East Football has a shot at revenge in the 4A State Championship
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - East and Sheridan have been on a collision course for the state championship this season, and that’s what it will be on Saturday for the second year in a row.
The Broncs have had the T-Birds number the last few meetings-- winning the 2022 title game and the regular season matchup this year. However, East has learned from their errors and have used those past results as fuel going into this contest.
“Minimizing our mistakes [is key]. I think we were just thinking too much about last year wanting to get back, and now we’re just ready to play again... It’s really motivated us, especially after the loss. I saw a lot of us going back to the weight room and hitting it really hard. Making sure we were ready for them again. We knew we were gonna see them again hopefully,” senior Kolbe Dierks said.
Sheridan left their meeting in Week 5 with a 44-37 victory. It was a close, competitive outing, and that’s what it should be again for all the marbles. East will have to contain the Broncs’ Dane Steel, who gave them problems all night last time. He compiled 224 yards from scrimmage, three rushing touchdowns, a receiving score, and took a kick return to the house-- but the T-Birds have shown all season they have the firepower to match.
Their 470 yards per game leads the second place Broncs by 91, East has scored 73 touchdowns to Sheridan’s 66, and average eight more first downs per game as well. The T-Birds defense also allows the lowest yards per game total at 232, however Sheridan leads the conference in rush defense (95 YPG), touchdowns allowed (16), and turnovers forced (32).
For East, it will be an emotional game facing the team that crushed their title hopes last year, but they have meticulously prepared and will lean on that to try and become champs once again.
”You know, we’ve worked towards this game scouting, doing all sorts of things. We know it will be different this time around, and we’re gonna make mistakes. You know, they’re a good team, but we’re just trying to limit those mistakes and make plays,” senior Nathan Mirich said.
“You know emotions are emotions, and everyone deals with their emotions a little bit different. We talked about what our mindset is, and it’s gonna be the same mindset we’ve had all year. It’s just worrying about us and the things that we can control, and that’s the goal,” head coach Chad Goff said.
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
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