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In a game that didn’t add up on paper, it really added up to be quite the contest on the field at Harry Geldien Stadium at Kelly Walsh High School as the Gillette Camels held on for a 30-23 win over the Trojans.
In a game that was supposed to be a mismatch, Kelly Walsh head coach Jon Vance really had his team prepared to take on the unbeaten Camels.
Gillette got things started early in the first quarter when Kade Wasson connected with Taylor Bigelow on a 67-yard touchdown pass to put them ahead 7-0 with 10:37 to go in the first quarter.
Kelly Walsh responded less than four minutes later as Trojan quarterback Jacob Tapp tossed a beautiful fade route to Terry Jackson. After the missed extra point, Gillette’s lead was down to 7-6.
After Casey Keith intercepted a pass from Wasson late in the first quarter, the Trojans would grab their first lead of the season when Tanner Fischer connected on a 33-yard field goal with just 8-seconds gone in the second quarter.
Gillette reclaimed the lead on a 2-yard touchdown dive by Taylor Bigelow. After the missed extra point, Gillette led 13-9.
The Camels would once again be knocking on the Trojan’s doorstep when Kelly Walsh came up with a crucial fourth down stop on their own one-yard line to keep the Camels out of the end zone.
Gillette added their final points of the first half on Tanner Moser’s career long 43-yard field goal with no time on the clock.
Gillette went in to the locker room up 16-9 at the half.
In the third quarter, Kade Wasson was picked off for the second time in the game. This time, Terry Jackson would take it back for a touchdown to even the game up at 16.
With 3:20 left in the third quarter, Connor Dewine pounced on a Trojan fumble, and with 48-seconds to play in the third quarter, the Camels were able to capitalize on the fumble recovery as Tichun Aipperspach scored his first varsity touchdown from four yards out to put the Camels ahead for good.
Aipperspach then gave the Camels their largest lead of the game when he scored on a five-yard touchdown run with 7:46 left to play in the game.
Kelly Walsh gave it their all as they put together a 7:31 drive, which culminated in a 12-yard touchdown pass from Happ to Jackson with just 0:15 seconds remaining in the game.
The Trojans recovered the subsequent onside kick but they were unable to capitalize as Nathan Driver intercepted the Hail Mary pass by Happ as time expired.
Nick Bazemore went down early with an apparent ankle injury, and he was not much of a factor during the rest of the game. Although the full extent of Bazemore’s injury is unknown, assistant head coach Jason Gill seemed to think Bazemore would be ready for their next game against Laramie.
In the meantime, Taylor Bigelow stepped in and didn’t miss a beat as Bazemore’s replacement. Bigelow finished with 149 yards on the ground and 1 touchdown while catching 4 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Kade Wasson finished the game with 147 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions.
As a team, the Camels rushed for 274 yards, which is below their season average of 312 yards per game.
Next up for Gillette, they will once again put their unbeaten mark on the line when the Plainsmen come to town on Friday, September 23. Laramie is coming off their second consecutive win as they took down Cheyenne South 56-6 at Bison Field.
Don’t miss a minute of the action, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the Shell Food Mart pregame show on your first choice for Camel football 97.3 KAML-FM and online at http://www.network1sports.com/station/kaml#menus
Other final scores from 4A football include Cheyenne East’s 21-14 victory over Central in the Capital Bowl, Natrona County remains unbeaten after shutting out Rock Springs 43-0, and Sheridan hung on to beat Evanston 42-35.
In other scores around Northeastern Wyoming, Upton beat NSI 14-8, Pine Bluffs shut out Sundance 20-0, Buffalo needed overtime to take down number one Green River 17-14, and Wright lost their third game of the season 31-0 to Big Horn.
All statistics are unofficial.
