ROCK SPRINGS — After a 3-7 finish in his first season at the helm, Rock Springs head coach Kasey Koepplin is entering year two with a clear focus: improving execution and building on the foundation his young roster gained last fall.
Koepplin reflected on the lessons from last season, noting that while his team showed promise—particularly in its power run game—consistency remains the key area for growth. “When our guys are aligned right and they understand their responsibilities, we do pretty well,” Koepplin said after last week’s 7-on-7 sessions with Green River and Mountain View. “When they don’t align right, or they don’t understand their responsibility, it tends not to be so good. Just being more consistent with that and really getting it to be more effective is the biggest thing.”
The Tigers’ ground-and-pound style paid dividends defensively last season. Rock Springs allowed its fewest points per game since 2021—the year they reached the state championship—and finished fourth in rushing yards per game at 197, trailing only Sheridan, Cheyenne East and Kelly Walsh. East and Sheridan went on to meet in last year’s title game.
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Koepplin pointed to the team’s “spin series” and power running as bright spots, especially in games like the matchup at Sheridan, where Rock Springs jumped out to a 10-0 lead. “We executed the game plan well early. We got the turnover early, and then our offense did what it’s supposed to do—putting together drives and putting strain on their defense,” he said.
Last week’s 7-on-7 scrimmages provided a different challenge for Rock Springs’ run-heavy offense, but Koepplin said the opportunity to compete against new opponents was valuable. “We’re throwing the ball a lot more than we probably typically would,” he said. “It’s just getting our guys to have a little fun with that and competing against other people. It’s definitely awesome to get some fresh faces and fresh competition.”
The Tigers will need to replace several key graduates, but Koepplin said the experience gained by younger players last year should pay off. Juniors Kaleb Praytor and Jernee Padilla, who played extensively as sophomores, are expected to take on bigger roles. Senior lineman Dakarai Westbrook and new addition Declan Henderson, who played at Green River last year, have also impressed in offseason work. Koepplin added that returning contributors Ben Fowler, Boston James and Karston Shassetz will be counted on as the team looks to establish more two-way players.
At quarterback, Kason Cahill and Brandon Gomez are competing for the starting job. Koepplin said he also likes the depth at running back this year, with six or seven true options to rotate in the backfield.
Rock Springs opens its season in Week 0 at Cheyenne Central. Koepplin said the schedule’s alternating home-and-away format after the first two weeks should provide balance, but he acknowledged that every Wyoming team still measures itself against Sheridan. “Until somebody proves it different, Sheridan’s the measuring stick,” Koepplin said. “We play them later in the season, and by then we should be polishing up and pretty refined as we get toward the playoff push. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t want to see where we measure up against the defending champs.”
