Bobcats shock Herders for 2A title

by Bobby Abplanalp
Wyoming Sports.org

The Thermopolis Bobcats came into a snow-packed War Memorial Stadium and left with the Wyoming 2A State Championship with a 22-20 upset win over the previously unbeaten and number one ranked Glenrock Herders at Jonah Field Friday afternoon.

Thermopolis stopped Glenrock on fourth down on its opening drive and then marched down the field 40 yards to set up quarterback Mitch Syverson’s 17-yard touchdown and the Bobcats would never trail. Syverson would keep it again running in from three yards out for the two-point conversion and the Bobcats led 8-0 over the number one ranked Herders after one quarter of play.

Glenrock would come back in the second orchestrating and 81-yard drive, which was highlighted by quarterback Kyle Farley scampering 63-yards down the right sideline before Tanner Cornwell of Thermopolis tackled him inside the 5- yard-line to save a touchdown. Running back Austin Smith would eventually punch it in from two yards out to bring the Herders within two. Dustin Worthington ran in the two-point conversion up the middle to nod things up 8-8.

Thermopolis would come back on their next possession going 68-yards with one big first down catch of 14-yards hauled in by Chris Leyba, before Syverson ran 50-yards down the left sideline for his second touchdown of the half regaining the lead for the Bobcats 14-8. The two-point pass failed and that’s where the score stood at halftime. Syverson finished the half with 141 total yards.

The first turnover of the game came on Glenrocks’ opening possession of the third quarter when the Herders attempted a fake punt on a pass by Farley that was picked off by Thermopolis linebacker Chris Ryan setting up the Bobcats in prime field position.

Leyba would get his second catch of the day on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Syverson to increase their lead to 12. The next play Leyba got his third catch on a three-yard two-point conversion from Syverson making the Bobcat lead 22-8.

The score stayed the same heading into the fourth, but Glenrock was knocking on the door after Farley hit Worthington for a 34-yard pass down to the one yard-line. Worthington then punched it in on the first play of the fourth quarter from two yards out to trim the deficit to 22-14.

A major turn of events would take place during the next minute of play when Matt Morgan recovered a fumble for the Herders on the ensuing kickoff. The next play Farley hit Worthington for a long pass and then he fumbled the ball right back to Thermopolis. Two plays later Syverson would make Glenrock pay with a 53-yard run to the Herders 39 yard-line.

However, Thermopolis would stall on the 38 yard-line and turn the ball over on downs to Glenrock giving the Herders new momentum.

Farley and Worthington would lead their team down the field once again and on third and goal, Cory Dewald capped the drive off with a four-yard run to cut the score to 22-20. Farley’s two-point pass was incomplete, so Thermopolis still remained on top by two with 5:41 to play.

“It was pretty tough being there on the sidelines. You want to be in there so bad,” Syverson said about his defense stopping the 2-point conversion. “All you can do is be a cheerleader for them and the defense did an excellent job; hats off to them.”

Thermopolis would try and run out the clock on their final drive and Syverson converted a big fourth and two from the 36 yard-line to keep the drive alive with 2:12 remaining and a two point lead. Glenrock could not stop the clock and the celebration was on for the Bobcats.

Syverson finished the game with 262 total yards completing 10-18 passes for 107 yards and touchdown, while rushing for 155 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Kyle Larson had 64 yards on 11 carries and targets Herold and Kyle Pebbles each had four catches for 47 and 24 yards respectively.

“Doubling up our outside guys really opened up our running game,” Thermopolis head coach Chuck Syverson said. “Mitch (Syverson) had a 155 yards rushing and basically kind of controlled the game with our running game. It was one of those days you have to kind of do what you have to do to get the win and we were fortunate enough to do that.”

“Glenrock is a very good team,” Mitch Syverson said. “This is a team effort. We ran the ball very well, we got away from the pass and that really helped us a lot. The linemen did an excellent job, an excellent job up front by the D-Line. We felt like we had this one pretty wrapped up.”

On the defensive side, Leyba had a game high 19 tackles and Larson recorded 15 with a half-a-sack.

Dewald led Glenrock with 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss.

Worthington had 160 total yards in the game rushing for 85 of those on 21 carries and caught three balls for 75 yards. Farley had 179 total yards going 4 for 7 in the air for 97 yards, while getting 82 yards on the ground on just five carries.

