WyoPreps Game of the Week: #1 Lingle vs. #2 Pine Bluffs [VIDEO]

A second No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup in Class 1A 9-Man football is the fan-voted WyoPreps Game of the Week for small schools. The second-ranked Pine Bluffs Hornets face the top-ranked Doggers in Lingle on Friday night. Both teams are 6-0 this season and 4-0 in the 9-man East Conference. The winner looks to grab the top seed in the playoffs.

Both teams had blowout victories last week over ranked foes. No. 1 Lingle-Ft. Laramie won 55-13 at No. 4 Southeast. Second-rated Pine Bluffs hosted No. 3 Saratoga and beat the Panthers 63-7.

WyoPreps caught up with Doggers head coach Brandon Gifford and Hornets’ head coach Will Gray to preview the game. Gifford discussed his team’s progress late in the regular season, their mantra entering a game like this, what he sees in Pine Bluffs, and a couple of keys Lingle should adhere to give them a chance to win. Gray touched on the dominant win over Saratoga, staying focused on fundamentals like blocking and tackling, preparing for the Doggers, and keeping the plan simple for a big game.

The game pits the top two offenses in 9-man football in the state against two of the top three defenses. Pine Bluffs is No. 1 in total offense and total defense. The Hornets average 403 yards and 55.7 points per game. They only allow 119 yards and 7.3 points per game. Their passing attack leads the way at 176 yards per game. Lingle-Ft. Laramie is No. 2 in total offense at 398 yards and 55.4 points per game. They lead the division at 340 yards per game on the ground. On defense, the Doggers give up 213 yards per game and 12 points per game.

Carsten Freeburg triggers the Pine Bluffs offensive attack. He throws for 169.5 yards per game, completes 60 percent of his passes, and has 13 TDs with only four interceptions. Shawn Shmidl and Justin Lerwick are two of the top four receivers in 9-man football this year. They have combined for 130 yards and 10 TDs. Defensively, Lerwick leads the way at 14.8 defensive points per game.

Lingle has two of the top three rushers in Loudon Bremer and Kaiden Riggs. Bremer averages 166.4 yards per game and has scored 13 touchdowns. Riggs is at 126 yards and 12 TDs. Brady Cook only throws for 57.6 yards per game. Cooper Smith anchors the Doggers defense and is No. 1 at 28 defensive points per game.

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According to the series history at wyoming-football.com, this will be the 69th game between the two schools on the gridiron. Lingle-Fort Laramie has a 40-26-2 edge in the series against Pine Bluffs. The first game was back in 1949. The Doggers’ 31-30 win in overtime last year snapped a three-game skid against the Hornets.

The kick-off is at 6 p.m. on Friday at Kirk Field in Lingle.