Laramie Dominates in Finale at Deti

Taylor Dodd accounted for 486 yards with six touchdown passes and a touchdown run, as the Laramie Plainsmen blew out Kelly Walsh 48-14 last Friday night.

Laramie (3-6) closed out Deti Stadium in style and sent their 12 seniors out on a high note.

Head coach Chuck Syverson said the team did a great job of focusing on the game.

“We wanted to make this about us tonight and about our seniors. We talked a little bit about each one of our seniors in the locker room before we came out; just pointed out how much they meant to this program the last three-four years; especially this year with their leadership, it’s been outstanding.”

The Plainsmen scored on their first three possessions and five of their first six. They built a 35-6 lead by halftime.

Dodd tossed three TD passes to Idris Elias, a pair to Conor Beeston and one to Nate Burman. He finished 16-of-25 for 329 yards. Dodd added a 157 yards on the ground with a 72-yard scoring run.

Laramie took a 7-0 lead on Dodd’s first TD pass to Beeston from 6-yards out. Kelly Walsh answered with a Jacob Kostal to Austin Kampa 7-yard touchdown pass. Elias blocked the extra point, and L-H-S held a 7-6 lead.

The Plainsmen went on to score 41 unanswered points. Dodd connected with Elias on the next three possessions from 23, 55 and 32 yards out. The last score of the first half was another 6-yard strike, only this one was to Burman.

Dodd added his TD run midway through the third quarter, and then capped the scoring with a 19-yard pass to Beeston with 11:45 left for a 48-6 lead.

Kelly Walsh (3-6) closed the scoring with a touchdown run with 1:43 remaining.

Laramie put up 574 yards in offense, while they held the Trojans to 306 yards, 90 of which came on the final scoring drive. Beeston snagged five passes for 138 yards, while Elias finished with 110 on his three scoring grabs. Defensively, Burman added two interceptions, and Garrett Worden had three sacks.

Syverson added it was just execution.

“We really simplified our game-plan a little bit this week and really were looking to take advantage of what they were gonna do against us. It was a simple adjustment for us… it gave us mismatches on the interior, and basically occupied the defensive backs with our running backs. Conor and the rest of our receivers had a great night, tonight.”

The Plainsmen finished in a three-way with Kelly Walsh and Evanston for the final three 4-A playoff seeds. A coin flip took place Saturday at the State Cross Country Championships. Laramie lost the flip.

The Plainsmen are the eighth seed and will face the top seed and top-ranked Camels in Gillette for the second time in three weeks. The first round class 4-A playoff game will kick-off at 6 p.m. Friday.