Alter-35 Wyoming-21

Once again, the curtain has been drawn early on the Wyoming Cowboys football season. Unlike last year, the 2013 Cowboys made their way to the first round of the playoffs where they met the powerful Knights from Archbishop Alter. In a near home game for the Knights, they bested the Cowboys by two TDs and a final score of 35-21.
 Coming into this game an 8 seed was already a challenge for the Cowboys (who finish the season at 9-3), but coming against such an offensive juggernaut as the GCLC Champion Alter squad would be quite a demand. Unfortunately, stats were not provided by Alter to the CHL or GCLC website at presstime.
 The Cowboys hopped on the Knights right off the opening kickoff however, as Oliver Reinecke forced a Knights fumble which lead to a game opening TD drive by the Cowboys. Will Marty found Dominic Vamosi for a 51 yard pass to set the score at 7-0. However, the Knights came back quickly, scoring on a 17 yard run from RB Tommy Ruff. A Marty pick on the next possession inside their own 10 lead to a 4 yard score and a 14-7 deficit after one quarter.
  In the second quarter, the Alter ground game continued it's success and punched in a score from 2 yards out to make it a 21-7 game. Although the Cowboys showed an inability to convert on their offense most times throughout the night, Alter turnovers kept the score from getting out of hand. JR Parker Chalmers forced two fumbles on the night. With .2 seconds on the clock before half, the Cowboys offense pulled out a reverse pass, with a handoff from Marty to RB Terrell Dailey, and Dailey to WR Duke Brunke, who found the QB in the endzone for a 10 yard, buzzer beater, role reversal score. Marty finished the night with 161 yards through the air, 1 passing TD, 2 INTs, 42 rushing yards and his first career receiving TD.
  In the 3rd quarter, the Alter rushing attack scored again, this time on an 18 yard run from Tommy Ruff, and with a scoreless quarter from Wyoming, the score remained at 28-14.
 In the final quarter of the season, the Knights again found the endzone, this time through the air on a 15 yard pass from Dusty Hayes to Dillon Daxe. The final Cowboys TD of the year was scored by Terrell Dailey on a 2 yard run, which put the final at 35-21.
 Will Marty wraps up his Senior year as the CHL passing champ for the second consecutive year, throwing for 1946 yards, 25 TD passes and a 184.3 QBR. He finishes his career at Wyoming as the school record holder for career completions with 424, most career passing yards with 6,590, and most career TD passes with 70. Terrell Dailey finishes 3rd in the CHL for Rushing, with 1082 yards, and leaves the school with the highest yards per rush average since 1999. Dominic Vamosi finishes his career with 94 receptions, 1654 yards and 18 TDs. Griffin O'Gara finishes #1 in the league with 13 sacks, as well as fellow defender Parker Chalmers finishes the year tied for 1st in Interceptions with 4.
 Wrapping up my final report of this year, it truly has been a great season and an exciting year to write about, and I look forward to picking up again next summer.

State Tournament Round 1 Preview: Archbishop Alter

ALTER KNIGHTS (9-1)

WYOMING COWBOYS (8-2)

    
                                              

A year after being held out of the playoffs by one game, the 8-2 Wyoming Cowboys enter the Division IV tournament this year with a daunting task. As an eight seed, they will travel to the home field of the one seed, Kettering Archbishop Alter (9-1).

  This is a formidable opponent, and will be one of the hardest games of the year for the Cowboys. The Knights sit atop the powerful GCL Co-ed conference, and have a record of 9-1. They are a complete ground and pound offense, only attempting a measly 15 passing plays all season. Their run game is atop the conference, averaging 336 yards per game, but they really shine in their offensive balance. Although they lead the conference in rushing, they have no players in the top 5 for the statistic. In their game against McNicholas, the one opponent the Knights share with Wyoming, they rushed for 385 yards and 6 TDs, all split between 3 players. Alter won this game by a score of 51-20.

   Knights QB Dusty Hayes is a run-first passer, with 481 yards and 9 TDs. Their backs are a tandem of Nick Coleman and Tommy Ruff, who have 911 yards and 10 TDs between them. To stay in this game, the Wyoming defensive front must have the game of their lives to slow down a team that lives by the run and dies by the run.

  On the other side of the ball, QB Will Marty will lead the high-powered Wyoming offense against a stingy Knight defense that has only allowed 163 ypg against it's conference opponents. They show no real tendencies against the run or pass, so a balanced attack will be necessary to unseat the 1 seed. The Cowboys need to cash in on all their possessions, and not leave points on the field, because this Alter squad can break away from teams late in the game.

                Playoffs Round 1

               vs. Kettering Archbishop Alter (9-1)

          @ Kettering Fairmont

          Friday, November 8th

                       7:30

Wyoming-46 Finneytown-7

photo courtesy of Rod Apfelbeck

  Another game, another victory. After two close losses early in the season, the Cowboys have bounced back strong, with 7 straight victories. With their 39 point win at Finneytown on Friday, the Wyoming Cowboys (8-2) finish off their season, and make their way into November headed for the playoffs. Another dominant offensive performance led the 'Boys to a 27-0 first quarter lead, which only went up through the night. 

  Will Marty opened up the game with his legs, scoring from ten yards out to go up 7-0.

Then, Terrell Dailey took it to the corner of the endzone on a 12 yard run later in teh quarter. After forcing a Wildcat turnover, the Cowboys struck fast, with a 51-yard TD pass to Dominic Vamosi on the first play. However, a failed snap and a tackle in the backfield on the extra point put the score at 20-0. Dailey scored again on the ground, this time from 10 yards out to put the score at 27-0 after one quarter. 

 In quarter 2, Marty scored again on the ground, on a 2 yard run  to put the score at 34-0. Soon after, backup QB Andrew Marty relieved his cousin and threw a 13 yard TD pass to Duke Brunke. This made the score 40-0 at half. 

 With no scoring in the 3rd quarter, the Cowboys defense got a score in the fourth when Justin Shields picked up a Wildcat fumble and returned it 23 yards. This was one of two fumbles by Finneytown, and 5 total turnovers. Parker Chalmers had a fumble recovery and INT on Friday, along with Ken Darlington and Elijah Kemper who both had interceptions. The Wildcats finally got on the board with a 76 yard TD run from Dante Goodwin. 

 The offense rolled through the Wildcat Defense, with 347 total yards and 202 through the air. Will Marty finished with 170 yards and 1 TD, and Andrew Marty finished with 32 yards and 1 TD. Dailey finished with 12 attempts for 78 yards and 2 TDs. The defense shined on Friday, forcing 5 turnovers and giving the offense more chances to score, as well as scoring themselves.

 In the final playoff projections, Wyoming comes in with the 8th seed, and will travel to Kettering Friday night to take on the one seeded Archbishop Alter Knights. Look for my preview of the playoff game later this week.