Bobcats see strong start against Wheatland

Hot Springs County High School Football opened conference play with a game against Wheatland Friday night. Coach Matt McPhie said the boys played a good team and lost 35-14.

“We came out and started strong taking an early lead 14-6 in the first quarter,” McPhie said, “but in the end, Wheatland made more plays than we did and had more timely stops than we did. We came up short on the scoreboard, but we leave the game with a better understanding of who we are and which things we need to clean up. Our best football is in front of us and I am proud of the improvement by our young men in the last few months.”

McPhie described senior Andrew Yarbrough as a “one man wrecking crew” on Friday night. “He was excellent for us on both sides of the ball at OL/DL. Austin Weaver and Tyson Tobar also did a nice job on the offensive line Friday night. Sophomore Spencer Axtell and Senior Chris Slagle got their first starts at OL and played well.

“Freshman Logan Cole and Junior Chandler Maddock had big nights for the offense on the ground. Maddock had 98 yards rushing including a 70-yard touchdown run, and Cole had 150 yards rushing.”

On defense, the team was led by Noah Schwalbe and Koy Myers. Schwalbe had 12 tackles and Myers added eight.

Freshman Remington Ferree and Sophomore Dustin Harvey also played well on the defensive side of the ball, McPhie said.

This Friday, the Bobcats will take on the 3-1 Moorcroft team for Homecoming. McPhie said, “We know they have a good football team. We need to answer that call, and look forward to playing at home this Friday.” The game is set to begin at 6 p.m.

Though games were scheduled this season for the JV squad, circumstances such as injuries and low numbers cancelled those games. The majority of the JV players are being put on the varsity squad.