Week 3 Humble Pie: Turning heads, building momentum and running a bunch

Can one play, one moment, one victory symbolize the end of years of frustration?

You bet — just look at what happened to the Torrington Trailblazers on Friday.

A 76-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Schlager to Micheal Winget in the final two minutes helped Torrington beat Cody 12-10 — in Cody — and boosted the Trailblazers from afterthought and also-ran to dangerous contender.

It’s been awhile since Torrington has been more than just pesky. The Trailblazers haven’t had a winning season since 1995 (although they played in the 1996 3A championship) and have won just one playoff game in the past 12 years.

A 37-0 loss to Chadron, Neb., in the season opener two weeks ago made it seem like Torrington was destined for another losing season. A big win last week over Worland wasn’t too surprising — especially since the game was in Torrington — and didn’t turn many heads.

But this win on Friday is something different. It’s a road win over a ranked opponent, and it came out of a situation that didn’t look all that promising — 76 yards to go and less than two minutes to do it in.

Torrington has three winnable games the next three weeks (at Wheatland, home versus Rawlins and at Riverton) before facing Buffalo and Douglas in the final two weeks of the regular season. And by then, Torrington could be favorites, THE team to beat.

One play, one moment, one victory. The Trailblazers are back.

Second mad props to Burns, who did just what I thought they might do — mess up my pick — in its 20-0 road victory over Newcastle. This was exactly what the Broncs needed to get back on track. They’re now a respectable 1-1 in the East and with three of their next four conference games at home, Burns could be right back in the thick of things by late October.

Speaking of the 2A East, third mad props to Big Horn, which pummeled Wright 37-0. Don’t look now, but Big Horn has won two in a row heading into its toughest stretch of the regular season — at Glenrock next week, at Thermopolis the following week. The Rams are now 2-0 in the 2A East could be a big spoiler in the playoffs, especially if they can pull out a victory in at least one (or both) of their next two games.

Fourth mad props to Lusk, which just felt like running in its 24-6 win over (previously) top-ranked Southeast. The Tigers tallied a ton of yards on the ground — almost 300 in all — and held Southeast to just 89 rushing yards. Oh, and just go ahead and make your plans now to show up at Lusk next week, when the 3-0 Tigers host 3-0 Lingle in yet another huge conference game.

Speaking of 1A, fifth mad props to Rocky Mountain, which used a stifling defensive effort to beat Riverside. The Grizzlies’ defense is for real. Through three games, Rocky is 3-0 and has yet to give up a point, winning by scores of 35-0, 39-0 and now 24-0. The Grizzlies’ defensive efficiency will definitely be tested next week as the team travels to Pavillion to play Wind River, but nonetheless three consecutive shutouts is nothing to sneeze at.

Speaking of 1A, sixth mad props to Sundance, which used a late fourth-quarter touchdown to beat Pine Bluffs 27-20. The Bulldogs’ victory spoiled a couple goose eggs — it was Sundance’s first victory this season and Pine Bluffs’ first loss. If any team can throw a kink into the 1A East, it might be Sundance. Remember, the Bulldogs play both Lusk and Lingle AT Sundance….

Seventh mad props to Powell, which found a little bit of offensive rhythm to mow down Buffalo 20-7 to notch its third consecutive victory. This was a big one for Powell, a momentum-builder for the 3A West slate that starts next week. Powell doesn’t have to travel much the next few weeks — counting the Buffalo game, the Panthers play four of five games at home, with the only road trip in that stretch to Afton to face Star Valley — so the Panthers have a great chance to establish themselves as one of 4A’s best. They’ve done a great job so far, and Friday’s win will only help that momentum build.

Other stuff that caught my eyes this week:

Kelly Walsh beat Natrona County 28-27 in double overtime in a thrilling Oil Bowl. KW won in the second OT after NC’s two-point conversion attempt was stopped short. … How did Sheridan avoid the upset at Rock Springs? Broncs win, 20-17, but that’s all I know. If you were there, fill me in. … Glenrock won’t be cruising to the 2A title. Thermopolis gave the Herders a game before falling 32-26, while Kemmerer proved it has refocused its energy by notching its second consecutive blowout victory. … Road teams are 16-11 so far this week, an abnormally high ratio for road wins.

Also, keep your thoughts with Midwest this week. A car crash on Thursday injured Midwest player Taylor Weber and killed his mother. Details of the crash are available here. The Oilers’ game with Kaycee got moved to Tuesday, but right now that’s not the important thing. The important thing is doing what you can to comfort the family and the communities — both Midwest and Bar Nunn — as they cope with the accident.

What else caught your attention this week? Any upsets, surprises or blowouts that you didn’t see coming? Or maybe something you saw coming that seemingly no one else did? Post your thoughts below.

Sunday addition: Also, congratulations to Snake River, which beat the Natrona frosh-soph team 38-26 in Casper to win the school’s first football game since (according to my records) 1953. It’s a win 56 years in the making. Good job, Rattlers!

This week: 26-7 (79 percent). This season: 89-21 (81 percent).

–patrick