The Wyoming Cowboys are a growing team, as well as a young team. The Pokes, last time they faced the Frogs in Laramie, were beaten 45-10, and last year suffered a 45-0 loss to the Frogs as well. This year the outcome was much different between the two teams. The Horned Frogs got on the board first when running back Matthew Tucker took the ball in on a 5 yard carry. The Cowboys would respond back later in the quarter when WR Josh Doctson caught a 7 yard pass from QB Brett Smith to even the score at 7. Freshman kicker Daniel Sullivan continued to build his confidence by booting a field goal from 33 yards to put the Cowboys up 10-7. The second quarter featured more scoring from the teams as the Frogs ended up on the score board twice via a field goal and a touchdown from Ed Wesley. The Pokes put a touchdown in right before halftime as Mazi Ogbonna caught a TD from 18 yards out.
The second half wasn’t as friendly to the Cowboys as they were only able to get onto the scoreboard once. The Frogs settled into their offense as the weather began to worsen. The Frogs went on to rush for over 400 yards and scored two more rushing touchdowns. Freshman kicker Daniel Sullivan hit his career long as a Cowboy by kicking a field goal from 48 yards, the only Cowboys score in the 2nd half. The final score of this game ended 31-20. The Frogs had over 600 yards of total offense, while holding the Cowboys to 353 yards.
Freshman quarterback Brett Smith had a rough game as he was hit repeatedly, some not so honest, by linebacker Tank Carder, who will presumably be playing in the NFL next year. Brett Smith took a blow to the helmet from Carder that eventually knocked him out of the game. Smith fought to come back into the game but was held out by trainers for his safety. Transfer quarterback Colby Kirkegaard finished the game for the Cowboys. Carder wasn’t flagged for any hits.
The Cowboys will move past this game and prepare for a road trip down I-25 to face the Air Force Falcons. The Falcons have had an up and down year, but have recently secured their second straight Commander-In-Chief trophy with a victory over Army this past weekend. The Falcons are 5-4 on the season and are led by senior quarterback Tim Jefferson. The Pokes have not beaten the Falcons since 2005, but most of the games in recent memory have been decided by less than 10 points. The games always seem to be hard fought battles. The game will kickoff at 12:00pm from Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs.
Go Pokes!