“Our leadership has always been powerful,” Glenrock head coach Ray Kumpula said. “They showed their true colors today when they got down and still didn’t get down and fought back.”

“You got to take your hats off to them,” Kumpula said about Thermopolis. “They turned around their program, they got a spread offense and they got great athletes. They made the big play when they needed to, so they deserve the win.”

Plainsmen battle but come up short

Richard Anderson photos
Laramie halfback Jon Sorenson looks to get past Green River's Marcos Munoz Friday at Deti Stadium. At left, Laramie's Charles Swearingen, 45, and Tyler English, chase down Green River quarterback Drew Martinez.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

A couple of subtle changes this week put the Laramie Plainsmen back in an offensive frame of mind.

It nearly paid off with a win, but Green River scored with just nine seconds left to hold off the Plainsmen 42-35 Friday night at Deti Stadium.

Despite the loss, the play of the Plainsmen have them thinking playoffs going into next week’s regular season finale against Cheyenne East. Both teams are 2-6 on the season and the winner will certainly move on to the second season.

Laramie head coach Bob Knapton pulled the trigger this week when he inserted sophomore Billy Hysong into the starting quarterback position, shifting previous starter Jon Sorenson back to halfback. Along with senior halfback Dan Estes returning from injury, the Laramie offense looked like a different beast out on the field against the Wolves.

Laramie had struggled at times offensively this season, including in last week’s tough 46-6 loss to Kelly Walsh. Friday night, Sorenson and Estes combined for 340 yards rushing and the Plainsmen matched the high-flying Wolves (6-2) yard-for-yard and point-for-point until the final seconds.

The game came down to the final minute, after Laramie tied the game at 35-each with 53 seconds left on a big 23-yard touchdown pass from Hysong to sophomore halfback Tanner Ibarra.

Unfortunately for the Plainsmen, too much time was left on the clock with University of Wyoming bound Drew Martinez at the helm. Martinez, who gave a verbal commitment to the Cowboys earlier this year, completed three long passes -- 21 yards to Zach Kennah and consecutive passes, 24 and 17 yards to Colter Rood, before Rood scored on an 8-yard run with 9.1 seconds left.

Laramie had one final try to get in the end zone, but fumbled to end the game.

“I thought our kids played hard and that’s exactly what we want them to do,” Knapton said. “If you play your butts off like that, that’s what we want to do. We have one more home game, and if we play like that, we’re going to fight it all of the way down to the end. Hopefully next week is a little different and we get into the playoffs.”

The two teams combined for 870 yards on offense -- 459 by the Wolves and 411 by the Plainsmen.

“You can’t say anything bad about the way that ended up,” Knapton said. “We knew that they would score points and people had been scoring on them, so we just stuck right in there with them. Boy, we just needed a couple of tackles at the end. We had some missed tackles and kind of waited for something better to happen. But we gave them a run for their money.”

The Plainsmen opened the Wolves eyes from the very beginning, when Estes took the first hand-off from Hysong and raced 81 yards for the score. Estes broke a couple of tackles after a short run, including an athletic spin move, and ran untouched the rest of the way.

It was off to the races from that point on, as Martinez and his offense were hard to stop as well, responding with two scores -- a 1-yard TD run by Cody Smart and a 38-yard scoring run from Rood.

Laramie pulled within one on a 2-yard run by senior fullback Charles Swearingen (the PAT failed) and then regained the lead on an 8-yard run by Estes. The Plainsmen got the point back on a two-point run by Estes.

Green River tied the game at 21-each on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Kennah. That's how the score stood at halftime.

Again, the Plainsmen answered early in the third quarter on impressive 47-yard power run by Sorenson, only to be answered by the Wolves on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Jordan Carroll.

The teams were tied at 28 heading into the fourth quarter.

After stopping Laramie on downs on the Green River 20, the Wolves struck pay dirt on a big 67-yard touchdown pass from Martinez to Rood, who bounced off several would-be Plainsmen tacklers for the score.

Laramie, however, wasn't done and put together a 12-play, 91-yard game-tying drive that was highlighted by the hard-running of Sorenson, who also threw a 14-yard pass to tight end Rylan Harding.

The Wolves, however, had one more drive in them.

