CHR
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October 23, 2014 I The Lovell Chronicle 1 9
Two Lovell runners earn all-conference honors in Afton
BY DAVID PECK
The Lovell Bulldogs en-
joyed a balmy day as they
tackled the hilly course in
Afton for the 3A West Re-
gional cross country meet
Friday afternoon.
Two Lovell runners
placed in the top 10 to earn
all-conference honors, and
two others finished in the
top quarter of the racers as
Lovell went head to head
with host Star Valley, Jack-
son, Cody, Lander, Powell
and Mountain View.
Senior AJ Dickson
placed fifth with a time of
17:53 and ran well, Coach
Caleb Sanders said.
"He's running really
good," Sanders said. "He's
pretty strong mentally and
physically and is one of
the better runners in 3A
and was running against
some very strong runners.
He held his own in 3A. I'm
proud of him."
Junior Jacob New-
man was in the top 10 for
a while, then fell back and
finished 17 th with a time of
18:47.67.
"I was hoping Jacob
would be up there," Sand-
ers said. "He had some pain
and breathing issues. It just
wasn't a good day for him. I
would like him to be all-con-
ference, but it wasn't to be."
Freshman Brent Sny-
der placed 22 "d out of 99
runners, running the course
in 19:20.58, a solid perfor-
mance, Sanders said.
"Brent ran good for a
freshman," the coach said.
"He ran a strong race and
moved up and didn't get
passed during the race."
Senior Andrew Mayes
placed 49 m for the Bulldogs,
running a time of 20:36.31.
Three freshmen were
the next three finishers
for the Bulldogs. Ben Cor-
nia ran 21:40.17 (73'd), Will
Lillard ran 21:52.61 (76 th)
and Kyle Wolvington ran
22:05.60 (78th).
"Ben Cornia stepped
up and earned a spot on
the state team," Sanders
said, noting that the team
can take seven runners to
State. "He was fighting for
the seventh spot and ends
up fifth. Kyle and Will had
earned spots, and Ben and
Joey (Bassett) were vying
for the seventh spot."
Bassett ran 22:46.47,
Chance Wilson 29:22.19.
The Lovell boys placed
sixth in Afton with 126
points, well ahead of Powell
with 191 points. Star Valley
won the title with 32 points
followed by Jackson with
69 points, Cody 84, Land-
er 102, Mountain View 105
and Lovell.
CALDWELL STRONG
In the girls race, ju-
nior Jaclyn Caldwell placed
seventh with a time of
21:34.75 to earn all-confer-
ence honors.
"I was happy she got
all-conference," Sanders
said. "I think she has a bet-
ter race in her. She was un-
comfortable Friday. It was
one of those races where
you have to grit for three
quarters of it.
"I think running at a
high altitude was an issue.
I think we struggled with
that a little bit more than
Lovell junior Jaclyn
Caldwell glides along
the course at the golf
course in Afton Friday
as Coach Caleb Sanders
keeps pace behind her
during the regional
cross country meet.
I anticipated. I ask the run-
ners at the end, 'Legs or
lungs?' The feedback I got
was lungs. We're not used
to that. It impacts every
runner, but if teams train
at that altitude..."
Caldwell ran in sixth
place at the head of a pack
for much of the race before
Eiraenn O'Connor of Jack-
son passed her near the
end.
"I could see that build-
ing up the whole second
loop," Sanders said, "like
she was saying, 'Can I fend
off the runners trying to
pass me?' That's not how
Rocky harriers placed two in top 10
did not qualify for£he team
title, but Burlington junior
Zariah Tolman placed a sol-
id llth with a time of 25
minutes even.
Rocky senior Denice Es-
calante placed 15th with a
time of 27:38, and Burling-
ton sophomore Pacee Gar-
za was right behind her in
16th at 27:46.
STATE MEET SATURDAY
The Grizzlies will trav-
el to Sheridan Saturday
for the state cross country
meet at the Sheridan VA
hospital. The 2A girls race
is scheduled for 11 a.m., the
2A boys at 12:40.
.......... BY.DAVID PECK
The Rocky Mountain
Grizzlies placed two run-
ners in the top 10 en route
to a second-place finish at
the 2A West Regional cross
country meet Thursday in
Ethete.
Sophomore Dominic
Twomey placed fifth behind
a quartet of Wyoming Indi-
an runners with a time of 19
minutes even, according to
final results, edging Charles
Lallatin of Lyman at the fin-
ish line.
