Behind 436 yards rushing, the Laramie Plainsmen snapped their five-game losing skid and rolled past the Cheyenne South Bison, 55-2, on Friday night at Deti Stadium.

Laramie (2-6) played at home for the first time in 42 days and improved to 2-0 on their home field. They also qualified as the No. 8 seed for the Class 4A playoffs.

Plainsmen head coach Clint Reed said it felt amazing to play in the Gem City.

“It was extremely nice to be home in front of the community, in front of their parents, in front of their peers. The fall is an exciting time, especially during these uncertain times, you like to have something to cheer for, root for, and come watch, to the best of your ability with everything going on. They (the team) were just excited and energized to be at home, and that always does good things for us.”

Isaac Sell ran for a career-best 322 yards and scored four touchdowns. He rattled off a 45-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, which set the tone for Laramie’s big day on the ground. Sell capped the first drive with a one-yard TD run. He added a three-yard score late in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead.

On the third play of the second quarter, Colter Nunn ran in from 13-yards out, which gave LHS a 21-0 lead. After a defensive stop at their 10-yard line, a punt snap was impacted by the wind and caught by Graham Jacques on one knee in the end zone. That resulted in a safety and South’s only points of the game.

David Tangeman made a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. Laramie led 24-2 at halftime.

It was more ground and pound in the second half. Sell scored on a 25-yard run, and Tangeman added a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 34-2 lead.

In the fourth, Sell ran it in from 8-yards out, while Nunn added a 10-yard TD run, and Jacques capped it with a 34-yard touchdown run.

Reed said, “The run game got going early. Isaac started off well and finished hard, too. We had a couple of other backs come in there, with Colter Nunn and Graham Jacques, and those three were able to do some great things.”

Sell ran for the most yards in Class 4A this season and the second-most in the state.

Reed said of his night, “Isaac is just an athletic kid. Sometimes you don’t realize how many yards he may have. It’s just a hand-off here, a hand-off there, and he’s pretty smooth, so you’re not really sure how many yards he’s churning up.”

Laramie finished with 456 yards of total offense. On a windy night, the passing game was largely ineffective, but with 436 on the ground, LHS didn’t need to go to the air that often. Nunn added 86 yards rushing, while Jacques had 35 yards.

The defense held the Bison to just 145 yards on offense. The Plainsmen also forced three turnovers, two fumbles, and an interception. Both fumble recoveries were by Gavin Kopp, while Sell had the interception late in the first half.

Reed added, “We did a little changeup. We actually slid our corners back to deep safeties and took our outside linebackers and walked them up to play the edge, just knowing they were a dive-option team.”

Laramie stays at home for the second straight week. They will host the Cheyenne Central Indians on Friday. Kick-off is at 6 p.m. at Deti Stadium.

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