Sorenson, who had averaged just 3.1 yards per carry from the quarterback position, found his comfort zone again in the backfield, leading all runners with 175 yards on 23 carries. Estes finished with 165 yards and Swearingen added 27 yards.

“We switched the offense to where we had two running backs coming at them, and they don’t know which way we’re coming from. I thought it worked really well,” Knapton said. "It was a good switch that we made.”

Hysong was 3 of 6 passing for 32 yards and the one score.

"He did a good job of coming in as a sophomore. He’s ready to play now,” Knapton said. “We gave him some time on jayvee to get him ready and he did a great job.”

Martinez, who won't play quarterback the Cowboys, still looked good at running the show, connecting on 8 of 12 passes for 194 yards. Rood caught three balls for 108 yards and added 85 yards on the ground on 11 carries.

“He’s a great athlete. And so is No. 4 ,” Knapton said of Martinez and Rood. “You can’t really start chewing on kids for missed tackles against guys like that because you know what they’re good. You don’t face guys like that every day.”

The Plainsmen need one more win to make the Playoffs and will get the opportunity next Friday at home against East. The T-Birds moved to 2-6 as well with a 34-27 overtime win over Evanston on Friday night.

“We have East next and we’re going to get after it. We’ll start studying on Saturday and get ready to go,” Knapton said. “We’re getting there. You have to get in the ballgame to have a chance to win it. We had our chance to win it, we just have to take one more step. We’ll do whatever it takes to do it. We’ll keep plugging away.”

Top-ranked Broncs too much for Plainsmen

SHERIDAN -- Top-ranked Sheridan had more than enough in the first half to stop Laramie 27-7 Friday night in Class 4A football action at Homer Scott Field.

The Broncs, 5-1 on the season, scored twice in the first half and led 21-0 at halftime, before cruising in the second half.

The Plainsmen, 2-4, made some defensive adjustments in the second half to hold Sheridan to two field goals in the final two quarters.

Although the Broncs turned the ball over on their first offensive play from scrimmage when Jon Sorenson intercepted quarterback Austin Woodward, Sheridan turned to its ground game to take control of the contest.

The Broncs got on the scoreboard with 6:53 left in the first quarter on a 14-yard touchdown run by Seth Carroll. Sheridan then made it 14-0 late in the opening quarter on a 45-yard touchdown run by Cody Williams.

Williams then scored for the second time of the game mid-way through the second quarter from 13 yards out.

The Broncs made it a 24-0 game in the third quarter on a 28-yard field goal by Andrew Sticker.
Laramie had its best offensive drive of the game early in the fourth quarter to get on the scoreboard. Sorenson capped a 12-play, 80 yard drive on a 16-yard touchdown run.

Stricker closed the scoring with a booming 48-yard field goal with 7:52 left in the game.

The Broncs finished with 322 yard of total offense, with 227 on the ground and 95 through the air. Williams finished with 78 yards on just five carries, followed by Woodward with 77 yards on 11 rushes. Woodward was also 7 of 16 passing for 95 yards.

Sophomore Tanner Ibarra led the Plainsmen with 67 yards rushing on six carries, with senior Mike Lanich adding 35 yards on 10 carries and Sorenson with 12 rushes for 29 yards. Laramie played the game without leading rusher Dan Estes, who was out with an injury.

Sorenson was 8 of 16 passing (two interceptions) for 90 yards. Nathan Cowper had three catches for 32 yards, with Kelby Wilkison and Rylan Harding adding two catches each.

The Plainsmen remain on the road next Friday when they face Kelly Walsh in Casper.
　

Tickets for state football to go on sale

by UW Athletics Media Relations

The University of Wyoming athletics department has announced that beginning this Monday, high school football fans can begin purchasing their all-session tickets for the upcoming 2009 Wyoming High School State Football Championships.

The championship game for each of Wyoming’s five high school football classifications will be held in War Memorial Stadium on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14.

“It is a great privilege for UW to be hosting the Wyoming High School State Championships ,and we will do everything within our power to host a great event,” UW Director of Athletics Tom Burman said. “We are hopeful that high school football fans and University of Wyoming supporters will purchase tickets and come to the games, but if they can’t attend the games, please consider purchasing tickets to show community support.”

