Wind River broke into the win column behind the one-two punch of running backs Jeffrey “Bubba” Rushing and Ben Snyder. Rushing tallied 139 yards on 17 carries, and Snyder came just a yard short of the century mark in eight rushes. They scored all four of the Cougars’ first-half touchdowns in a 52-0 win over the visiting Wyoming Indian Chiefs.
The Cougars have suffered from drive-ending turnovers all season, but Thursday at Pavillion, they had just a single turnover and mounted sustained drives throughout the contest, never punting and only turning the ball over on downs twice.
Wyoming Indian quarterback Dana Lock threw the ball well when he had time, but getting that time was a challenge. He was sacked five times for a combined loss of negative 33 yards.
Ano Brown had a good night catching the ball for the Chiefs, with five receptions for 35 yards, and Dakota Norse caught three balls for 27.
On the ground, Wind River dominated the game, rushing for 352 yards while throwing the Chiefs back for negative 27.
Rushing and Logan Jensen repeatedly blasted Lock on passing plays, delivering hard hits. Lock hoped back up from each hit until late in the third period, when a Jensen sack put him out of the game.
The Cougars scored first on a sustained nine-play, 85-yard drive to open the game on a one-yard plunge by Rushing. Snyder added the conversion run for an early 8-0 lead.
On the final play of the opening period, the Cougars capped another long drive, this time on a pass from sophomore quarterback Tanner Walker to Rushing of seven yards. Rushing added the conversion run.
Another long drive, this one 11 plays, had Rushing powering in from the three-yard line. A final score in the opening half came on 30-yard toss sweep to Snyder around right end, down the Wind River sidelines.
The Cougars led 32-0 at the half.
Wind River head coach Rod Frederick mixed it up in the second half with three new players scoring. Holden Yeates rushed in from the seven on the first score, Walker hit Kai Alatini on a 30-yard pass and run for the second, and Bracton Down tallied the final score as Cougar reserves marched the ball on an eight-play drive to end scoring.
The Chiefs host Rocky Mountain next Thursday at 5 pm while the Cougars travel to face their traditional rivals, the Shoshoni Wranglers at 6 pm, also on Thursday.
WIND RIVER 16 16 14 8 – 52
WYOMING INDIAN 0 0 0 0 – 0
First Quarter
WR – Jeffrey Rushing 1-run (Ben Snyder run) 7:02
WR – Rushing 7-pass from Tanner Walker (Rushing run) :00
Second Quarter
WR – Rushing 3-run (Kolton Martinez run) 6:50
WR – Synder 30-run (Rushing run) :55
Third Quarter
WR – Holden Yeates 7-run (run failed) 6:14
WR – Kai Alatini 30-pass from Walker (Snyder run) 4:50
Fourth Quarter
WR – Bracton Dow 1-run (Reid Hill run) 7:41
Total Offense: Wind River 410, Wyoming Indian 35
Rushing Offense: Wind River 43-352, Wyoming Indian 14-(-27)
Passing Offense: Wind River 3-58, Wyoming Indian 7-62
Individual Rushing: Wind River – Jeffery Rushing 17-139, Ben Snyder 8-99, Tanner Walker 5-15, Kolton Martinex 3-20, Holden Yeates 1-7, Talon Walker 1-9, Aiden Pogue 6-51, Bracton Dow 1-1, Noah Goraczkowski 1-(-4), Wyoming Indian – Dakota Norse (-4), Khilen St. Clair 3-12, Dana Lock 5-(-33), Ladanian Brown 1-0, Mati Austin 2-(-2)
Individual Passing: Wind River – Tanner Walker 3-8-0 58, Wyoming Indian – Dana Lock 8-20-0 62, Mati Austin 0-2
Individual Receiving: Wind River – Jeffrey Rushing 1-7, Kai Alatini 2-51, Wyoming Indian – Ano Brown 5-35, Dakota Norse 3-27
Troy Tidzdump carried out the American flag as he led the Cougars out onto the field Thursday in Pavillion. Starting quarterback Tanner Walker was introduced on the field. The Wind River Cougars huddled up before their county matchup against Wyoming Indian. Ben Snyder tried to fight off a tackle from Aiden Cruz.
h/t Carl Cote, County 10