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.
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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.)
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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

Plainsmen return to conference play

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie senior quarterback Coleton Wilson passes to junior wingback Jon Sorenson last week against Scottsbluff, Neb.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

Laramie head coach Bob Knapton has been waiting for this final four-game South Conference stretch, which begins Friday night in Evanston.

Knapton figures that in the next four games, the Plainsmen need two wins to earn a spot in the playoffs. For a team that has only qualified twice for the playoffs since finishing second in the 2000 season, that would be a big boost.

“If we want to get to the playoffs, we have to start getting some wins,” Knapton said matter-of-factly. “We have four league games left and we have to start hitting them. We have to hit Evanston hard right now. They’re down, they just lost to Rock Springs, so they are a team that if we show up and play some hard ball and stay in the ballgame, we have a good chance to win the ballgame. That’s the game plan … clean up some mistakes and get our defense back to way it was playing, get the offense firing off like it was and get moving.”

Knapton thought his team was finding its niche two weeks ago when it stopped Kelly Walsh, 24-16 in Casper. But Laramie, 0-1 in league play and 1-4 overall, struggled in all facets of the game last week in a 23-0 home loss to Scottsbluff, Neb.

Last week wasn’t a tune-up game. As it turned out, the last few days were closer to a fix-it again week in practice.

While the Laramie offense had just 50 yards of total offense against Scottsbluff, the Plainsmen defense had problems containing and tackling the Bearcats, particularly halfback Tyler Geary, who had 172 yards rushing.

“We had missed tackles on special teams, we had missed on defense, anytime he cut back. We hit him a couple of times in the backfield and didn’t bring him down,“ Knapton said. “That’s frustrating because you call a defense and they are in the right spot and you are ready to shut it down, but you don’t shut it down because you don’t make a tackle. We need to finish it. You can only call so many blitzes and so many defenses to put you in the right spot; you’re there, so make the play. I think we just had a bad game and we’re going to bounce back from that. We did our hitting this week to snap them up. I think they’ll be ready to go.”

Evanston has been in somewhat of the same boat as Laramie, losing its last three games after opening with a win over 4A Star Valley. Last week, the Red Devils fell 16-10 in overtime to Rock Springs, a team that was previously winless.

In this type of game, Knapton said the team that makes the most mistakes will lose. Evanston did that against Rock Springs as well.

“Evanston started off pretty good and they fumbled; they never could finish and score, but they would fumble and have mistakes,” he said. “Rock Springs hung in there enough and blocked a punt. Rock Springs didn’t really score on them on offense and they are a team that has been down in the league in all of the offensive stats. They blocked a kick and scored, kicked a field goal to tie it up and when it came down to overtime, they scored.”

Knapton said the Plainsmen have to play well enough to hang in there and then finish Evanston off at the end.

“We have to get to playing like we did before last week,” he said.

The Red Devils are fairly strong offensively, especially with their skill positions. Quarterback Brady Ehlers has completed 32 of 63 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. His main target is receiver Hazen Davis, who has 15 catches for 154 yards. Running back Cody Anthos has 468 yards rushing, with five touchdowns, and has also caught two touchdown passes.

“Davis is a good receiver, so they will pass to him a lot,” Knapton said. “They load up and try to run the ball, they move the ball pretty well. We have some systems that will jump up and smack them. We’re going to start to overload and stuff and things like that. At the same, we’ve been pretty good on cover one and stuff. Hopefully, we can keep that up and put pressure on them.”

Knapton said it all boils down to what team offensively can play the best under pressure.

“That’s where we need to pick it up offensively, jump into a couple of other things and just do it,” he said.

Laramie returns home next week to host Green River, before traveling to Rock Springs and closing with Central at home.
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Plainsmen vs. Red Devils
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 -- Trent Schneider (6-3, 210, Sr.)
Nose guard -- Ben Farber (6-1, 245, Jr.)
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.)
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Plainsmen Statistics
(Counting Steamboat Springs game)
Rushing
Jon Sorenson: 68-378 & 3TD; Charles Swearingen: 54-255 & 1 TD; Mike Lanich: 27-40 & 1TD; Coleton Wilson: 21-(minus 77) & 1TD; Kelby Wilkison: 1-17 & 0TDs; Allen West: 1-0 & 0TDs; Luke Knapton: 34-179 & 0TDs, Phillip Callahan 15-41 & 0TDs. Totals: 221-853 & 6 TDS
Passing
Coleton Wilson: 21-50-2 189 & 1TD, Jon Sorenson 0-9-1 0. Totals: 21-59-2 189 & 1TD.
Receiving
Tyler English: 1-25 & 0TDs; Marshall Fisher 2-14 & 0TDs, Nathan Cowper 3-38 & 0TDs; Jon Sorenson 6-42 & 1TD; Luke Knapton 5-47 & 0TDs; Charles Swearingen 3-38 & 0TDs, Rylan Harding 1-13 & 0TDs. Totals: 21-189 & 1TD.
Defense
Luke Knapton 92.5 points, Kelby Wilkison 52, Allen West 51, Tyler English 46, Jon Sorenson 43, Nathan Cowper 42, Nick Armijo 39, Rylan Harding 28, Nathan Clark 25, Austin Ontiveroz 22, Charles Swearingen 20, Trent Schneider 21, Ben Farber 13, Coleton Wilson 7, Nick Yelton 5.5, Alex Zuniga 4, Bryce Kemzt 2, Dylan Kramshuster 2, Dillon Elliott 1, Phillip Callahan 1, Brody Burnett 1.