It’s a showdown of two teams mired in a four-way tie for fourth place, as the Laramie Plainsmen head to Cheyenne and play fourth-ranked East Friday night.

After three straight wins, the importance of each game down the stretch becomes increasingly important.

The Plainsmen have accomplished some rare feats over the last couple of games. They beat Cheyenne Central in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 15 years. After last week, they’ve also won three consecutive games for the first time in 11 years.

Laramie enters tonight’s game on a six-game skid against the Thunderbirds. Their last victory over East got LHS into the playoffs in 2009. It’s been even longer since a road win in this series. The last time the Plainsmen won at Okie Blanchard Stadium was in 1999. The final in that game was 59-13.

Plainsmen head coach Chuck Syverson knows this game is key for playoff positioning. He also says it’s a tough match-up, but one they’d love to get.

Both teams come in with 3-3 records and are tied with Cheyenne South and Natrona County in the standings.

One key match-up will be Laramie’s pass offense that averages 173 yards per game against the Thunderbirds pass defense that only allows 84 yards per game. The Plainsmen also have to figure out a way to slow down East junior running back Ethan Ashworth. He averages 116.7 yards per game and has scored a total of 10 touchdowns.

Kick-off is at 7 p.m. at Okie Blanchard Stadium.

KOWB (AM 1290) will provide live coverage of the game. David Settle and VerDon Hoopes will call the action from Cheyenne. The broadcast will start at 5:30 p.m.

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