5.5, Wes Dalles 4.5, Alex Zuniga 4, Bryce Kemzt 2, Tyler Cowdel 2, Dillon Elliott 1, Phillip Callahan 3, Brody Burnett 1.

LHS tennis finishes sixth at state

By Wyoming Sports.org

CHEYENNE -- Dan Nachtigal and the Lady Plainsmen No. 2 doubles team of Widya Adidharam and Taryn Young all came away with consolation titles Saturday at the Wyoming state Tennis Championships.

In the team competition, both Laramie teams finished in sixth place.

Nachtigal gained a little revenge in the tournament, as he beat the only player who beat him in the tournament Matt Christofferson of Gillette. In the second round of the tournament, Christofferson prevailed in two sets 6-4 and 7-6. On Saturday, Nachtigal came away with a three-set victory, 6-2, 3-6 and 7-5.

Adidharam and Young had a much easier in winning their consolation titles, with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Whitney Hill and Karlina Friedlan of Gillette.

Three of Laramie players also competed for consolation titles on Saturday, but came up short.

Kristyn Wykert fell to Mady Gerard of Jackson in straight sets at No. 1 singles, 6-3 and 6-2 and the Plainsmen No. 3 doubles team of Mathias Goldenstein and Shivam Patel fell to Jon Whipps and Adam Katz of Kelly Walsh, 6-4, 6-2. Whipps and Katz had beaten Goldenstein and Patel earlier in the tournament in three sets.
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Team Scores
Boys -- 1. Gillette 53, 2. East 41, 3. Central 34, 4. Jackson 31, 5, Kelly Walsh 22, 6. Laramie 21, 7. Powell and Riverton 9. 9. Green River 8.5, 10. Torrington 8, 11. Sheridan 7, 12. Rock Springs 6.5, 13. Natrona 4, 14. Cody 3.5, 15. Rawlins 1.5
Girls -- 1. Jackson 50, 2. Sheridan 41, 3. Kelly Walsh 30, 4. Central 29.5, 5. Natrona 28, 6. Laramie 19, 7. Gillette 18, 8. Torrington 11.5, 9. Powell 11, 10. Cody 5.5, 11. Rawlins and Green River 4, 13. East 3, 14. Riverton 2.5, 15. Rock Springs 2.

Red Devils crush Plainsmen

By Wyoming Sports.org

EVANSTON -- Poor tackling and decision making came back to haunt the Laramie Plainsmen again as Evanston exploded for a 51-23 win Friday night in South Conference football action.

The Plainsmen couldn’t take down Evanston running back Cory Anthos, who ran for 239 yards, scoring five touchdowns. Laramie also committed 16 penalties -- many on personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct -- for 163 yards.

The Red Devils, 1-1 in league play and 2-3 overall, broke open a relatively close first half with 38 points in the final two quarters of play. The loss dropped the Plainsmen to 0-2 and 1-5.

It didn’t take long for the Red Devils to get some momentum, as Laramie fumbled the opening on-side kick and Evanston recovered, running it back to the LHS 28-yard line. Two players later Anthos ran it in from 31 yards out.

Laramie seemed to settle down defensively for much of the rest of the first half, but Evanston struck again to make it 13-0 late in the second quarter on a 32-yard screen pass from quarterback Brady Ehlers to Anthos.

The Plainsmen got a break thanks to a couple of late Evanston penalties and got on the scoreboard on a 29-yard field goal by Alex Zuniga to make it 13-3 at halftime.

What momentum the Plainsmen picked up at the end of the first half, the Red Devils -- particularly Anthos -- took away early in the third. His 44-yard touchdown run on the first possession made it 21-3.

The Plainsmen came right back with a nice drive and got into the end zone on a 20-yard run by junior wingback Luke Knapton, but Evanston answered on touchdown runs of 21 yards and 76 yards by Anthos to make it 35-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

Evanston linebacker Trent Beauxis then intercepted Laramie quarterback Coleton Wilson and ran it back 31 yards for the touchdown for a 44-10 lead. Wilson did get some revenge and scored on a big 85-yard run after originally rolling out on a play-action pass play.

The Plainsmen cut the lead to 44-23 on an 18-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Charles Swearingen, before the Red Devils closed the scoring on a 27-yard run by Cory Huntley with 3:27 to play.

The game was much closer statistically than on the scoreboard, as Evanston finished with 408 yards of total offense, to 360 for the Plainsmen. Laramie had 238 yards rushing on 46 carries, led by Wilson’s 111 yards. Swearingen added 84 yards and a score, followed by Knapton with 68 yards and junior Jon Sorenson with 55 yards.

