Early Deficit Sinks Laramie Plainsmen in 47-20 Loss to Gillette

The 2nd-ranked Gillette Camels scored on their first three offensive possessions and stayed undefeated on the season with a 47-20 victory over the Laramie Plainsmen Friday night at Deti Stadium. It was the Camels 10th straight win in the series against LHS.

Gillette (5-0) jumped out to a 19-0 lead and never looked back. Behind a balanced offensive attack (292 passing yards, 235 rushing yards), the Camels moved the ball at will and piled up 527 total yards. They led 26-6 at half and with two more scores in the 3rd quarter, the Camels were up 40-6. Laramie was able to use a couple of big plays and pulled within 20 points before Gillette sealed the win with one last score at the 3:38 mark.

Junior QB Austin Fort threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 74 rushing yards and one score on the ground. Senior WR Dani Fischer hauled in 9 passes for 183 yards and two t-d’s. Senior RB Taylor Bigelow added 107 yards rushing and two scores.

Despite all that, Laramie (1-4) showed more fight than they had against two other highly ranked teams, East and Kelly Walsh, earlier in the season. They forced three Gillette turnovers, had none themselves, controlled the clock and were able to move the ball on the 2nd-best defense in 4A.

Plainsmen Head Coach Ted Holmstrom said, “The kids have really continued to work hard, fight all the time and work at it every play.”

The Plainsmen had 349 yards of total offense. They were very balanced with 168 yards on the ground and 181 through the air. Senior QB Grant Holmstrom threw for 131 yards, including an 80-yard score to Sr. WR Johnny Gurzo in the third quarter. Junior FB Joe Adams had his second straight 100-yard rushing performance with 106 yards on the ground and one touchdown (28 yards). The defense was led by Senior Dominic Villarreal who had two interceptions in the loss.

Holmstrom also said, “We tried to keep them off-balance as much as we could. With the screens, with the reverses, with the fake punt and with the onside kicks, we felt we had to do something different.”

It’s back on the road next week, as Laramie will prepare to face rival Cheyenne Central. It’s the longest running series in the state in high school football. Kick-off from Riske Field in Cheyenne is set for 7 pm. You can listen to Plainsmen football on KOWB (AM 1290) next Friday night with David Settle and VerDon Hoopes calling the action. The broadcast starts at 5:30 pm.