Pearson Carries Plainsmen To 35-20 Road Win At Evanston

Senior Andy Pearson ran for five touchdowns, and the Laramie Plainsmen won a big road game at the Evanston Red Devils 35-20 last Friday night.

Laramie head coach Chuck Syverson said, "I'm pretty proud of these guys; the way they bounced back from last week... Good overall effort; it's a long trip; it's awful tough, tough road trip comin' all the way out here on that bus and getting off that bus and playing a game, but they did a great job of it."

Pearson scored on runs of 8, 14 and 4 yards in the second quarter. He added a 9-yard t-d run in the third. After Evanston closed within 28-20, Pearson rattled off a 37-yard scoring run with 10:53 left in the game that provided the final margin.

Laramie (2-2) came through with three big defensive stops in the fourth quarter which preserved the victory. Junior Tristan Rogers recovered a fumble, they forced a punt and senior Nate Hill intercepted a pass with 2:03 left that iced it.

The Plainsmen trailed 7-0 after one quarter of action, but scored 21 unanswered points for a 21-7 halftime lead.

Each team scored on their first two possessions of the second half.

Pearson was a 1-man show for Laramie. He accounted for 326 yards of total offense. He ran for 192 yards on 26 carries. He also caught seven passes for 134 yards.

Syverson said, "He keeps telling me he wants the ball, so we definitely gave him the ball... with what Evanston was giving us, especially that second half, there was just two plays that they were just leaving wide open, and we had a great opportunity to keep runnin' it... He gives us that element that, you know, we haven't had around here for a couple of years, that he can hit a hole, make a good cut, and accelerate out of his cut and make something good happen."

The Plainsmen finished with 493 yards of total offense and had the ball 13 more minutes than the Red Devils. Laramie also had no turnovers.

Evanston (1-3) finished with 328 total yards. Senior QB Miles Piper was 11-23 for 185 yards and three touchdowns, plus the pick. All three t-d tosses went to Alek Johnson for 80, 10 and 15 yards respectively.

Laramie returns home for their next two games. They will take on Cheyenne Central next Friday night at Deti Stadium. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.