There wasn’t much air mail Thursday night at Pavillion. Aside from a few key passes, the delivery was mostly on the ground for both teams in the West 9-man showdown between the Wind River Cougars and the Shoshoni Wranglers.
Both squads ended the game 6-1 after visiting Shoshoni handed Wind River their first loss of the season 25-14.
The win gives the Wranglers home field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs as the West champion before the finals move to the University of Wyoming in mid-November.
The path for the Cougars is murkier. They host talented Rocky Mountain next Friday in their final regular season home game. A win over the Grizzlies gives Wind River the second seed from the west and an opening-round home game. A loss and the Cougars are tied with Rocky Mountain and Big Piney for the next three playoff spots.
A loss could have Wind River hosting as the second seed, playing at Southeast as the three-seed, or making the long trek to Pine Bluffs as the fourth seed.
No matter the post-season picture, the image Thursday at Leroy Sinner Field was hitting, hard-hitting by both teams, on every down from the first snap until Wrangler quarterback Alex Mills kneeled on the ball in victory formation to end the game.
The Wranglers displayed great poise in surviving an early assault by an energetic Wind River team.
The Cougars stuffed Shoshoni on the first two runs of the game with back-to-back losses. Tucker Jensen and Trapper Hallock playing on the defensive line were in the backfield tackling Pehton Truempler before he gained momentum.
On third-and-long Mills faked the ball to Truempler, rolled right two steps, and hit a wide-open Jaxson Stanley on a 46-yard pass completion to the Cougar 28-yard line. On the next play, Mills faked another handoff to Truempler, pulled the ball out, and snaked into the end zone on a cutting run to the right for the game’s first score.
Shoshoni employed their latest kickoff strategy, something they did a week ago at Big Piney, and kicked the ball out of bounds. The tactic kept the Cougar speed at bay in the open field all game with no kick staying in the field of play.
Jaycee Herbert broke a couple of mid-range runs up the middle and Chris Burk added short runs to set up the Cougar’s first score in the opening period, a 33-yard cut-back run by Cooper Frederick. Herbert added the conversion run and Wind River led 8-6.
Kyzaia Jones kicked the ball deep and the Cougar coverage pinned Truempler at the eight. The Wranglers couldn’t advance.
Mills punted the ball to the 40 where Herbert called for a fair catch. Dominic Jarvis rocked Herbert with a solo tackle, slamming him to the ground souffle style on a third-down run. Facing a fourth down at the 35-yard yard line the Cougars ran the same play again. This time Herbert dodged Jarvis, then cut up field on a 35-yard scamper and a 14-6 lead after the conversion failed.
Shoshoni was on their heels defensively as Calder Jones, Herbert, and Frederick steadily moved the ball. Chris Burk completed a pass to Herbert to keep the Wranglers guessing, but the Cougar drive ended on a fumbled snap at the 47-yard line recovered by Theo Litz.
Mills hit Jarvis on a pass to the 17, and the Wranglers moved to the one where Truempler fumbled but recovered the ball at the four. He scored on the next play. The conversion pass failed leaving Wind River holding a tenuous 14-12 lead.
Momentum switched firmly onto the Shoshoni side of the ball. The Wranglers stuffed three straight runs setting up a towering Burk punt from the end zone that caught a friendly bounce and rolled to the 27-yard line. The 63-yard punt reversed the field.
Cannon Campbell ran over an initial tackler then rumbled 53 yards to the Wind River 20. The Cougar defense stepped up, but the drive stalled when Truempler was tackled short on an option play.
Turnovers took over the final minute of the half. Burk fumbled at the 22, with Stanley recovering.
Shoshoni fumbled again, recovering the ball after a nine-yard loss with 40 seconds remaining.
The half ended with Juaquin Stevens intercepting Mills at the one-yard line.
Turnovers continued in the third period as the Cougars took the ball at the 35 after Jarvis kicked it out of bounds.
Frederick gained 15 yards, but the Wranglers ripped the ball out of his hands at midfield for another Wind River turnover.
A shoestring tackle brought Truempler down at the 12 to delay the Shoshoni offense for a couple of minutes. Mills scrambled on an extended play that lasted almost 10 seconds before finding Truempler at the goal line for a 12-yard touchdown. Frederick intercepted Mills on the conversion attempt.
Herbert left the game earlier for a couple of plays after taking a pair of devastating tackles. Frederick was pounded as well. They are both speed backs, weighing less than 150 pounds. The constant thud of Wrangler tackling took its toll on both as the game moved closer to the final period.
Another kick sailed out of bounds giving Wind River good field position at the 35. They moved to the other side of the 50 but stalled. On a fourth down and one attempt a motion penalty back backed them up five yards, but they still attempted the conversion but came up short.
Shoshoni marched to the 20 but stalled as well. Stevens broke up a fourth-down pass attempt to Stanley.
On the first play of the final period, Quinton Clark made a tightrope, sideline interception of Burk at the 20. A screen pass from Mills to Truempler moved the ball to the one, and he crashed in on the second play of the short drive. The conversion kick by Jarvis set the final score at 25-14.
Neither team could establish long drives in the final minutes.
Wind River went to the air. As Tucker Maddock chased down Chris Fowler the left-handed quarterback threw an off-balanced pass. Mills was waiting in the secondary, read the play perfectly, and returned the ball to midfield.
The Wranglers moved inside the 10-yard line with a minute to play. Mills kneeled with the ball to end the game.
The rivalry is one of the best in Wyoming. The players know each other well and displayed great poise, and class as the final seconds ticked away, gathering to console or congratulate, shaking hands, and exhibiting the true meaning of competition.
WIND RIVER 14 0 0 0 – 14
SHOSHONI 6 6 6 7 – 25
First Quarter
SHO – Alex Mills 28-run (run failed) 9:46
WR – Cooper Frederick 33-run (Jaycee Herbert run) 4:26
WR – Jaycee Frederick 35-run (run failed) 1:02
Second Quarter
SHO – Pehton Truempler 4-run (run failed) 5:06
Third Quarter
SHO – Truempler 12-pass from Mills (pass failed) 6:04
Fourth Quarter
SHO – Truempler 1-run (Dominic Jarvis kick) 11:03