Bobcats take charge of their playoff destiny with 34-20 victory over No. 5 Moorcroft

HSCHS prepares to host No. 1 Glenrock Friday at 7 p.m.

By Alex Kuhn

Sports Editor

THERMOPOLIS - Friday night's game against the Moorcroft Wolves was not a must-win game for the Hot Springs County High School football team, in terms of making the playoffs, but if they dropped another 2A East conference game. It would greatly shrink their margin of error for making the playoffs.

With that in mind, not only did the Bobcats (2-3) rise to the occasion to take down the No. 5-ranked Wolves (3-2), 34-20, but they snapped their three-game skid; gaining prime footing in the 2A East playoff race.

"It was a really big win and we were on a three-game losing streak. In those three games we've been in them and faced some adversity. The win was important for our boys and I think the overwhelming feeling from the staff was none of our boys panicked. There was no finger pointing, they really stuck to the game plan and bought in to what we asked them to do. And in the end it was enough to get the win," said HSCHS football coach Matt McPhie.

The keys to the Bobcats victory Friday was a quick start and effective ground game. Bobcat junior Chandler Maddock ran for 206 yards and scored all five of the Bobcats touchdowns against the best rushing defense in 2A.

Until running into the 'Cats, the Wolves had only allowed 61.3 yards per game and only one rushing touchdown.

"We got off to a good start and offensively we scored some points. Give a lot of credit to Moorcroft they're a relentless football team, they came back and played tough. We were able to establish the run late in the game in the third quarter. We had great effort from our running backs Chandler Maddock and Logan Cole," said McPhie.

Defensively, the 'Cats shut down the 2A's second best running unit holding them to 140 yards on the ground, well under their average of 251 yards per game. While the Bobcats contained the Wolves on the ground they did give up big plays through the air, something McPhie said they will address in practice.

"We did a good job of slowing their run down. They rushed for 140 yards. We did give up big plays through the air, and I spoke about that after the Wheatland loss, that's an area we have to get better in. Overall, it was a good team effort. We did get some timely stops late in the game and it was good for the kids to get a win during homecoming," said McPhie.

While there are no stats for physicality, McPhie felt his team's physical play on both sides of the ball paved the way for their victory.

"The physicality across the board, Moorcroft is a tough football team and they play to the whistle. Our boys have done a pretty good job of that this year, but Friday they took a step up in their physicality. Our offensive line got better as the night went along, which doesn't happen all the time, but it was a testament to their toughness. Defensively, it was truly a team effort and we got 10-11 guys to every play. Those things don't show up on the stat sheets but our overall physicality improved this week," said McPhie.

The 'Cats are now 1-1 in the 2A East conference and with games against Glenrock, Burns and Newcastle, they only need to win one of the three to clinch a playoff spot.

The motto for the Bobcats this season has been "keep choppin" as they look to improve each week and eventually chop a "big tree down." Friday's game, senior night, against the No. 1 Glenrock Herders will bring the Bobcats their toughest test and "biggest tree" in their schedule this season.

"We watched film and I've told them I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the night Friday. It's about getting lost in the process and continuing to chop. Obviously, we play the game and want to win, but the goal still remains the same. We want to become better week in and week out. We control our own destiny in the playoff picture now.

"Regardless of what happens Friday night we have a very tough opponent, it's no secret that Glenrock is the No. 1 team in the state. But we've played some common opponents and we feel like we belong on the field with them Friday night and we're going to go out and do the best we can," said McPhie.

The Bobcats kickoff against the Herders Friday at 7 p.m.