Football season underway

Jack Nowlin, Sports Editor

Casper Star-Tribune

Boone Bowker was ready to come home.

After spending three years (2018-20) as the head football coach at Gordon-Rushville High School in Gordon, Nebraska, Bowker felt the urge to return to Wyoming.

“I missed the mountains,” said Bowker, who grew up in Big Piney. “I was tired of staring at corn.”

Bowker got his chance two years ago, accepting an assistant coaching position at Thermopolis. And when Matt McPhie stepped down after serving as the Bobcats’ head coach for seven seasons (2016-22), Bowker was elevated to the top spot.

“I was just looking for an opportunity to get back to Wyoming because there’s no better place to raise your kids,” Bowker said of moving back to the state two years ago. “When the job opened up in Thermopolis I knew it was a place where I could see myself raising a family.”

Now the former Black Hills State University defensive lineman is tasked with steering the program in the right direction. Thermopolis went 20-40 overall and had just one playoff victory under McPhie.

The Bobcats return five starters on both sides of the ball, but have to replace their starting quarterback, top two rushers and leading defender. With just four seniors on the roster, Bowker will be counting on juniors and sophomores to play a majority of the snaps this season.

Bowker got his first look at the Bobcats in action this past Friday when they hosted Worland in a scrimmage. He said the early results were both good and bad.

“Offensively, we kind of struggled,” he said. “We have a new quarterback and a new system, so guys are still kind of feeling it out and not real confident in it yet.

“But defensively we played lights out and didn’t give up a touchdown. Worland scored on a pick-six and then they scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the JV.”

Thermopolis rotated sophomores Armani Dukes and Stone Pebbles at quarterback. Bowker will name one of them the starter ahead of the season opener Friday at Tongue River (6 p.m. kickoff).

“Both have their strengths and both have their weaknesses,” Bowker said. “With our option system one of them is a little better at that and the other is a little better at throwing the ball. If we could just put them together it would be great.”

Junior running back Zane Stam is expected to get the majority of carries this season after playing on the offensive line last year at 145 pounds.

“We got some more size this year so we moved him back to running back,” Bowker noted. “He has been phenomenal there and at inside linebacker leading that defense. He’s super aggressive and the other guys look up to him.”

Bowker also is counting on junior Del Dukes – who led the Bobcats with 39 catches for 806 yards and six touchdowns last season – and senior Jessen Basse – who was fourth in defensive points – to be playmakers for the Bobcats.

“Jessen plays outside ‘backer on defense and doesn’t really have a home on offense yet,” the head coach said. “But he’s super reliable and a sure tackler and we know he’s going to do his job.

“And Del Dukes is not the fastest receiver but he’s smooth and athletic. He’s our big-play guy.”

Up front, Thermopolis will count on seniors Mason Reese and Jarek Jeffs, junior Logan Dafoe and sophomore James Whitt to open holes for Stam and provide protection for both Armani Dukes and Pebbles.

Bowker said he’ll rely on Dafoe and Brody Sorensen to “take charge” of the group.

“What our (offensive) linemen have going for them is they’re smart and they’re picking up their assignments pretty quick,” Bowker said. “They know what they’re supposed to do but they don’t quite trust it yet. We’re still mixing things around to find the perfect combination.

“I thought the defensive line played outstanding against Worland,” he added. “They held their gaps, caused chaos in the backfield and opened things up for our linebackers to play. They still need a lot of work, but I could see the defensive line definitely being a strong suit for us.”

The Bobcats will be tested Friday against Tongue River . The Eagles, who defeated the Sheridan JV 45-12 in their season opener, finished 8-2 last season, including a 49-6 victory at Thermopolis. They lost to Cokeville in the 2A quarterfinals.

“Tongue River is a great team with a lot of talent,” Boker admitted. “If we can slow them down defensively and put something together on offense that will be a huge accomplishment.”

The Bobcats then host Kemmerer on Sept. 8 in their West Conference opener, followed by games at Mountain View on Sept. 15; at Rich County, Utah, on Sept. 22; home against Pinedale on Sept. 29; home against Lyman on Oct. 6; at Cokeville on Oct. 13; and close the regular season at Lovell, which has advanced to the past two 2A state championship games, on Oct. 20.

If things break right for Thermopolis, they would play a state quarterfinal game on Oct. 27. But Bowker knows the Bobcats have their work cut out for them in the tough 2A West.

“Growing up in Big Piney I played against all these teams,” he said. “This gives me another opportunity to compete against these teams and try to beat them.

“As the season progresses, I want to see us get more confident in what we’re doing. I want to see the players trust in their abilities and not just accepting defeat. This program is used to losing. They’re content with it; they’re OK with it. It doesn’t bug ‘em and I want it to bug ‘em.

“Each week I want to see them trust each other more, get more confident and start believing that we can be competitive.”

The Bobcats haven’t had a winning season since going 6-4 in 2013 and haven’t won a state championship since winning back-to-back Class 2A titles in 2009-10.

Bowker know the Bobcats aren’t at that level yet, but he’s seen some encouraging signs to begin the season.

“I saw some kids that I didn’t think would be vocal leaders start stepping up and encouraging their teammates,” he said. “We’re starting to figure out how to be a team, and I saw that in Week Zero, which is impressive to see.”