On Monday, ticket orders for all-session passes will be taken by the UW Athletics Ticket Office either in person at the Arena-Auditorium box office, over the phone at 800-922-9461 or online at WyomingAthletics.com.

All-session tickets, which are good for all five games on both days, cost $15 for adults and $10 for youth.

Single-day tickets will be available at a later date, but likely not until the week of the events. Cost for single-day passes will be $10 for adults and $7 for youth.

All seating for the five championship games will be general admission in the lower sections of War Memorial Stadium. The home team for each contest will be seated on the east side, with the visiting team on the west side.

Sports fans in Laramie for the weekend of Nov. 13-14 will not only get to enjoy great high school football action, but they will also have access to multiple UW events taking place that same weekend.

The Cowboy basketball team will open the regular season by hosting South Dakota State on Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m. A special ticket price of $5 has been set for that game.

The Cowboy wrestling team also will be hosting a big weekend of events, with a season-opening dual against Northwest College on Nov. 13 at 5 p.m., followed by the 37th annual Cowboy Open tournament, all day on Nov. 14. That event is presented by UniWyo Federal Credit Union and last season over 20 collegiate teams and 450 individuals competed, with an even larger field expected this year.

The final UW event of the weekend will take place on Nov. 15 when the Cowgirl basketball team will open their regular season against Montana at 2 p.m. Once again, a special ticket price of $4 has been established for this contest.

A schedule for the weekend’s high school games is included below.

2009 Wyoming High School State Football Championships
War Memorial Stadium
Friday - Saturday, Nov. 13-14
Fri., Nov. 13
- 11:30 a.m. - 1A Championship Game
- 2:00 p.m. – 2A Championship Game

Sat., Nov. 14
- 10:30 a.m. – 3A Championship Game
- 1:00 p.m. – 6-MAN Championship Game
- 3:30 p.m. – 4A Championship Game

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.
　

Indians thump Plainsmen

By Wyoming Sports.org

CHEYENNE -- The Laramie Plainsmen continued to struggle against some of the top teams in the state, falling to second-ranked Cheyenne Central 36-0 Friday at Riske Field.

In their last three games against top-ranked Gillette, Casper Natrona and Central, the Plainsmen (1-3) have now been outscored 105-14. It was also Central's 10th straight win over Laramie.

While the Plainsmen showed some improvement in moving the football against the Indians, turnovers killed any momentum this time. Laramie turned the ball over six times, including four times in 11 plays in the second half alone.

The Indians, 4-0, took advantage most of the time. Central also used big plays to get on the scoreboard.

The Indians took a quick 6-0 lead scoring less than two minutes into the game. Central quarterback Connor Long hit wide receiver Kyle Gott with a 16-yard touchdown pass to cap a 5-play, 80-yard drive.

Laramie then turned the ball over on downs to give the Indians prime field opposition, when punter Jon Sorenson tried to a fake punt and was stopped a half-yard short near mid field.
The Indians took it to the end zone on just four plays and used a little trickery, as receiver Josh Borm threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to fellow receiver Kevin Cox.

Central then made it 20-0 in the second quarter in a 62-yard run up the middle by Mike Davis.

The Plainsmen had their best drive of the game nullified when Central picked off Sorenson in the end zone with just 15 seconds left in the first half.

Laramie then gave the Indians two more quick chances to score in the third quarter and Central obliged. On just their second play, Laramie fumbled and Central moved five plays and 35 yards for the score on a 21-yard pass from Long to Grott. Two plays later the Plainsmen fumbled again and the Indians scored on an 18-yard run by Davis. With 8:40 left in the third quarter, the Indians led comfortably 33-0.

Central actually got the ball back two more times because of Laramie turnovers, but missed a pair of field goals. The third time was a charm for Borm, as he connected from 34 yards out after another pass interception.

The Indians finished with 412 yards of total offense -- 227 yards on the ground and 185 through the air. Davis led the way, rushing the football just nine times for 135 yards and his two scores. Long was 10 of 19 passing for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

The Plainsmen finished with 201 yards of offense -- 149 on the ground and 52 through the air.
Senior halfback Dan Estes led the way with 44 yards on 13 carries, while senior fullback Charles Swearingen added 43 yards on nine carries. Sorenson finished with 39 yards on 15 carries.
Sorenson was 5 of 13 passing for 42 yards and the three interceptions. Billy Hysong was 1-of-2 for 10 yards.

