Evanston Grounds Out Win over Laramie Plainsmen, 21-14

A one-two punch on the ground was too much to overcome, as the Laramie Plainsmen lost a 21-14 game to the Evanston Red Devils Friday night at Deti Stadium. Hyrum Peterson ran for 116 yards and one touchdown, while Will Kishpaugh added 119 yards rushing in the Red Devils victory.

Evanston (2-2) scored on their first three possessions of the game. Senior QB Kyler Wagstaff threw t-d passes of 3-yards to Ian Fisher and 30-yards to Bruce Lester. The second gave the Red Devils the lead for good. Peterson added a score from 4-yards out. It was the 9th win in the last 10 games for Evanston against the Plainsmen.

Laramie (1-3) held a 7-0 lead, as they scored on their opening drive. Senior running back Joe Adams punched it in from a yard out. They got into the red zone three other times in the first half, but came up empty. Senior quarterback Drew Burman threw an interception in the end zone, and twice Laramie turned the ball over on downs.

Plainsmen head coach Chuck Syverson said, "You can't put yourself in that situation. In the first half, we had, I think, four times we were in the red zone and only scored one time. That doesn't put us in a real good situation to start with. Then defensively, we just let them drive up and down the field in the first half."

Trailing 21-7 at half, the Plainsmen made some adjustments at halftime that slowed the Red Devil ground attack down in the second half. LHS forced two Evanston punts and then scored on their second possession of the second half. Burman capped an 11-play drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 10:39 left.

The Plainsmen managed to hold Evanston after they reached the Laramie 20-yard line with about 4 minutes left. LHS tried to put together a game-tying drive, but an interception near midfield by Lester ended any hope. Burman left the game on that drive with an injury. Back-up QB Treyven Armijo threw the pick, as Laramie's comeback fell short. 21-14 was the final score.

Syverson added, "Overall I was pretty happy with our defense in the second half. They did a good job of shutting those guys down and letting us have a chance to stay in the game."

For Evanston, it was their 9th win in the last 10 games in the series against Laramie.

The Red Devils finished with 339 yards of total offense, with 285 on the ground. The Plainsmen had 302 yards offensively, with 227 of those rushing yards. Burman ran for 91 yards, including the t-d, and threw for 75. Adams added 70 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Syverson also mentioned, "Just like I've said the first 3 weeks, our kids played hard for four quarters and that's a big thing we're looking for. A lot of highs and lows this game, but they fought through them and played hard till the end."

Laramie heads on the road for their next two games. They'll be at Cheyenne Central next Friday night against the Indians. Kick-off from Riske Field is set for 7 p.m.

You can listen to Laramie Plainsmen football on KOWB (AM 1290), online and on your mobile device. Coverage will start at 5:30 p.m. with David Settle and VerDon Hoopes calling the game from the Capital City.