How important are extra points after touchdowns? In the case of the Shoshoni Wranglers, it’s a guarantee for a home game in the opening round in the Class 1-A 9-man playoffs.
The Wranglers made the long trip over South Pass to play once-beaten, fifth-ranked Big Piney for a classic small school battle and came away with a 28-24 win.
Both teams scored four touchdowns, but Shoshoni added a conversion run and a pair of extra point kicks that proved to be the difference in the win.
The game had everything you could ask for in prep football, big plays, turnovers, long drives, long touchdown passes, and the drama of fourth-down conversions when the game came down to a single play.
That single play came with a minute left in the game when quarterback Alex Mills ran an option right on fourth and seven from the Big Piney 22-yard line on fourth-and-seven. Mills pitched the ball to Pehton Truempler and the senior running back raced down the east sidelines for the game-winning score.
The Wranglers led almost from start to finish but the Punchers came to life with a pair of fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-22 lead with 5:20 remaining in the game.
Senior receiver and cornerback Trey Fike suffered an ankle injury on a pass attempt in the third period and exited the game. Without Fike, the Wrangler passing game was severely limited and the ensuing Big Piney kick was covered by the Punchers at the 25-yard line.
Shoshoni has a multi-faceted offense with Mills, Truempler, and Cannon Campbell providing the ground game, and Mills throwing either to Fike or tight end Jaxon Stanley.
At crunch time, the battering ram style of Truempler and Campbell took over the game.
Trailing by two at 24-22 the duo combined to carry the ball on every down of an 11-play drive that ate up most of the clock before Truempler scored the go-ahead touchdown.
Big Piney didn’t go easily.
Truempler gives much more than he receives on collisions, but Big Piney linebacker Thomas Howard was up for the challenge. While other Punchers slid and needed assistance on tackles, Howard hit Truempler head-on repeatedly, stopping the run instantly.
The Wranglers reached the Big Piney 18 with two minutes to play, but back-to-back solo tackles by Howard on Truempler left Shoshoni with a third and eight play. Truempler took the ball again and Howard was waiting, giving up just a yard on the play.
A Shoshoni timeout with 1:08 on the clock set up the final play.
Stanley crashed down on the defensive end and Mills cut off the block to draw the Piney linebackers and corner to him. As the defense closed in, he pitched it to Truempler who ran over the safety and into the end zone.
It was a wild finish and the third time this season that a game came down to the wire for the Big Piney Punchers. They held off a late Rocky Mountain rally to win 12-8 but fell to Wind River 20-18 in an almost identical fashion to the Shoshoni game.
Turnovers and failed fourth-down-conversion attempts played a huge role in the game.
Big Piney took the opening kickoff and drove it almost the length of the field before Mills picked off Puncher quarterback Champ Snively at the one-yard line. Mills had another interception that ended the half with Big Piney inside the 15-yard.
Big Piney’s passing game is a quandary. The Punchers can throw long but can’t complete short passes with the same efficiency.
Shoshoni scored first through the air after Snively fumbled a snap giving the Wranglers the ball on the Piney 21-yard line.
Mills hit a triple-covered Stanley in the back of the end zone on a perfectly placed pass for a 21-yard touchdown.
Dominic Jarvis was roughed as he missed a conversion kick, setting up a Truempler run on the two-point conversion for an 8-0 Shoshoni lead.
After stalled drives and punts by both teams, Shoshoni took the ball at their 10-yard line. The Wranglers assembled one of their best drives of the season with Campbell picking up big gains off the belly series of the option, Truempler doing his battery ram-style runs while pummeling Big Piney defenders, and Fike making a pair of acrobatic receptions from Mills on catches of 20 and 11 yards. Truempler capped the nine-play, 90-yard drive on a one-yard run with Jarvis adding the point after for a 15-0 Shoshoni lead.
The Shoshoni defense bent a little during the game but didn’t break. Defensive end Tucker Maddock had an outstanding game as did defensive tackle Kellen Linnan. Both played strong at the line of scrimmage.
Mills was intercepted by Brandon Jones at the 45-yard line, and he returned it to the Shoshoni 18. It was only the fourth interception of the season by Mills.
With good field position, Big Piney converted a fourth-and-two attempt setting up an eight-yard touchdown run by Caden Clifford. The conversion run failed leaving the Score 15-6.
The Wranglers counter-punched with a six-play drive, all runs by Mills, Truempler, and Campbell capped by a 22-yard power run by Truempler. Jarvis added the conversion kick and the Wranglers held a comfortable 22-6 advantage.
Big Piney came roaring back on an arching 72-yard bomb from Snively to Hunter Fisher late in the third period.
Shoshoni moved the ball to their 43-yard line before stalling with a fourth-and-three situation. Head coach Tony Truempler elected not to punt, but to go for the first down. The Puncher defense held setting up a short field with Snively adding another score on a two-yard run set up by passes to Fisher and a pair to flanker Karsyn Gurr. The Punchers failed on both conversion attempts to trail 22-18.
The Wranglers playing without Fike, kept the ball on the ground on the ensuing drive but Mills was rocked from the side by Howard on an option play and fumbled the ball at the Big Piney 46. A short run by Clifford set up the go-ahead pass from Snively to a wide-open Ruben Stoutenberg on a 49-yard pass. The nearest Wrangler was 25 yards away on the play.
The Punchers again missed the conversion but took their only lead of the game 24-22 with 5:20 to set up the final game-winning Shoshoni drive.
It’s a huge game next Thursday in Pavillion when the Cougars host the Wranglers in what is most likely the conference championship game. Wind River still has to play Greybull Friday night, but a win would move them to 6-0 while the Wranglers are 5-1. Both teams would be unbeaten in conference play at 5-0.
BIG PINEY 8 7 7 6 – 28
SHOSHONI 0 0 12 12 – 24
First Quarter
SHO – Jaxon Stanley 21-pass from Alex Mills (Pehton Truempler run) 2:37
Second Quarter
SHO – Truempler 1-run (Dominic Jarvis kick) 6:09
Third Quarter
BP – Caden Clifford 8-run (run failed) 7:24
SHO – Truempler 22-run (Jarvis kick) 3:27
BP – Hunter Fisher 72-pass from Champ Snively (run failed) 2:02
Fourth Quarter
BP – Snively 2-run (pass failed) 7:37
BP – Ruben Stoutenberg 49-pass from Snively (pass failed) 5:20
SHO – Truempler 22-run (run failed) 1:00