Prep Athlete of the Week: Beau Russell, Natrona

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Natrona and Central football teams found themselves in a razor thin contest back when they played each other in Week 2. The Mustangs edged it out 14-13, and the teams’ playoff opener set the stage for the rematch.

This time around, Natrona left with a much more definitive result, and Beau Russell was everywhere in their 14-3 victory over Central. He said on the offensive side, it was all about trusting his teammates.

”I just have full faith in our offensive line and our o-coordinators. It was just easy to trust them you know, and just follow our guys. I know [senior running back] Will Cantrell-- right before the second [score]-- was just [like] ‘follow me and we’ll get in’, and that’s exactly what we did,” Russell said.

Russell was responsible for both Mustangs touchdowns in the contest, punching it in from down around the goal line on each score. On the other side of the ball, he helped the defensive unit pitch a second half shutout and surrender just those three points throughout the contest.

In the 4A semifinal, East awaits Natrona. It’ll serve as a chance for the Mustangs to get revenge for a lopsided loss earlier this year and their playoff exit in the same round in 2022.

”We’re just all excited. We’re a lot better team than we were back then. I think a lot of us seniors for sure knew that that wasn’t our best game and we didn’t play to our capability. So we’re just excited to prove that we are a team that can compete with East,” Russell said.

Russell and the Mustangs are set to kick off against the T-Birds at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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