Wilson was 4 of 14 passing for 32 yards.

The Plainsmen will look to bounce back Friday at home with Green River.

LHS moves on to final day of state tennis

By Wyoming Sports.org

CHEYENNE -- Six Laramie High School tennis players will compete in the final day of the Wyoming State Tennis Championships on Saturday.

All six -- two singles players and two doubles teams, will compete for consolation titles.

The Plainsmen are currently in fifth place with 15 points and the Lady Plainsmen are seventh with 14 points.

For the Laramie boys, Dan Nachtigal will play for the consolation title in No. 1 singles and the No. 3 doubles team of Mathias Goldenstein and Shivam Patel will play for the No. 3 doubles consolation title.

Nachtigal won three matches on matches on Friday when he beat Cole Miliken of Cody 3-6, 6-4 and 6-0; Jonas Kuehl of Powell 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) and Sean Garber of Central 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Tactical will face Matt Christofferson of Gillette for the consolation title. Chrisofferson beat Nachtigal earlier in the tournament.

Goldenstein and Patel won a pair of matches, beating def. Mitch Keister and Clayton Dexter of Natrona 6-3, 6-2 and Sam Means and Garret Cowley of Central 7-5, 6-3. Goldenstein and Patel will face Jon Whipps and Adam Katz of Kelly Walsh in the consolation match. Whipps and Katz put the Laramie team in the consolation bracket on Thursday.

For the Lady Plainsmen, Kristyn Wykert will play for the No. 1 singles consolation title and the No. 2 doubles team of Widya Adidharma and Taryn Young will do the same.

After winning her first two matches on Thursday, Wykert suffered her first loss to Katie Stewart of Central 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4; Wykert bounced back to beat Nicole Dvorak (KW) 6-6, 6-4, 6-1. Wykert will face Mady Gerard of Jackson on Saturday.

Adidharma and Young won a pair of matches on Friday, defeating Holland Tatman and Alissa Sandoval of Natrona 6-0, 6-3 and Kelli Lewis and Kelsey McKearney of Powell 6-3, 6-4. The Laramie team will face Whitney Hill and Katrona Friedlan of Gillette on Saturday.
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Friday’s Results
Team Scores
Boys -- 1. Gillette 31, 2. East and Central 26, 4. Jackson 23, 5. Laramie 15, 6. Kelly Walsh 14, 7. Riverton 9, 8. Powell 8, 9. Green River 7.5, 10. Sheridan 7, 11. Rock Springs 6.5, 12. Torrington 6, 13. Natrona 4, 14. Cody 3.5, 15. Rawlins 1.5.
Girls -- 1. Sheridan and Jackson 28, 3. Kelly Walsh 22, 4. Central 20, 5. Natrona 20, 6. Gillette 16, 7. Laramie 14, 8. Powell 11, 9. Torrington 7.5, 10. Cody 5.5, 11. Rawlins and Green River 4, 13. East 3, 14. Riverton 2.4, 15. Rock Springs 2.
LHS boys results
No. 1 singles -- Dan Nachtigal (LHS) def. Cole Miliken (NC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0; Nachtigal def. Jonas Kuehl (POW) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6); Nachtigal def. Sean Garber (CC), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
No. 2 singles -- Tanner Williams (LHS) def. Justin Hart (GR) 6-3, 6-2; Chris Brinkerhoff (POW) def. Williams 6-0, 6-2.
No. 1 doubles -- Grant/Kinsey (SHE) def. Sean Gardea/Colton Proctor (LHS), 6-2, 7-5.
No. 2 doubles -- Matheny/Dale (GIL) def. Ryne Ibarra/Zeke Denison 6-3, 6-1; Munday/Hendrickson (KW) def. Ibarra/Denison 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
.No. 3 doubles -- Mattias Goldenstein/Shivam Patel (LHS) def. Keister/Dexter (NC) 6-3, 6-2; Goldenstein/Patel def. Means/Cowley (CC) 7-5, 6-3.
LHS girls results
No. 1 singles -- Katie Stewart (CC) def. Kristyn Wykert (4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Wykert def. Nicole Dvorak (KW) 6-6, 6-4, 6-1.
No. 2 singles -- Chelsea Atkin (POW) def. Lisa Herbert 6-0, 6-2.
No. 1 doubles -- Jessica Swieczek/Kiley Dodson (LHS) def. Taggart/Johnston (CODY) 6-1, 6-1; Childs/Daguerre (TOR) def. Swieczek/Dodson 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
No. 2 doubles -- Widya Adidharma/Taryn Young (LHS) def. Tatman/Sandoval (NC) 6-0, 6-3; Adidharma/Young def. Lewis/McKearney (POW) 6-3, 6-4.
No. 3 doubles -- Megan Bedessem/Ellen Nye (LHS) def. Nordeen/Stutsman (CODY) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4; Hinshaw/Young (GIL) 6-4, 6-4.

