Rocky pushes top team to the brink in 21-14 playoff loss

Rocky Mountain football head coach Jessee Wilson has been struggling to reconcile the results of his team’s quarterfinal 21-14 loss to Lingle-Fort Laramie, the top-ranked team in the state.

“We don’t ever want to be complacent, and I think that’s a big reason I’m feeling so conflicted about this last game,” Wilson said. “Everybody said, ‘Man, you guys really hung in there,’ and ‘You guys did a really good job playing the number one team in the state.’ I just feel like that’s a dangerous mindset to enter into. You can’t be complacent just being OK.

“Let’s be honest. We should have won that game.”

They should have won that game. It’s an understandable sentiment for the coach.  Lingle found themselves absolutely stymied by an air-tight Rocky Mountain defense that didn’t allow the state’s top team any oxygen to breath. 

“We absolutely handled them,” Wilson said. “They had 56 total rushing yards in the game. They had 60 or 70 yards passing. Barely over 100 yards of offense for the game. The defense dominated. The guys hustled and rallied to the ball. They played like it was their last football game. There was that energy and excitement.”

Brenner Moore, coming back to the field after spending three weeks on the sideline due to injuries, ended the game with two sacks. He was a constant menace in the backfield as Rocky’s entire defensive line overwhelmed Lingle. 

But, costly mistakes and missed opportunities doomed Rocky’s chances to advance in the playoffs.

Those fateful mistakes started early. With Lingle stalled on offense, quarterback Lafe Files threw picks on Rocky’s first two drives. The second one Lingle returned for a touchdown.

“The first one was a missed throw. It was a deep out route. We threw the ball inside. The ball has to be outside always, or that’s what happens. I don’t know how to sugar-coat it. We just missed the throw,” Wilson said. “The second one, the ball came out late and the defender made a good jump on it. It’s no secret we’re going to run those short timing routes. The corner gambled on it and made a good read.”

That was the only scoring action in a defensive struggle of a first half. Rocky had one opportunity of its own, driving right  to the Lingle 15-yard line after strong rushing by Wil Loyning, but a fourth and 4 pass to Clayton Thompson sailed right over his head. 

Rocky entered the locker room trailing 7-0. 

Rocky entered the second half eager to tie the game. Finding themselves in a fourth and long in their first offensive possession of the second half, the team decided to gamble. 

The fake punt worked perfectly, but a wide receiver had lined up offsides.

“It was the most beautiful thing that you’ve ever seen,” Wilson said. “JB (Jacob Bischoff) did such an awesome job. JB jumps up like the ball goes over his head and you can watch the Lingle player and he takes off running. But, it was a fake snap to Triffen Jolley. We sent two lead blockers, and we got 15 yards on it. Unfortunately, we were lined up incorrectly.”

The second punt attempt faired even worse, but was also close to success. After the snap didn’t get off cleanly, Bischoff took off running. He came up only three yards short of the first down.

“It was a low snap, and he picked it up. He had pressure, and he picked it up and ran with it. I can’t fault him for it; that’s what he’s taught to do,” Wilson said. “He almost made it.”

But, he didn’t. Lingle gained the ball on Rocky’s 44 and drove it home, finishing the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Lingle led 14-0. It was the only time their offense scored in the game.

“We only gave up one touchdown on defense, and it was because we gave them a short field,” Wilson said. “Yeah, it sucks.”

Finally, in the next series, Tucker Jackson got loose. 

“Tucker makes a sweep, just an ordinary, unremarkable slant route. But then he breaks a couple tackles and takes it all the way with a 35-yard touchdown,” Wilson said. 

The two-point conversion fell incomplete, but Rocky was on the board. They trailed 14-6.

After trading empty possessions, Rocky changed the tide in a long drive that started with only eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter with a 12-play drive that included a fourth down conversion caused by Lingle jumping the snap. 

Loyning found the end zone four plays after on a three-yard run, tightening the game to 14-12.

In a critical two-point conversion, Files found Jackson in the end zone, completing the pass while rolling to his left.

