Photo by Rylee Lingenfelter
Laramie, WY – After a rough start to the season last week, losing in the Border War to Colorado State, the Cowboys had a warm welcome home to Laramie, where after three quarters of, according to wide receiver Charlie Coenen, “not playing 11-man football,” the Pokes turned it on to pull out an ugly 21-13 win over the Bears of Northern Colorado.
In a game with a combined nine punts, five turnovers, and only 650 yards of total offense from both teams, it was adjustments after a fourth quarter weather delay that made the difference. Going into the break, Northern Colorado had all the momentum, with double the number of yards of Wyoming, and the ball in scoring territory. Coming out of the break, the Cowboys got stops on defense, and on offense looked like a completely different football team.
Quarterback Tyler Hughes also began to show signs of the talent Cowboys fans were so excited about coming into the season, tossing two touchdowns in the fourth. “I knew I needed to step up and do more than I was doing, and just showed up and made plays,” Hughes said. “I think seeing that is going to catapult us into the rest of the season.”
As expected, Coach Jay Sawvel wasn’t thrilled about the team’s performance, but he was proud of the way his team responded to adversity and expects more of the same going forward. “Look, I mean, nobody’s gonna walk around here and pound our chest about what we did today, okay? But what we will do is say, ‘Okay, when we had to do it, we got it done’,” Sawvel said in the post-game press.
During the weather delay, Sawvel described that “I called up everybody offensively, and it was like, ‘I’ve seen this team and this offense play well. I saw it in the spring. I saw it in the fall camp. It’s time to f-ing do it.’ And that was what the message was, and they did it. So that was a good thing.”
Game Recap
The Cowboys received the opening kickoff, and the majority of the first half looked like a broken record of last week against CSU. Penalties and a lack of momentum on offense made the first few drives rather stale for the fans at War Memorial Stadium. The Bears also struggled to open the game, and after a stuffed fake field goal attempt, could not get much going.
After turnover struggles by both teams to begin the second, the Cowboys started to catch their stride and establish an identity in the run game near the end of the first half.
Running backs Tote Harris and Markell Holman combined for 87 yards in the first half, and Harris was able to put the first points on the board for the Cowboys, a four-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes left in the half.
The Bears caught fire at the end of the half, snatching momentum back and scoring 10 points in the last two minutes, including a 45-yard strike from quarterback Kenny Lueth with 20 seconds left. That score capped off a 58 second, 91-yard drive for Northern Colorado. 10-7 Bears going into half.
To start the second half, the Bears maintained control of possession for almost 11 minutes, including a seven-minute drive which ended in a field goal, putting the score at 13-7 for Northern Colorado. The Cowboys struggled to get the offense on the field in the third quarter, and when they did, no real offensive rhythm.
Two and a half minutes into the final quarter, the game screeched to a halt for a lightning delay after a Cowboys fumble in their own territory. Play resumed with 12:25 left in the game at 5:12 pm. After a stop following the fumble, the Pokes put together a masterful seven-minute, 82-yard drive, capped off with a 15-yard touchdown pitch and catch. Tyler Hughes to Charlie Coenen. Cowboys took the lead 14-13 with 3:44 remaining on the clock.
Jones Thomas’s second interception of the day for the Cowboys on the Bears next possession gave them the ball on the 39-yard line with 2:38 left on the clock. A dagger 18-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Frendt after the takeaway sealed the game for the Cowboys 21-13.
Cowboys Flip Switch after Lightning Delay, Rally to Beat Bears 21-13
The Cowboys take on Central Michigan on the road next Saturday, hoping to build on their fourth quarter successes for the entirety of the game next week.
