By Alex Kuhn
Sports Editor
Banged up Pioneers prepare for Huskies
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TEN SLEEP — Ten Sleep High School football lost their first game of the season in unusual fashion Saturday afternoon to the St. Stephens Eagles in St. Stephens.
The game, a 49-32 loss to the Eagles, was called at halftime due to Ten Sleep’s rash of injuries. The already short on depth Pioneers, who in the week before played an entire game with six players and no injuries, lost a player to a dislocated shoulder, one to a dislocated knee, another to a concussion and the other to a severe groin pull, all in the in the span of one quarter.
“We lost half our players to injury and we had to make the call,” said coach Jake Zent, “We were down to our fourth-string freshman quarterback. Basically it came down to preserving the rest of the season and at halftime we called the game, so we can try to get healthy again.”
Before the injuries hit Ten Sleep in full force, the Pioneers were leading the Eagles by two going into the second quarter. “Honestly it was the worst luck I’ve ever had in a game. I’ve gone seasons and not had this many injuries before,” said coach Zent. “We were up by two when the injuries started happening and because of our lack of depth it’s hard to keep it going when you have a limited number of kids who know the different positions.”
“This week we’re going to be down a couple of kids so we’re trying to cross-train and teach the kids as much as we they can manage, just to get through the game. I’m really proud of this group and how they’ve persevered this week and during the game against St. Stephens. It’s a long season, the process of building a team requires you to look down the road and not always look at the exact moment you’re in,” said coach Zent.
This week the Pioneers will be at home as they prepare for the visiting Burlington Huskies in a 2 p.m. showdown on Saturday. Coach Zent had high praise for the Huskies. “They’re a very fast, disciplined team that has numbers. They’re doing a really good job for their first year in 6-man. Last week they got beat by really good Farson team. You can tell they’re learning at an accelerated rate and they’re getting the hang of the game, so they’re going to be a tough team this week,” said coach Zent.