“Now we’re tied up. There’s four minutes left in the game,” Wilson said. “Life is good.”

Rocky was tied with the top team in the state with all of the momentum, but whatever exuberance they felt didn’t last long. It lasted for only one play.

“We called a deep squib kick, just because those balls can be nasty to handle, and if it’s rolling those guys will let it go and we’ll get a touchback. Alternatively, it lands deep down their side of the field, and they are unable to return it,” Wilson said.

The kickoff, initially, went better than Wilson could have ever asked for.

“I was like, ‘oh my gosh, this is such a perfect kick. This is amazing.’ I was so happy. It goes and trickles and gets to the one-yard line. I was like ‘sweet. We’re going to cover this thing up inside of the five. This is going to be perfect. My defense has been stopping them. I have two timeouts. We’re going to get the ball back with two minutes left on a short field.’”

But, that’s the danger of getting ahead of oneself. 

Thinking the ball was rolling in for a touchback, the Rocky defense slowed down for just a moment, and that was all the Lingle returner needed to cut through Rocky’s punt coverage and take the ball all the way to the endzone.

The perfect kick ended in a 21-14 lead for Lingle.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Wilson said. “Now, we’re in a tough spot.”

Rocky never recovered, but they had their opportunity. After Lingle stuffed Rocky’s offense in a three-and-out, they burst out a long run of their own. But as the Lingle running back looked toward the end zone, Thompson had other ideas.

“It was so cool to watch,” Wilson said. “He came in and punched that sucker out. That was something we worked on hard in practice.  There were so many things that we worked on the course of this year that showed up in big moments in this game. We get on the ball and we get an opportunity.”

Rocky had 70 yards to drive in two minutes to tie the game. But, Rocky was unable to connect on a pass in four attempts, leading to a turnover on downs. Lingle came out in the victory formation.

“It was kind of compounding mistakes,” Wilson said. “We had guys that came open or were open and either we missed the pass or dropped the ball. We were trying to get some chunk plays. We needed to. We couldn’t connect.”

In some ways, it was an impressive moment for the young team, shutting down an elite team offensively, giving the top-ranked team in the state a real scare.

But Wilson said he just isn’t satisfied by it, and nor should his team be. 

“To be just OK with almost beating a really good team, that doesn’t win championships. I hope our players feel the same way I do. Great. We almost beat them. But ‘almost’ doesn’t matter,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to sound negative. I’m really proud of my guys. But, you know, it’s about winning  games, man.”

Wilson said it’s his seniors who stood out and performed in the game.

Moore had two sacks and seven unassisted tackles. 

“Brenner was a beast,” Wilson said. “On both sides, of course.”

Loyning rushed for 155 yards on 27 carries.

“He played like it was his last football game. He was a maniac. He was impressive,” Wilson said. “He didn’t make it easy for anyone trying to tackle him.”

Wilson highlighted the efforts of senior Boston Stebner.

“Stebner came in, made some plays on special teams, made some tackles and did a really nice job filling in on that defensive line,” Wilson said. 

He also praised the play of Bischoff.

“We didn’t connect with him in the passing game, but he played really solid,” Wilson said. “He played decent on defense, he was good in coverage, and man, he almost ran for a first down on an accidental fake punt.”

Files went 8 for 23 through the air for 119 yards. He ran the ball for 31 yards on nine carries. 

Jackson had two receptions for 57 yards, one of those a touchdown.  Moore had three receptions for 27 yards. Loyning had two receptions for 23 yards.

As the season ends, Wilson said the future of the football program is more than promising, but it’s hard not to be a little impatient. 

“It’s exciting because for me I get to do it again next year. We’re pretty much going to have everyone back except for Brenner, Boston, Wil and JB. I’m encouraged with the freshman group that’s coming in. They’re going to really help us moving forward. They’re a big class of kids,” Wilson said. “We’re going to graduate four kids and bring in up to 15 freshmen. Some of those kids have already been working out with me in the summer. This freshman class this year is going to grow and be a pretty good class, too.

“The future is bright. I just want to win now.”