Wyoming state champ Cheyenne East 鈥榗leared the wall鈥� in run to title
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (BVM) 鈥� The helmet of every scheduled opponent hangs on a wall in Cheyenne East鈥檚 locker room throughout the football season.聽
If the Thunderbirds beat that opponent, the helmet is taken down. If that opponent wins, the helmet stays.
Thunder Basin鈥檚 helmet remained on that wall for over two months after beating East in Week 1 of the regular season. But when the state championship game ended on Nov. 14, the Bolts鈥� helmet came down just like the rest of them. East exacted revenge for its only loss of the season in the final game of the season, beating Thunder Basin 29-15 to capture the Class 4A state title.
鈥淭hose kids had to walk by that Thunder Basin helmet every day since that loss,鈥� said 15-year East head coach Chad Goff. 鈥淚t was the first time in our career that we cleared the wall; we actually were able to get every helmet off the wall.鈥�
It鈥檚 the first state title since 2013 for the Thunderbirds, who won their 11th consecutive game by scoring 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of a game where the weather wreaked havoc for both teams. Sustained winds over 35 mph with gusts up to 70 mph threw a wrench into the plans of a pass-first East offense. But with the wind at his back in the final quarter, dual-threat senior quarterback Graedyn Buell wouldn鈥檛 be denied. Thanks in part to some strong blocking from his linemen, receivers and running backs, he was able to dominate the game with his legs, finishing with 235 rushing yards on 22 carries and scoring all four of the Thunderbirds鈥� touchdowns, including three in the final quarter.
鈥淭he offensive line in that fourth quarter did a great job creating such a good run game,鈥� Goff said. 鈥淲e truly were a passing team first and foremost. We weren鈥檛 known for our run game and so I thought their investment and what they put in this summer over the last few years really paid off and they weren鈥檛 going to just let it slip away. Our receivers who had such a great year receiving just buckling down and making sure the running game was going to go, I was really impressed. 鈥� Everybody just bought in to make it work.鈥�
Not only did Buell lead East鈥檚 air attack with 3,065 passing yards and 38 touchdowns, he was also the team鈥檚 leading ground-gainer with 968 rushing yards and 15 TDs.
鈥淗e didn鈥檛 want to be just known as the guy who can throw the football,鈥� Goff said. 鈥淗e made that happen with how hard he worked. 鈥� The way he ran in that fourth quarter, he just wasn鈥檛 going to be denied.鈥�
Neither were the rest of the Thunderbirds, who did everything they had to in order to remain on track to complete their season in the midst of a pandemic. And in the end, the payoff was a little bigger than just simply reaching the finish line.
鈥淏eing able to finish the way they did with that great fourth quarter, I just think that says a lot for the offseason and how hard these kids worked,鈥� Goff said. 鈥淲e always try to teach the investment part with everything that we do when it comes to this game. It really just paid off.鈥�
