ROCK SPRINGS — The Rock Springs Tigers secured a decisive 38-16 victory over the Laramie Plainsmen on Friday, showcasing their powerful rushing attack and stifling defense.
Rock Springs set the tone early by forcing a fumble on Laramie’s second play of the game, giving them prime field position on the Plainsmen’s 44-yard line. The Tigers capitalized quickly, with Sam Thornhill punching in a 3-yard touchdown to put Rock Springs up 7-0 with 7:29 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers’ defense held firm, forcing Laramie into a three-and-out on their next possession. Although Rock Springs committed a block-in-the-back penalty on the ensuing punt, backing them up to their own 23-yard line, it did little to slow down the Tigers’ momentum. Boston James broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run on the next drive, extending the lead to 13-0 with 5:48 left in the first quarter.
Check out the long touchdown run here.
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The first quarter ended with the Tigers in control, and they didn’t let up in the second. Thornhill added his second touchdown of the game on a 17-yard run with 8:24 left in the second quarter. The Tigers converted the two-point try with Thornhill the following snap to make it 21-0.
With just seconds remaining in the half, senior kicker Michael Rubich attempted a 57-yard field goal that had the distance but fell just short, leaving the score at 21-0 heading into halftime.
The Tigers continued to dominate in the second half, with James adding a 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to extend the lead to 28-0. The Tigers were in full control, and although Laramie managed to put some points on the board in the fourth quarter, Rock Springs’ lead was never in doubt.
Despite rotating in several fresh players in the final quarter, the Tigers secured the 38-16 win, improving to 2-2 on the season.
Rock Springs’ offense was anchored by the ground game, amassing 292 rushing yards out of their 353 total yards. Boston James led the way with 132 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns, while Sam Thornhill added 45 yards and two scores on 10 carries.
Quarterback Logan Condie contributed both through the air and on the ground, finishing 1-for-5 passing for 62 yards, with Ben Fowler on the receiving end of the lone completion. Condie also added 23 yards on seven carries.
After the game, head coach Kasey Koepplin praised his team’s performance, calling it their most complete game of the season with the starters in.
“That first crew absolutely finished it out, was very complete, not a lot of miscues,” Koepplin said. He noted that the team focused on fundamentals this week, pulling back on some of the more complex aspects of their game.
“We need to kinda get back to the basics,” he explained. “I told them if you all prove that we can do that the next two, three, four weeks and get really good and be good at what we need to be good at first, then we can start looking into some of the, I would say the fancier stuff.”
For this game’s TRN Media Player of the Game, the impressive Sophomore Boston James gets the nod for leading the team in rushing and averaging 16.5 yards per carry.
The win improves the Tigers to 2-2 on the year and they head back on the road next week to face Cheyenne South.
