Bobcats finish season in hard fought game against Bulldogs

The Thermopolis Varsity football team saw their season come to an end, in a well-attended, and hard-fought game played in Lovell this past Friday

night. Coming into the game, the Bobcats needed to win by a margin of greater than five, in order to see their way into the post-season.

Those who are audiophiles - and of a certain age – may recall that Lovell, Wyoming is the birthplace of one Richard Kermode, the keyboardist for the 70s rock band “Malo,” whose one big hit was a song called “Suavecito.” While the game may have been “smooth” for the Bulldogs, the outcome was, most definitely, “bad” for the Cats.

The Bobcats finished the year at 2-4 in the Conference, and 2-7 overall. The end of the season schedule proved too much for the home team, leaving the good guys facing three very good teams in Lyman, Cokeville and Lovell – all of whom made it into the post-season.

The Cats held tough in the first half – matching the Bulldogs in both quality of play, and scoring opportunities. The half ended with Thermopolis down by just 8 points, with a score of 13 to 21.

The Bulldogs opened the second half, with a flee licker pass, setting up a first and 10 at the Thermopolis 15 yard line. From there, the Bulldogs went on the offensive, scoring 19 additional points. The contest finished with Thermopolis showing 13 on the scoreboard, and Lovell 40.

While the Cats suffered a string of uncharacteristic turnovers at Cokeville last week, Friday night there were no give aways, and the team held onto the ball with their usual form. After the game, Coach Boone Bowker stated, “We started well. We needed to bring it on offense. We needed to attack and be physical, and we did that.”

Coach Bowker said he was very proud of the senior players, who had “laid the foundation for what will come to be in the future.” “People talk about ‘culture,’ but that’s just a word, unless you do something with it. This team has great culture.”

Coach also said he was grateful to the team’s Managers, Austin Slagle, Ben Weaver, Charlee Slagle and Chloee Owsley, without whom the team could never compete. “I’m already counting the days to next season.”

“Play of the Game” went to linebacker, Mason Reese, with an interception on a trick play from Lovell - a shuttle-pass - in the fourth quarter.

“Player of the Game” went to running back, Zane Stam, with 155 yards on 21 carries in the game.