Senior Casey Banks
also ran strong and placed
seventh with a time of 19:29.
Two other Grizzlies fin-
ished in the top.20, Fresh-
man Scott Banks placed
14th with a time of 21:40,
and junior Josh McCracken
was 16th at 21:47.
Sophomore Zack Mil-
brad was 21st at 22:45, ju-
nior Seth Fuller 22nd, cov-
ering the course in 23:28.
Sophomore Trevan Lytle
placed 25th with a time of
24:19.
Wyoming Indian won
the boys team title easily
with 10 points, but Rocky
placed second, edging Ly-
man by one point with 38
team points, Lyman 39.
In the girls race, Rocky
had only three runners so
DAVID PECK PHOTOS
A quartet of Lovell cross country runners - (l-r) Jacob Newman, Andrew Mayes,
AJ Dickson and Brent Snyder - hit their stride shortly after the start of the
Class 3A West Regional cross country meet Friday in Afton.
she usually runs. Some-
times you don't feel good
and some crumble under
that, but some are like
Jackie and just grit their
teeth."
Sanders said junior Af-
ton George solidified her
status as the team's sec-
ond runner, finishing 46 th
with a time of 26:19.53.
Sophomore Jazmyn See
ran 27:13.88 (52nd), junior
Jamie Kite 27:56.98 (55th),
sophomore Mylee McAr-
thur 30:21.66 (60 th) and
freshman Hannah Sawaya
36:35.33.
The Lovell girls placed
seventh out of seven teams
with 163 points. Jack-
son won the meet with 30
points followed by Star Val-
ley at 64, Powell 92, Cody
93, Mountain View 127 and
Lander 155.
STATE MEET
The Bulldogs will trav-
el to Sheridan Saturday for
the state cross country meet
at the Veterans Adminis-
tration Hospital grounds.
There are six races, 2A
through 4A, girls and boys.
Here's Saturday's
schedule:
10:30 a.m. - 3A Girls
11 a.m. - 2A Girls
11:40 a.m. - 4A Girls
12:10 p.m. - 3A Boys
12:40 a.m. - 2A Boys
1:10 p.m. - 4A Boys
"Our boys have to do
better to compete as a
team," Sanders said. "We'll
have to move up."
Sanders said the team
will taper this week to get
ready for the race.
"We've got to recover
and refresh and wake up
the legs," he said of this
week's practice goals.
RIVERTON RANGER PHOTO
Pacee Garza and Zariah Tolman keep pace during the 2A West Regional cross
country meet in Ethete Thursday afternoon. The Rocky harriers will compete
at the state cross country meet in Sheridan Saturday.
Grizz clinch home playoff game with big win over Riverside
BY DAVID PECK
The Rocky Mountain
Grizzlies reached one of
their major goals Friday,
clinching a home playoff
game by defeating the Riv-
erside Rebels in a key con-
ference game Friday night
in Basin, 21-0.
The Grizz moved the
ball all night and also con-
trolled the game defensive-
ly, Coach David Hayes said,
outgaining Riverside 412-
135 in total offense and av-
eraging 7.6 yards per play
to Riverside's 2.9 yards.
Rocky got on the score-
board first when senior Ca-
leb Horrocks broke free for
a 58-yard touchdown run
just a minute and a half
into the game. A two-point
conversion run was short,
but Rocky led 6-0.
The Grizz scored again
early in the second quarter
after Cole Simmons picked
off Rebel quarterback Cole
Hill at the goal line to end
a Riverside scoring threat.
The Grizzlies drove 98
yards to score as Kirby
Winland connected with
Simmons for a 48-yard gain
during the drive.
Horrocks punched it in
from a yard out and Sim-
mons hit Bill Despain for
the two-point conversion,
giving Rocky a 14-0 lead
that the Grizz carried into
the locker room at halftime.
Rocky sealed the win
with a third touchdown
late in the third quarter
KARLA POMEROY
Rocky Mountain senior running back Tyler
Lindquist looks for a hole as Shay Bond (57) and
Caleb Horrocks (44) block during Rocky's 21-0
win at Riverside last Friday night. The Grizz host
Burlington Friday at 7.
when Winland hit Horrocks
for a 15-yard scoring pass.
Despain booted the PAT,
putting the Grizz up 21-0,
a lead they held until the
end.
