'We Just Have to Move On'

This story took first place in Sports News Wriring at the 2010 Wyoming Press Association awards and third place in Sports Writing in the 2010 National Newspaper Association Better Newspaper Contest.

'We just have to move on'

By BRENDAN
BURNETT-KURIE
Reporter/Photographer

It didn’t matter what happened on Jonas Field.

It didn’t matter what the final score was.

It didn’t matter that the 21-game winning streak was snapped.

What mattered was that effort. That determination. That dedication. That love.

Three months ago, when they marched onto a sunsplashed practice field behind Glenrock High School, no one thought this rag-tag group of seven seniors could replace the 15 that graduated the year before after claiming the 2008 state championship with a perfect 11-0 season.

And yet, with guts and grit and selflessness, the 2009 team, with only two returning starters, barreled through their first 10 games without missing a beat.

“It was a very successful year,” senior Murphy Johnston said. “We didn’t think we were going to do as well as we did. We came out the first game and we really got rolling after that.”

The Herders rolled all the way into the 2A State Football Championship game at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie Nov. 13 with a perfect 10-0 record and a 21- game winning streak dating back to 2007. But despite a hard-fought effort in a close game, the Herders couldn’t continue the magic and fell 22-20 to Thermopolis after failing to convert on a twopoint conversion that would have tied the game with 5:41 left.

“It’s tough because I know how hard they worked for it and how much they wanted it,” coach Ray Kumpula said. “Somedays it’s just not meant to be. This is one of those days. We came up a little bit short, but I’m extremely proud of what they accomplished.”

“It’s a tough feeling,” senior Kyle Farley said. “Not because we lost, but because of this group of seniors and the guys we played with. There’s not another team like this in the state. I’m so proud of this team.”

“We just have to move on,” senior Dustin Worthington said. “I think we had a very good season. I think it was very successful. We just have to hold our heads high.”

After the game, after the trophy ceremony, after they greeted their parents with hugs and tears, the team gathered in the circular center of the home locker room for the University of Wyoming football team.

Under the banner “Home of the Wyoming Cowboys,” the players sniffled and silently wept as their coaches praised them as The Group That Got It Done.

“I think more than anything else, that exemplifies them,” Kumpula said. “They didn’t care, they just got it done. They put whatever they had individually aside and decided the team was more important. That’s why we play this game.”

“You guys mean so much to me,” defensive coordinator Donnie Stewart said from the middle of the circle, after giving each and every player a hug. “The thing about it is, we lost the game. But that ain’t who we are. That ain’t our season. I’m so proud of what we accomplished. Focus on all the great memories we’ve had.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten more out of a group of kids than you guys,” he finished.

***

Glenrock entered the game as defending state champions, having beaten Kemmerer 18-0 at home last year, and were in the championship game for the sixth time in eight years. But even a storied history couldn’t propel the Herders over a Thermopolis team that was 3-30 over the last four years.

In the end, a close game on a snow-covered field came down to two plays. The Herders had a chance to tie the game after scoring a touchdown on a five-yard Cory Dewald run with 5:41 left. Glenrock lined up from the two-yard line for the extra point, but instead of its usual run play, surprisingly ran a pass to the flat for Dustin Worthington. The route was smothered by the Bobcats, however, and Kyle Farley’s pass sailed over Worthington’s head and landed harmlessly on the field.

“I thought we were just going to run it in,” Dewald said. “I mean, we’re Glenrock, we run.”

“I was the one who called it,” Farley said. “Me and Dustin came together and talked it over with the coaches. The first time we saw them, when we went to our doubles form, they only had one guy out on the (edge) so we figured we’d run Murphy on a slant and Dustin on an out. It could have been a better thrown ball, but it was pretty well covered.”

“The decision was to try to put the ball in the hands of the playmakers and see if we could make a play,” Kumpula said. “They were able to cut us off before we were able to get out in space like we wanted to.”

Thermopolis got the ball back with 5:36 left in the game leading by two, and Glenrock had only one time out left. After gaining one first down, the Herders forced the Bobcats into a fourth-and-1 with 2:20 left in the game. But Thermopolis’ Mitch Syverson barreled into his offensive line on a quarterback sneak. The spot was so close the referees called for a measurement.

“The spot was really close,” Farley said. “You hope for it to go your way, but sometimes it doesn’t.”

The ball ended up being six inches past the chains, essentially ending the game as Glenrock couldn’t get the ball back.

“It’s hard to say in the snow,” Kumpula said. “We had to step up and make a behind-the-line hit and we didn’t do that.”

“They had it,” Dewald admitted. “I just told them to come measure it.”

***

As Glenrock took the field before the game, a steady snow was falling as the UW athletic department worked frantically to keep the sidelines and yard-markers clear. Still, about three inches of slippery snow stuck in players cleats and prevented crisp cutting and lateral movement.