Estes had three catches for 27 yards.

Laramie will look to get back in the win column Friday when it hosts Evanston, beginning at 7 p.m. at Deti Stadium.
　

Mustangs roll over struggling Plainsmen

Richard Anderson photo
Laramie halfback Dan Estes looks for some running room early on Friday against Casper Natrona.

By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org

It was apparent Casper Natrona was better than its 0-2 record going into Friday night‘s match with the Laramie Plainsmen at Deti Stadium.

After the Mustang’s 38-7 thrashing of the Plainsmen, and including last week‘s 24-point loss to Gillette, Laramie head coach Bob Knapton is wondering out loud if his team's efforts lately are good enough to compete with the best teams in the state.

“It’s very frustrating,” Knapton said. “We’re going to make some changes and find some kids who want to suck it up a little more, start showing up and getting after it. We have a little work to do. It was disappointing today."

The Plainsmen, 1-2, were hanging in with the Mustangs, trailing just 7-0 with about three minutes left in the first half. But three quick scores -- two to end the opening half -- put the game away. In all, the Mustangs scored on five straight possessions to pout the game away for another lop-sided win over Laramie.

Natrona, which hadn’t played in Laramie since the 2001 season, has now won three straight games against the Plainsmen, including outscoring LHS 86-14 in the last two contests.

Natrona, like Gillette last week, dominated the frontline offensively and defensively on Friday. The Mustangs finished with 374 total yards on offense to just 155 for LHS.

“We have to block people, we have to hit people, we have to catch the ball when it is thrown to you,” Knapton said. “We had our opportunities, we have to make plays happen. When you are playing a good team, it is time to step up and play ball.”

Only trailing by one touchdown, the Plainsmen had a couple of promising drives that were either stalled by penalty or downs, enabling the Mustangs to turn a close game into a rout.

The Mustangs first score came early in the game on a 4-yard run by Brownell. The drive was set up on a 44-yard pass from the team’s other QB -- Cody Parke -- to 6-foot-4 wide receiver Taylor Villegas.

The tide began to turn late in the second quarter when the Mustangs struck twice in the final three minutes. Natrona made it 14-0 on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brownell to halfback Cole Montgomery. He score was set up[ on a 25-yard run by Parke on third and 10.

After the Plainsmen went three and out, Montgomery’s big punt return to the Laramie 9-yard line set up another quick score. Two plays later Parke scored from 4 yards out.

Playing with a great deal of momentum, the Mustangs took what little steam was left in the Plainsmen just one play into the third quarter. Parke, who finished with 192 yards passing in the game, hit Villegas on a short bump and coverage pass, and Villegas took it 80 yards to the end zone.

Although the Plainsmen would finally get on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, they had no answer the rest of the way.

Natrona closed its scoring on a 36-yard field goal by Derek Gibbins and an 11-yard touchdown pass from Parke to fullback Paul Miller.

The Plainsmen finally got on the board with 6:26 left in the game on a 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jon Sorenson to receiver Rylan Harding.

Parke was 7 of 13 passing for 192 yards, while Brownell adding 33 yards passing on 2 of 4 attempts. Parke also led the way on the ground with 71 yards on 15 carries.

“Their No. 9 (Villegas) is a good receiver and they threw a ball perfect to him. They did that the last game, too, when they got down there,” Knapton said. “Our game plan was to shut the run down, and we shut the run down, but we have to be able to cover people. Obviously, if we can’t cover them man-to-man, then we have to switch up quite, zone to man, zone to man. When you blitz and put pressure on people, you start with cover zero and we have to learn to cover people."

Senior halfback Dan Estes had his best game of his short football career, as he led the Plainsmen with 53 yards on 15 carries. Sorenson, the team’s leading rusher, however, had a negative 6 yards on 10 carries. Sorenson was also 7 of 15 passing for 89 yards and the one score.

The Plainsmen will look to bounce back next Friday in Cheyenne against Central, beginning at 6 p.m.

Knapton said they have a lot of work in store next week if they want to turn things around.
“It’s time to step up and play,” Knapton said. “We’ll take a look at the film and see what we have to do, but we have to find some kids who want to get the job done. Some of them … I don’t know.”