For the first time in three weeks, the Laramie Plainsmen are on the road. They make the trek to Casper to play the Kelly Walsh Trojans on Friday night.

This will be the second straight season that LHS plays KW in Casper after last year’s home game was forced to the Oil City due to haze from a wildfire west of Laramie.

The game starts at 6 p.m. and can be heard on KOWB radio in Laramie or anywhere with the KOWB app.

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Laramie (0-4) enters tonight’s game off a 49-8 loss at home last week versus No. 4 Cheyenne East.

Kelly Walsh (2-2) has dropped their last two games against No. 2 Rock Springs and last week against No. 5 Natrona County, 42-7. The Trojans did not have their best player, all-state running back Cam Burkett against the Tigers. He was limited last week by the Mustangs.

Plainsmen head coach Paul Ronga said Kelly Walsh is probably the most unusual team in the league with how they play offense and defense.

“Offensively, they do something that not many teams do anymore, which is they run an option. They’ve got wings going in motion, and then they reverse their motion, and then they might have a pitch, and of course, the pass off of it. That presents multiple issues for us.”

Ronga said they’ve tried to rep it in practice as best they can.

Defensively, Ronga said they are a 3-man front, which is something Laramie went against last week versus Cheyenne East.

“They have four true linebackers, but what they do is bring linebackers up, and so we have to be able to counter that and be able to account for them on the perimeter if we try and go outside (with our run game or a rollout).

Ronga also mentioned the Trojans’ big splits on offense along the line. Overall, he said it’s very a difficult team to prepare to play.

To adjust, Ronga added, “We’ve made a bit of a hybrid of our defense. As a result, we now have a guy on the quarterback, and a guy on the pitch, so we’ve made an adjustment there. For us on offense, we’re looking to get an extra blocker to account for that outside linebacker coming up and giving us a four or five-man front.”

The match-up is a tough one for LHS.

Kelly Walsh features a ground attack that averages 183 yards per game. The Plainsmen allow 255 yards per game and seven yards per attempt on the ground. The two teams rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in total defense, but the Trojans allow 75 fewer yards and 20 fewer points per game.

Tonight’s game will be the 46th in the series. Kelly Walsh has won four of the last five.

The game starts at 6 p.m. KOWB radio will provide live coverage starting at 5 p.m. with David Settle and Aaron Lozano on the call. You can listen on your radio at AM 1290, or take the game anywhere with the KOWB app. You can also listen online or through smart speakers.

University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert GagliardiJared NewlandRyan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

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