ROCK SPRINGS — Despite a strong defensive showing in the first half, the Rock Springs Tigers came up short Friday night, falling 23-7 to the Laramie Plainsmen in a 4A Conference matchup. The loss drops the Tigers to 0-4 on the season.
Laramie opened the game with a 29-yard field goal from Weston Ennist on its first drive. The Plainsmen then surprised the Tigers with an onside kick and recovered, but Rock Springs’ defense held firm. Santiago Cruz stood out early with two pass breakups and two tackles for loss, and Carter Gard recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 6-yard line to stall the drive.
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Rock Springs leaned on the run game to close out the first quarter, but an interception by Laramie’s Tyler Gale set up the game’s first touchdown. On the next play, quarterback Dax Parvin connected with Isaac Kirsch for a 35-yard score, extending the lead to 10-0.
The Tigers answered on their next possession when Kaleb Praytor ripped off a 25-yard run to help set up Boston James’ 8-yard touchdown carry with 8:22 left in the second quarter. Neither team would score again before halftime, as both defenses held strong.
Check out James’ rushing touchdown below.
The third quarter saw Rock Springs again finding success on the ground, but costly penalties pushed the offense behind the chains. A running-into-the-kicker penalty on a punt gave the Tigers another chance in Plainsmen territory, but they failed to capitalize. Laramie widened the gap late in the quarter when Boone Frude broke free for a 58-yard touchdown run, making it 17-7.
On the final play of the third quarter, James broke out for a 20-yard run to set the Tigers up inside the 10-yard line to start the fourth. Rock Springs came away empty after missing a 26-yard field goal, and on the very next play Frude sprinted 80 yards for his second touchdown of the night. The missed extra point left the score at 23-7, which held as the final.
James carried the load for Rock Springs with 26 rushes for 177 yards and a touchdown, while also leading the team in receiving with five catches for 35 yards, giving him over 200 yards of total offense. Praytor added nine carries for 59 yards and one reception for 12. Cameron Blake contributed 21 rushing yards on five carries. Quarterback Kason Cahill finished 6-for-12 for 47 yards with two interceptions.
Frude paced the Plainsmen with 141 rushing yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, though he also lost a fumble.
Rock Springs will look for its first win next week when it hosts Cheyenne South for homecoming on Friday at 6 p.m.
