by Keith Kelley–25 Oct ’14
The Cheyenne East football team needed a win Friday night in Gillette, just to force a coin flip to decide the number two seed in the 4A playoffs, and home field until the state championship game. The Thunderbirds did their part in a 28-14 win in the Razor City, behind a powerful running attack. Then it was learned early this (Saturday) afternoon, that the T-birds would be the victors of the three-way coin flip between themselves, Gillette and Sheridan, and will be the two-seed in the postseason.
Senior quarterback Tevis Bartlett was up to his old tricks, and the Thunderbird offensive line opened up big holes all night, as East racked up 405 yards on the ground against the Camels. Head coach Chad Goff says they knew they would have an opportunity to run the ball, and they really dominated up front.
Bartlett finished with 236 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while senior running back Brad Craft ran for 135 yards and the other touchdown. Craft also caught a big third down pass that picked up 40 yards leading to the final TD for East. On Bartlett’s performance, T-birds head coach Chad Goff says that’s just the type of competitor he is.
The East defense was also very good, holding the state’s top offense in check all night long and forcing four turnovers. Gillette quarterback Cale Miessler was injured in the first half, after going just 3-9 for 11 yards and an interception. Backup Dalton Holst couldn’t solve the East defense either, as he was picked off twice. The T-birds held 4A’s number one offense to just 305 yards of total offense.
East, now 7-2 on the season, will be the two seed in the playoffs, and will host Casper Kelly Walsh Friday night at Okie Blanchard Stadium.
Cheyenne Central 28 Evanston 21
The Central Indians needed a late touchdown to beat Evanston last night at Riske Field. Trailing 21-20 with very little time left, the Indians would march down the field for a score to finish the regular season 4-5. Central is the five seed in the playoffs and will visit Sheridan Friday evening.
Sheridan 52 Cheyenne South 13
It was going to be a tall order for the Bison to knock off won of the state’s best teams, but even with the loss, South still had a shot at the playoffs. That was until Laramie beat Kelly Walsh, ending the Bison season at 2-7.