Hayes was pleased with
how his team responded to
the challenge Friday.
"Offensively, we moved
the ball well," the coach
said. "With great play call-
ing, we ran the ball well
while mixing in a pass here
and there to form a bal-
anced attack. This starts
with the offensive line do-
ing their job, opening up
lanes for the running game
to work.
"Lead backs and receiv-
ers did a great job blocking,
and the running backs ran
with determination. With
two backs gaining over 100
yards, it shows we can get
the job done in the trench-
es. It's very encouraging to
work hard during the week
and then come out and per-
form the way we practice."
The Grizz averaged 7.8
yards per carry in racking
up 334 yards rushing. Ju-
nmr Cordell McFarlane
gained 125 yards on 15 car-
ries, and Horrocks added
119 yards on 13 attempts,
scoring two touchdowns.
Despain added 37 yards
on four carries, Tyler Lind:
quist 30 yards on five car-
ries and Winland 23 yards
on five attempts.
Winland completed
three of nine passes for 69
yards and one touchown,
with one interception. De-
spain completed his only
pass attempt for nine yards.
Simmons caught one
pass for 48 yards, Hor-
rocks one for 15 yards and a
touchdown, Cole Wambeke
one for nine and McFarlane
one for six.
Horrocks led the Grizz
with nine tackles, one solo
and eight assisted, while
Simmons had eight tackles,
two of them solo and two
interceptions. Despain had
seven tackles including five
solo stops. McFarlane and
Lindquist had seven tack-
les each, Travis Banks and
John Higgins four tackles
apiece.
"We had a great game
defensively," Hayes said.
"The players carried out
their assignments, played
with intensity and flew
around making plays. Once
again this starts up front
with solid play from our
D line, allowing lineback-
ers and defensive backs to
make plays. Riverside likes
to spread you out and mix
it up, and the Grizz did a
great job defending the of-
fense. It was fun to watch.
"All in all it was a great
win and we are really look-
ing forward to hosting Bur-
lington at home this Friday
and then preparing for our
home playoff game."
The Grizzlies will host
the Burlington Huskies
Friday at 7 p.m. to close out
the regular season. Burl-
ington is 3-4 on the season,
3-3 in conference play with
wins over Riverside, Wyo-
ming Indian and Saratoga
and losses to Wind River,
Cokeville and Shoshoni.
The Grizz will host a
first-round playoff game ei-
ther on Friday, Oct. 31, or
Saturday, Nov. 1, against
the 1A East three seed.
BIG LOSS
Rocky's win Friday
came at a price. Senior
quarterback Kirby Win-
land, a four-year starter,
dislocated his thumb in the
fourth quarter and could
not finish the game. He is
likely lost for the season,
his father, RMHS Principal
Tim Winland, said Monday.
Tim Winland said Kir-
by injured his right thumb
- his throwing hand - when
he fell on the ball after a
bobbled snap and his full
weight landed on the thumb
and the ball. He is likely out
four to six weeks.
A doctor at the South
Big Horn Hospital put the
thumb back in place, but he
can't grip the ball, Tim said.
"It's tough when you
work so hard and go through
four years of football and
then it concludes with a
snap gone wrong and an in-
jury during the recovery,"
Hayes said. "Kirby has had
a very successful four years
of football as our quarter-
back and we will miss his
physical and mental tal-
ents. He is a solid leader,
dependable captain, a great
teammate and so fun to
coach; he will be missed. As
with any sport and life in
general you learn to adapt
and adjust accordingly.
"On the up side, Kir-
by will be with us helping
from the sidelines and sup-
porting our team as much
as possible. He will be an
impact during practice and
games as we prepare and
play each week."
Senior Bill Despain
filled in at quarterback
when Winland was injured
Friday, and Cole Simmons
and Cole Wambeke can also
play quarterback, Hayes
said, and Lathan May has
been the JV quarterback.
"We have multiple play-
ers who have had experi-
ence playing quarterback,"
Hayes said. "Bill Despain
has had quality time play-
ing the position and will
have the opportunity to ful-
fill the position. Cole Wam-
beke and Cole Simmons
have also had experience in
the past and could be called
on to play and be the signal
caller.
"As we prepare for Bur-
lington and the playoffs,
things will work themselves
out and we look forward to
improving each week and
finishing strong. We have a
solid team."