“The weather was tough,” Farley said. “The footing was rough. But that’s not an excuse. We had our chances.”

“They were able to use the snow a little to their advantage,” Kumpula said. “They spread their offense out and they have some really good backs and they kept us spread out.”

Still, some players said they weren’t adversely affected.

“This is my favorite weather to play in and I liked it,” Worthington said.

“It’s slick out there in the snow, but it didn’t really matter,” Johnston said.

***

Thermopolis got the ball to start the game and went threeand- out, giving the ball to the Herders on their own 27-yard line. The drive quickly went over midfield, but an offsides penalty, a holding call on a 33-yard Austin Smith run and a false start forced Glenrock to turn the ball over on downs on Thermopolis’ 43-yard line.

This time, the Bobcats started marching, getting a 17-yard run, a 10-yard pass, a 10-yard run and a 17-yard run to go 57 yards in just six plays and take an 8-0 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter. The drive ended on Syverson’s 17-yard touchdown run.

“We started off slow,” Johnston said. “We didn’t get off to a good start. We just needed to get off at the bat and that didn’t happen.”

Glenrock managed three first downs on its next drive, once again working its way into Bobcat territory, but gave up the ball on a fourth-and-six run when Farley was stopped at the line of scrimmage.

By the end of the first quarter, the snow had stopped falling, but was still piled on the field.

With 5:57 left before the half, Glenrock got the ball back on its own 19-yard line. On the fourth play of the drive, Farley took the ball on a sweep around the right side for 53 yards, giving Glenrock a first-and-goal from the fiveyard line. Two plays later, Smith barreled into the end zone on a one-yard run and Worthington followed with a two-point conversion to tie the game at 8-8 with 3:17 left before halftime.

Thermopolis wasted no time regaining its lead, as it scored on a 62-yard keeper down the left sideline just over two minutes later. After failing on a two-point conversion, the Bobcats led 14-8.

“They executed really well and we didn’t,” Dewald said. “At the start, anyway.”

Glenrock gained one first down, but couldn’t put together much of a drive before halftime, heading to the locker room trailing by six.

“We were in a good position,” Kumpula said. “We hadn’t played our best football yet. We kind of struggled in that first half with all the mistakes we made. I thought we could come out and do something and re-establish the line of scrimmage.”

“We were pretty positive,” Johnston said of the locker room mood. “We were getting the ball coming out in the second half. We just took it as being down a touchdown.”

***

Glenrock started the second half with a 10-play drive before Farley threw an interception. Thermopolis had the ball on Glenrock’s 43-yard line and took four minutes to score its third touchdown of the afternoon on a 22-yard pass from Syverson to Chris Leyba. The score put the Bobcats ahead 22-8 with less than 15 minutes of football remaining.

But there was no quit in these Herders, as there hasn’t been all season. Glenrock scored on a two-yard Worthington run on the first play of the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the twopoint conversion. The Herders were trailing by eight, 22-14, with nearly 12 minutes left in the game.

Then came a wacky pair of plays that swung the momentum back and forth across the field in a matter of seconds. First, Glenrock forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff return, as Tyler Kelley fell on the ball on Glenrock’s own 45. Then Farley connected with Worthington on a 47- yard pass play, but Worthington coughed the ball up on the eight-yard line and Thermopolis had the ball back with 11:34 left in the game.

After giving up a 53-yard run down the left sideline, Glenrock’s defense stepped up and forced the Bobcats to turn the ball over on downs with 9:44 left on the Herders’ 40-yard line. Glenrock embarked on an eight-play, 60-yard drive highlighted by an 18-yard Farley run and a 21-yard pass from Farley to Tyler VanAntwerp. Dewald barreled into the end zone with 5:41 left to pull Glenrock within two. But the conspicuous choice to throw a pass on the two-point conversion failed and the Herders never got the ball back.

“We came back in the fourth quarter when we needed to,” Dewald said. “We just didn’t get that slant we needed to get.”

***

Glenrock finished the game with 233 rushing yards, their lowest total of the season, and 97 passing yards. Thermopolis gained 213 yards on the ground and 107 through the air. In a game decided by a two-point conversion, the stats were eerily similar. Thermopolis had 10 more total yards (330-320) than the Herders and both teams lost one fumble.

Worthington led the Herders with 85 rushing yards on 21 carries, despite only a 3.8 per-carry average. Farley added 82 yards on five carries and Smith chugged out 61 yards on 17 carries. Farley was 4-for-7 passing for 97 yards. Worthington caught three of those passes for 75 yards.

For seven Glenrock seniors, it was their final game. For seven Glenrock juniors, it put the weight of next season squarely on their shoulders.

“I hope we set the example that the younger kids can look up to us and continue the tradition on,” Farley said.

“We had a very young team and, I don’t know, we kind of built the team together,” Worthington said. “As one, we played together. The underclassmen stepped up and helped us out. I’m very proud of everybody. It was an honor to play with everybody.”