Evanston Rolls Over Laramie- Plainsmen back into 4A Football Playoffs

It took about five hours for the Laramie Plainsmen to travel to Evanston for their final regular season football game of the 2011 season.

It felt like the game took twice that.

In the very first offensive play of Friday’s matchup between the Plainsmen and Red Devils, Matt Eddington of Evanston ran the ball 71 yards for a touchdown.

In a nutshell, that was how the game went for Laramie in their final game of the regular season, as they fell on the road 59 to 14.

Despite the loss, and Laramie’s final record (2-7), standings and certain circumstances across 4A are such that Laramie is guaranteed a playoff game against the top team in the state, Natrona County.

Eddington’s opening rush set the tone for a Red Devils squad who outgained Laramie 202 yards to 10 in the first quarter alone, on their way to a 17-0 lead heading into the second.  Evanston ended up scoring on six of their first seven possessions.

The Red Devils continued to roll in the second quarter, but the Plainsmen showed some signs of life late in the first half as Falcon Boucher recovered an Evanston fumble deep in Red Devil territory, quickly followed by a 13 yard touchdown pass from Billy Hysong to Craig Welniak.

Unfortunately for the Plainsmen though, the spark of life was quickly extinguished as Eddington ran back the ensuing kickoff 84 yards for another touchdown, putting Evanston ahead 45-7.

With only three minutes until halftime, Laramie marched the ball downfield, assembling a 12-play, 80 yard scoring drive, capped by a Hysong sneak of one yard, and bringing the halftime score to 45-14.

Sensing a slight momentum shift, Evanston upped the pressure in the third, tallying one touchdown on a 21 yard run from Eddington and another on an interception returned to the end zone, ending all scoring in the game at 59-14.

The interception was one of an astonishing six turnovers by the Plainsmen who did little to help their own cause, fumbling the ball four times and throwing two picks.

In all, Laramie finished the game with 221 yards of total offense (184 passing, 37 rushing), led by Hysong who threw for 143 yards on 11-20 passing despite sitting the second half after an injury on his second quarter scoring run.

Leading the Plainsmen with receptions was Welniak who finished with 7 catches for 86 yards.

For the Red Devils, Matt Eddington led the way with 15 rushing attempts for 197 yards and four rushing touchdowns (3 in the first half).  He tallied his fifth personal touchdown on the night with his second quarter kick return.

The loss was the fifth straight for the Plainsmen who will be the 8^th seed in the 4A playoffs and will play at top-seed Natrona County next Friday, October 28.  Expect coverage for that game to begin on KOWB at 5:30!