It was a long Thursday for the Shoshoni Wranglers, making a 600-mile trek to the southeast corner of Wyoming at Pine Bluffs. The defending state champion Hornets handled the Wranglers 50-14 in an inter-conference 9-man matchup.
Pine Bluffs graduated a lot of seniors last season but returned a talented, quick backfield and a dominating offensive line. The Hornets were paced by quarterback Carsten Freeburg, who tallied four touchdowns on runs of 76, 53, and 14 yards, along with a one-yard plunge.
Pine Bluffs opened a 15-0 lead, but the Wranglers showed a little life late in the opening period.
Caden Kisling connected with his brother Carson on a long pass that set up Shoshoni’s first score. Kisling found Oakley Hicks in the corner of the endzone on a four-yard pass, then the tandem did it again on the conversion to cut the lead to 15-8.
Shoshoni’s defense, paced by Carlos Murrafo, held the Hornets on the next possession, and things looked about to change. On the ensuing punt, the ball bounced off Hick’s back, and the Hornets recovered.
The play opened the floodgates for the Hornets. They scored 27 unanswered points in the second period to blow open the game.
The second half was played at a much slower pace with defense dominating. The Hornets scored first on a safety when the punt snap sailed high and Kisling was tackled in the end zone.
Shoshoni scored the final time when Kisling found Hicks on a 31-yard catch and run.
The Wranglers host Southeast Goshen next Thursday at 5 pm. Pine Bluffs faces Rocky Mountain in Casper next Friday.
PINE BLUFFS 19 27 2 6 – 50
SHOSHONI 8 0 0 6 – 14
1st Quarter
PB – Carsten Freeburg 76-run (Freeburg kick) 10:48
PB – Freeburg 43-run (Gabe Federer run) 7:55
SHO – Oakley Hicks -4 pass from Caden Kisling (Hicks from Kisling) 3:30
Second Quarter
PB – Freeburg 14-run (Freeburg kick) 11:41
PB – Freeburg 1-run (Freeburg kick) 4:06
PB – Ayden Soto 42-run (kick failed) 3:07
PB – Kaden Eggli 20-fumble return (Freeburg kick) 2:41
Third Quarter
PB – Safety – Kisling tackled in end zone on punt 5:34
Fourth Quarter
SHO – Hicks 31-pass from Kisling (run failed) 11:37
PB – Joey Mohren 48- kickoff return (run failed) 11:09
Statistics
Total Offense: Shoshoni 246, Pine Bluffs 310
Team Rushing: Shoshoni – 34-119, Pine Bluffs – 31-275
Team Passing: Shoshoni – 8-22-4 127, Pine Bluffs 7-19-0 35
Rushing: Shoshoni – Caden Kisling 15-19, Carson Kisling 12-30, Carlos Murrafo 1-5, Oakley Hicks 1-(-3), Brody Shepard 5-(-5), Pine Bluffs – Carsten Freeburg 6-128, Ty Scarborough 10-64, Ayden Soto 6-60, Gabe Federer 4-27, Eli Currie 3-(-1), Tuf Scarborough 2-(-3)
Passing: Shoshoni – Caden Kisling 8-22-4 127, Pine Bluffs – Carston Freeburg 7-19-0 35
Receiving: Shoshoni – Oakley Hicks 6-63, Corbin Brown 2-64, Pine Bluffs Cade Fornstrom 4-24, Colby Lerwick 2-9, Nemo WallwoingBull 1-2