Bobcats dominate Rangers

by Jack Nowlin, Sports Editor

Casper Star-Tribune

One week after getting shut out at Tongue River to open the season, Thermopolis turned the tables in Week 2. The Bobcats (1-1, 1-0 Class 2A West) built an early lead and won their home opener with a 34-0 whitewash of Kemmerer at LeRoy Hayes Field.

"That was a much-needed win because it gets hard when you're doing all the right things and you don't see the results you want," first-year head coach Boone Bowker said. "From Week Zero (a scrimmage against Worland) to Tongue River you could kind of see it on their faces a little bit, but they persevered and kept at it and it showed up."

Sophomore quarterback Armani Dukes started the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter. After the Bobcats defense forced a punt, Dukes raced 65 yards to the end zone on the first play of the drive to give Thermopolis a 12-0 lead after the opening frame.

"Once Armani realized that it was not about him, that he had to do his job and then things would open up for him all of a sudden he started trusting his reads and he was busting plays," Bowker said. "He trusted his assignments and his technique and it opened up for him."

Dukes was just getting warmed up.

He connected with brother Del Dukes for a 44-yard touchdown pass and had a 5-yard scoring strike to junior Ethan Yarrington before capping the first half with a 1-yard touchdown run. Zane Stam added a 2-point conversion and sophomore Cody Bomengen had two extra points to give the Bobcats their first shutout victory since they closed the 2020 season with a 54-0 victory at Pinedale.

"We talked about sharpening our axes last week," Bowker said. "And we talked about getting back to the basics and refining what our offense does. Their willingness to learn and to keep trying to better themselves instead of just faltering is the biggest improvement that I've seen."

The Rangers (0-2) moved the ball effectively on the ground in the second half, picking up nine first downs, but were unable to get into the end zone. Kemmerer finished with 164 total yards – all on the ground – but was 0-for-4 throwing the ball.

"The defense trusted their reads," Bowker explained. "That double-wing offense is tricky to defend but we kept at it."

Junior linebackers Stam and Ryan Arends led the Bobcats with eight tackles (six assisted, two unassisted) apiece. They combined for two of the Bobcats' six tackles for loss, with Stam adding a sack and a fumble recovery.

"The D-line played phenomenally and opened it up for Zane to make all those plays," Bowker said. "And Jessen Basse did an absolutely fantastic job. It might not look like it on the stats, but he shut down a whole side of the field by himself."

Basse, one of just five seniors on the roster, finished with seven tackles (three unassisted, four assisted), including a tackle for loss, from his outside linebacker spot.

Offensively, Armani Dukes led the way with 98 rushing yards and 3-of-4 passing for 55 yards. Stam added 79 rushing yards as the Bobcats finished with 296 yards of total offense.

Thermopolis takes a big step up in competition this weekend. The Bobcats head to Uinta County to take on undefeated Mountain View (3-0, 1-0 2A West), which opened the season with a 21-7 victory at 3A Green River, shut out Wheatland 38-0 in Week 1 and won 24-6 at Rich County, Utah, this past weekend. Friday's game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. kickoff at Clarence Lammers Stadium.

"We let the kids celebrate (the win over Kemmerer)," Bowker admitted, "but the coaches were in the office (Friday) night scouting Mountain View and trying to figure out a way to slow them down.

"Our theme this week is Pound the Rock," he added. "Like a stonemason sits there and hammers at his rock constantly and then finally it will crack when he needs it to. But it was all those hits before that that caused that crack."