Laramie Plainsmen Come From Behind to Beat Kelly Walsh 29-26

It's been a few years since I've heard a security radio squawk, "Are there any security members available to help escort the officials out to their vehicle".  But, that is exactly what I heard following a hard fought football game that saw the Laramie Plainsmen come from 19 points down to win on Friday night.

Both Laramie and Kelly Walsh played extremely tough on a clear cold night in Laramie.  Early on, it looks as though Kelly Walsh was going to dominate the entire evening.  Turnovers were key in this contest, even though Kelly Walsh led in the turnover ratio early, it was a fumble and an onside kick recovered by Laramie that gave the Plainsmen the momentum they needed in order to over come a 26-7 lead by KW.

They Plainsmen woke up in the 4th quarter and started their offensive assault in the 4th quarter.  Plainsmen QB Andrew Burman tossed a lateral pass to RB Joe Adams who inturn connected 42 yards down field with WR Gavin Worden for a touchdown.  On the Plainsmen's next series Burman connnected with Worden on a 25+ yard pass that placed the ball inside the Trojan 15 yard line.  Burman would score on the next play, a QB keeper up the middle. Add in a pair of successful 2-point conversions and all of a sudden, Laramie only trailed Kelly Walsh by 3 points - 26-23.

But here is where things became heated.  On the ensuing onside kick off attempt by the Plainsmen, the kick didn't travel the necessary 10 yards before contact was made with the ball by a Plainsmen special teams member.  The ball then bounce around between players of both teams as the Trojans and Plainsmen scrambled for the ball.

After the officials separated the players from the pile, they discussed the kick and results and the Referee signaled that Kelly Walsh had gained possession of the ball at the 49 yard line.

At that point it appeared as though KW would be able to run out the clock and leave with a victory.  But then another huddle by the officials was followed by a reversal of the ball possession as the Referee changed the ruling on the field and gave the ball to the Plainsmen.

As you could imagine, the stands exploded with emotion.  Both celebration - for the Plainsman, and anger - for the Trojans and their fans.  Chaos was everywhere as Plainsmen fans celebrated and players rushed their offense out on the field with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. KW Trojans head coach John Vance had to call a time out to get an explanation from officials as well as take a minute to try and regroup his players.

The Plainsmen then moved the ball down inside the 10 yard line and QB Burman connected one more time with his favorite receiver Worden from 9 yards out for the game winning touchdown.

Controversial calls aside, both teams played hard and credit to the Laramie Plainsmen for executing at the end of the game and racking up 22 unanswered points to win their final home game of the season 29-26.

Every football coach and player knows that sometime calls go your way, sometimes they don't.  Either way, you still need to execute your game plan, control the line of scrimmage and put points on the board.  The Laramie Plainsmen did just that for the final quarter of the contest last night against Kelly Walsh.

This was a disappointing loss for the Trojans and their fans, but KW coaches will now need to turn those emotions into fuel for this weeks first round 4A playoff match up as the Trojans will prepare for an Oil Bowl rematch against their cross town rival - the Natrona County Mustangs.