ROCK SPRINGS — The Rock Springs Tigers return home Friday night looking to turn a strong rushing performance into their first win of the season when they host Cheyenne East at 6 p.m.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., with TRN Media’s pregame coverage beginning at 5 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on 97.9 FM KZWB, with Keith Trujillo providing play-by-play and Jayson Klepper on color commentary. TRN Media will also provide a free live HD video stream on SweetwaterNOW’s Facebook page.
Rock Springs enters the matchup at 0-2 after falling to Laramie 27-21 last week, while East is 1-1 following a loss to Natrona County. The Tigers showed they can move the football on the ground against Laramie, but penalties, turnovers and big plays allowed on defense kept them from finishing the game with a victory.
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Rock Springs rushed for 342 yards on 60 carries against Laramie, its highest rushing total since producing 392 yards against Cheyenne South last season. The Tigers finished with 360 yards of total offense and moved the chains 23 times, while converting 6 of 12 third-down attempts and 3 of 4 fourth-down tries.
Boston James led the way with 195 rushing yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. He also caught a pass for 18 yards, giving him 213 total yards. Kaleb Praytor added 93 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, while Jernee Padilla had 31 yards on five carries and Kason Cahill added 23 yards on five attempts.
The production on the ground gave the Tigers opportunities, but mistakes prevented several of those opportunities from turning into points. Rock Springs lost a fumble early after forcing Laramie to turn the ball over on downs, and later threw an interception after consecutive holding penalties pushed the Tigers back. Earlier in that same drive, Praytor appeared to score a touchdown, but the play was wiped away by a holding penalty.
Rock Springs also had a 29-yard field goal attempt appear to be partially blocked in the third quarter. The Tigers eventually found the end zone through the air when Cahill connected with James for an 18-yard touchdown, then added another rushing touchdown from James late in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, the Tigers will need to limit the explosive plays that hurt them against Laramie. The Plainsmen finished with 410 yards of total offense, including 306 through the air. Laramie connected on 14 of 19 passes for two touchdowns, with an 85-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Kirsch and a 57-yard touchdown from Boone Frude accounting for the two biggest plays of the game.
Cheyenne East will enter Friday’s game coming off a loss to Natrona County in which the Thunderbirds also allowed more than 300 yards rushing. East is 1-1 on the season and will be looking to rebound against a Rock Springs team that has already demonstrated the ability to establish the run.
The Tigers will also be looking to improve on last year’s meeting between the two programs. East defeated Rock Springs 49-3 in Cheyenne, limiting the Tigers to 73 rushing yards on 31 carries while piling up 487 yards of total offense.
