Plainsmen edge Red Devils in OT

Richard Anderson photos

The Laramie Plainsmen picked up their second win of the season with a thrilling 24-17 overtime win over Evanston Friday night at Deti Stadium. At top, head coach Bob Knapton joins in the celebration after the final play. At left, Rylan Harding shows the ball after the game-winning touchdown catch in overtime, and at right, Dan Estes hauls down Corey Huntley after a short gain.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

When Charles Swearingen knocked down Evanston quarterback Jack Lambert’s fourth down pass in overtime, the Laramie Plainsmen almost knocked down head coach Bob Knapton.

The second-year coach was in the middle of the festivity of what was a 24-17 overtime win over the Red Devils Friday night at Deti Stadium.

After three extremely difficult and lop-sided losses, the Plainsmen felt what it was like to be winners again.

“That’s how it should be. They should be excited, they should be happy they won that game,” Knapton said. “They played hard and that is exactly what we needed, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. They never gave up and they won the game. That is exactly what this program needed.”

After opening the season with a win over Rock Springs, the Plainsmen not only lost three straight, but were crushed by a combined score of 105-14 to Gillette, Casper Natrona and Cheyenne Central.

Yet, the heads were still up in practice this week as the anticipation grew for Friday’s matchup for Evanston, another 1-3 team.

“You just have to get through the adversity,” Laramie senior quarterback Jon Sorenson said. “Those three games were tough, against a No. 1 and a No. 2, and against a good football team in Natrona. You just have to go out there and execute every day. In practice this week, we did an excellent job of conditioning and really working hard as a team.”

Although Sorenson had 108 yards rushing, the game-winner came from his arm, as he found receiver Rylan Harding in the right corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown pass.

“Jon and I talked before the play happened in the huddle,” Harding said. “We said we were going to fake the run and I would chip down on the block and go out on the flat. He put it right on the money.”

Harding, who now has three touchdown catches from his five season receptions, went low to his knees and secured the football, as he needed at least one foot in bounds.

“I made sure of that,” Harding said with a smile.

Even if the Plainsmen would not execute the play as planned, they would have had one more chance to get into the end zone. They didn’t want to take any chances on fourth down, though.

“You have to think that you have another down, but we had to go after it hard and execute,” Sorenson said.

On fourth down and long, Knapton said the defense suddenly has the advantage, something his D did when Evanston had the ball.

“You don’t want to get in that situation where it is fourth down and they know what you are going to do,” Knapton said. “I wanted to stay in that formation and pop them with that pass quick. It’s a great formation and if you have three or four yards, they have to respect the run. We pulled it out, threw a great pass and made a great catch in the corner of the end zone.”

The Plainsmen then came alive on defense and stopped the Red Devils on two short runs and an incomplete pass. On fourth down, Laramie pressured Lambert as Swearingen easily swatted the pass, setting off a wild, jubilant Plainsmen sideline that drifted onto the field.

While the Plainsmen scored the last touchdown of the game, they got things started with an impressive eight-minute drive to open the game, getting into the end zone from 8 yards out on a scamper by senior halfback Dan Estes, who later scored in the second quarter from yards out.

Evanston added a 36-yard touchdown run by Corey Huntley in the first quarter and a 27-yard field goal by Gilber Delgado to make it a 14-10 game by halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Evanston took its only lead of the game with 8:44 left on a 1-yard plunge by Lambert.

Laramie came back to tie the game as place-kicker Isaac Hayward, on his birthday, hit his first field goal of the season from 43 yards out to make it as 17-17 contest with just 3:35 to play.

The Plainsmen got a big break when Nate Clark recovered a fumble after Lambert connected with Matt Eddington to the LHS 26-yard line, only to see Luke Knapton separate Eddington from the ball.

The Plainsmen tried to win the game in the final seconds of regulation, but Hayward was short and wide on a 43-yard attempt. Hayward also barely missed on an earlier 52-yard attempt, as well as a 57-yard try.

While Laramie’s performance on Friday was buoyed by the opening drive, its confidence picked up throughout the game. Yet, it all started earlier in the week in practice.

“We just had to approach this game with more intensity than the last three weeks. We came out hard in the first quarter,” Harding said. “It gave us confidence, definitely. We just have to keep our heads up and come out even harder next week in practice.”

The Plainsmen have some momentum again, although it doesn’t get any easier. Laramie travels to Sheridan Friday to face the Broncos, who will likely be the No. 1 team in the state after knocking off top-ranked Gillette 23-14.

“Now they know that hard work can play off for them. It was a great win. They needed that,” Bob Knapton said.

At 2-3, the Plainsmen are now back in the thick of things, as they strive to make the Class 4A playoffs this season. The win also enables the Plainsmen to feed off of their emotion even higher as they prepare for the Broncs.

“Our heads will be a little higher and turned up a notch,” Sorenson said.