The Kemmerer Rangers didn’t have to travel far for this past Friday’s game but Cokeville has not exactly been a hospitable gridiron host over the years. That didn’t change this past week as the Panthers handled the Rangers to the tune of a 42-6 final score. 

“We played them really close through the first quarter, but had some big mistakes on special teams and couldn’t find offensive rhythm in the second,” replied head coach Bart Jernigan. “We left our defense out to hang on short fields and Cokeville took advantage to the tune of 28 points in the quarter. Cokeville, characteristically, didn’t make mistakes and capitalized well on ours. From that second quarter on we played competitively, but you can’t dig yourself such a hole and expect to beat a good team like Cokeville.” 

It was the 12th straight win in the series between the two regional schools according to Wyoming-football.com, although Kemmerer and Cokeville did not play each other between 1989 and 2016. However, now both schools are part of the 2A West conference and play annually. 

“Our takeaway from the game has to be that we have to find focus for 48 minutes on offense, defense, and special teams,” Jernigan added. “With a low player roster full of young players, the margins for error are smaller, so not being cued in for plays, series, and quarters puts us at a disadvantage. We have the capability to play with anyone as evidenced from stretches of other games, but we have to be more dialed in and focused for a full game to take the victory.”

It was the fifth straight loss for Kemmerer who started off the season with a victory over Moorcroft on a neutral field, but now stand at (1-5) overall and (0-5) in the conference. 

The Panthers improved to (3-3) overall and (3-2) in the conference. The Panthers now hit the road to face the Worland Warriors in a 6 p.m. start this Friday. 

Cokeville head coach Marty Linford also commented on the outing from the Panther perspective.

“I liked the way we fired off the ball and executed the game plan offensively and defensively,” he replied.  “I thought we threw the ball and caught it well. This Friday should be a good battle. They are big and athletic as always. We will look to improve this week. We especially need to tackle well.

• Hitting the Road 

Fresh off their shortest road game of the season, the Rangers will now log their longest as they make the trek to Lovell to face the Bulldogs (3-3)(3-2) this Friday.

“Against Lovell this week, we are going to have to be able to meet their size, physicality, and athleticism,” Jernigan concluded. “They do a lot of different things offensively and defensively, but at this point in the season, we have seen most of the tactics before, so hopefully we can execute against them. It’s about our growth this week and how we handle adversity. When we keep ourselves focused and keyed in, we can play with anyone. I’m looking forward to seeing these boys go out and playing together as a team this week.

Join Jim Thoeny on The Spur for audio of the game with a 5 p.m. scheduled kick-off. 

2A West
Mountain View (7-0(5-0)
Thermopolis (6-0)(5-0)
Cokeville (3-3)(3-2)
Lovell (3-3)(3-2)
Pinedale (3-3)(2-3)
Worland (2-4)(1-4)
Lyman (1-6)(1-4)
Kemmerer (1-5)(0-5)

2A East
Big Horn (6-0)(5-0)
Burns (6-1)(4-1)
Newcastle (4-2)(4-1)
Glenrock (2-4)(2-3)
Moorcroft (2-4)(2-3)
Upton-Sundance (2-4)(2-3)
Tongue River (1-6)(1-4)
Wheatland (0-7)(0-5)