LHS tennis off to good start at state

By Wyoming Sports.org

CHEYENNE -- The entire Laramie High School tennis teams are still alive going into the second day of the Wyoming State Tennis Championships.

For the Plainsmen, the No. 2 doubles team of Ryne Ibarra and Zeke Denison will have a shot of playing for the state title with a win in Friday’s semifinal round, as well Lady plainsmen No. 1 singles player Kristyn Wykert.

As a team, the Plainsmen are in fifth place, with the Lady Plainsmen standing in sixth place.

Ibarra and Denison won both of their matches on Thursday, downing the Cody team of Jake Dunn and Nick Mainini 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (5-7) and 6-1. The Laramie team then had an easier time of it with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Sheridan’s Matt Miller and Zach Hill.

Ibarra and Denison will face the Gillette team Kolby Matheny and Nate Dale in one semifinal on Friday.

The rest of the Laramie players went 1-1 on the day and will look to stay alive in the consolation round.

Wykert opened with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Powell’s Darcee Lynn and then bested Beth Ferrier of Gillette 6-4, 6-2. Wykert will take on Katie Stewart of Central in one of Friday’s semifinal matches.

The tournament will continue through Saturday.
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Thursday’s Results
Team Scores
Boys -- 1. Gillette 13, 2. East 12.5, 3. Central 12, 4. Jackson 11.5, 5. Laramie 6.5, 6. Kelly Walsh 6, 7. Green River 4.5, 8. Sheridan and Riverton 4, 10. Powell 3, 11. Natrona, Torrington and Cody 2.5, 14. Rock Springs 2, 15. Rawlins 0.5.
Girls -- 1. Sheridan and Jackson 12, 3. Kelly Walsh 10.5, 4. Central 10, 5. Natrona 8.5, 6. Laramie and Powell 6.5, 8. Green River 4, 9. Cody and Gillette 3.5, 11. Riverton and Torrington 2.5, 13. East 2, 14. Rock Springs and Rawlins 1.
LHS boys results
No. 1 singles -- Dan Nachtigal (LHS) def. Tim Lew (RS) m7-5, 6-2; Matt Kristofferson (GIL) def. Nachtigal 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
No. 2 singles -- Tanner Williams (LHS) def. Qunitin Harrison (RIV) 7-6, 6-2; Caleb Swan (GIL) def. Williams 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.
No. 1 doubles -- Dan Sinner/Jacob Welch (CODY) def. Sean Gardea/Colton Proctor (LHS), 6-1, 6-3; Gardea/Proctor def. Mike Masterson/Chris Clapp (NC)_ 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 doubles -- Mathias Goldenstein/Shivam Patel (LHS) def. Bryce Roberts/Joel Williams (RIV) 6-3, 6-0; Jon Whipps/Adam Katz (KW) def. Goldenstein/Patel 7-5, 4-6, 6-0.
LHS girls results
No. 1 singles -- Kristyn Wykert (LHS) def. Darcee Lynn (POW) 6-2, 6-2; Wykert def. Beth Ferrier (GIL) 6-4, 6-2.
No. 2 singles -- Baillie Cole (TOR) def. Lisa Herbert (LHS) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2; Herbert received a bye.
No. 1 doubles -- Jessica Swieczek/Kiley Dodson (LHS) def. Jennifer Parker/Lindsey Paschke (RAW) 6-1, 6-1; Hannah King/Annie Addiesperger (SHE) def. Swieczek/Dodson 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 doubles -- Widya Adidharma/Raryn Young (LHS) def. Morgan Sandbak/Hannah Nelson (CODY) 6-4, 6-3; April Lubenow/Alexa Munday (KW) def. Adidharma/Young 3-6, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 doubles -- Megan Bedessem/Ellen Nye (LHS) def. Samantha Scott/Chrystal Wunder (RIV) 6-2, 6-0; Noelle Galinvaux/Emily Berry (SHE) def. Bedessem/Nye 6-3, 6-4