Bearcats roll to 3A crown

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Douglas Bobcats scored the first 25 points of the game en route to a decisive 44-14 win over the Cody Broncs, capturing the Wyoming 3A State Championship at War Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Douglas overcame 10 first half penalties with big plays on the ground and through the air to pull away from Cody.

Running back Pierre Etchemendy got things started with a 1-yard run into the end-zone to give the Bobcats a 6-0 lead.

The next drive for Douglas, quarterback Hayden Barker ran 40 yards down the left sideline giving his team a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter would not be any easier for Cody, as Barker connected with wide receiver Mitch Espeland for a 69-yard bomb to make it 18-0.

Barker was not done yet, this time he would hit wide receiver Justin Melton for a 48-yard touchdown pass to make the Bobcat lead 25-0.

Cody would finally get some momentum going when running back Brady Guide ran 73 yards down the right sideline before being stopped inside the 10 yard-line, which set up Matt Frost’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Tuten to cut the lead to 25-7 going in at halftime.

However, the last minute touchdown to end the half did not give Cody the spark they needed, as Douglas continued to pile it on scoring the first 13 points of the second half for a 38-7 lead.

Cody would score another touchdown in the fourth quarter when Frost ran it in from 10 yards out to cut the score to 38-14, but Douglas would ultimately add one more touchdown for the final margin, shutting the door on the Broncs season, while finishing their season championship season undefeated.

“We just came out and did our thing,” Barker said. “We really didn’t change a thing. We just wanted to come out from the get go and show everyone what we could do.”

“We knew they were explosive and if we made mistakes, then they would make us pay,” Cody head coach Cris Williams said about Douglas. “We made a few mistakes in coverage and sometimes great athletes just make great plays, but our kids fought for four quarters, they battled and I couldn’t be more prouder of them.”

Barker accumulated 289 total yards in the game with 242 of those in the air on 10 of 14 passing for three touchdowns, while also rushing for 47 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Etchemendy amassed 152 yards on the ground on 28 carries for two touchdowns.

“We just got a real solid kid at every position,” Douglas head coach Jay Rhoades said. “To go 11 straight like they did this year, is pretty impressive. We never were behind in a game and there was never any real adversity in any game this year and that is so uncommon in a season and that’s just a tribute to the kids.”

Frost had 85 total yards with 57 in the air for a touchdown and 28 on the ground with a 10-yard touchdown.

Cody could not get much going against a tough and stingy Douglas defense.

“I can’t say enough about our defense, they played phenomenal,” Barker said. “They started the year strong and ended it just as strong.”

“Our defense has been tough from the beginning to this ending,” Rhoades said. “Even though we scored a lot of points today, it was a defensive win today too. That was a good Cody team that we stopped.”