Plainsmen Push Past Bison For Third Straight Win [VIDEO]

For the first time in 11 years the Laramie Plainsmen have won three consecutive football games thanks to a 20-6 upset of No. 5 Cheyenne South last Friday night.

Plainsmen head coach Chuck Syverson was very proud of his team.

“We made extra emphasis this week about getting off to a good start, and how tough Homecoming games are, and how many times the home team comes out flat for those. We really focused on making sure we were ready to play, and this was probably our best first half football we’ve played all year.”

Laramie (3-3) scored on their first three possessions of the game. They also held the Bison 106 yards below their season average for rushing yards per game.

Syverson added, “The big thing was we handled them up front with our D-Line. That allowed our linebackers to flow and make plays. We didn’t over-pursue, like we’ve done in the past.”

The Plainsmen capped a seven-play drive with senior Blake Moore’s first career field goal from 27 yards away. After South’s second punt, a 53-yard run by Carless Looney set up Taylor Dodd’s two-yard TD run. That put LHS ahead 10-0 with 4:54 left in the first quarter.

Cheyenne South (3-3) drove inside the Plainsmen five-yard line, but Looney intercepted Bison QB Eric Fowler at the three-yard line. Dodd ran 38 yards to midfield, but it looked like Laramie was stopped. Instead, they used a fake punt pass from Dodd to Nate Burman that covered 47-yards for a 17-0 lead. That was the score at half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter. Laramie missed a field goal, while South punted on their only drive. The Plainsmen put together a big, 18-play drive that took just over nine minutes off the clock. It resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Moore.

The Bison scored their only points with 3:12 left on Dylan Mondragon’s 1-yard touchdown run.

Laramie finished with 346 yards of offense, which included 211 on the ground. Dodd ran for 74, while Looney added 73 yards. Burman had five receptions for 92 yards and the TD. They Plainsmen defense held South to 283 total yards and had three sacks. LHS didn’t punt in the game.

Syverson praised the offensive line for their play, especially blocking in the run game.

“They did a great job. We got Zane (Garner) back this week, and you could tell that made a difference in our running game. We’re starting to get a little healthier up front, and our backs ran hard.”

The Bison ran for 245 yards, but also had nine penalties and punted five times. Mondragon ran for 143 yards.

This marked the first win on a Homecoming game for Laramie since 2001.

The Plainsmen return to action next Friday night at Cheyenne East. Kick-off is at 7 p.m.