Warriors roll to homecoming win over Rawlins

WORLAND — The Worland Warriors took care of business in their homecoming game against Rawlins as they cruised to their third-straight victory.

The Warriors (3-2, 2-0 in 3A East) defeated the Rawlins Outlaws (0-6) 49-7 on Oct. 1 at Worland High School.

“We set some goals and didn’t want to underestimate Rawlins because they’ve been getting better every week,” said WHS football coach Patrick Sweeney. “We wanted to work on our in-between-the-tackles run game, and I felt we got better at that. We also wanted to make sure we went out and respected them. I felt that we did that. We didn’t relax or take plays off when we could have. Then we also wanted to work on our pass coverage, and I felt we did all of those things and improved in each area.”

There was no overlooking the Outlaws from the Warriors. The team took care of business from kickoff until the clock hit zeros.

Save for one mix-up in the secondary that led to a touchdown, the Warrior defense held the Outlaws in check all game. Rawlins rarely made it to midfield, let alone the red zone. Rawlins only totaled 169 yards of total offense and was held to -28 yards rushing.

The Warriors offense was just as dominant, as they amassed 163 yards rushing and four touchdowns, and 236 yards passing and three touchdowns. Before the game, the Warriors set a goal of rushing for over 150 yards.

Senior running back Aaron Carver led the team in rushing with 107 yards on 11 carries. Junior quarterback Kade Weber led Worland with three rushing touchdowns, and receiver Brock Douzenis chipped in the other.

Douzenis was the Warriors leading receiver with seven receptions for 71 yards and a TD. Jorey Anderson (four receptions for 61 yards) and Carter Clark (four receptions for 41 yards) had a TD each.

“We wanted the line to give him a chance. It was nice to see Aaron run through some blitzing backers and run through the seven, eight-man boxes they showed us. We wanted to build that confidence and show that if teams want to stack the box, we can get it blocked and run the ball,” said Sweeney. “It was good, our goal was 150 yards rushing, and we got that accomplished.”

Late in the game, the Warriors JV players got to see the varsity field for a few possessions on both sides of the ball.

Warrior Wyatt Dickinson got the Worland crowd fired up with two interceptions.

“It’s good that we got to get those guys sometime out there. We challenged them to see what they could do and how they would execute against a varsity opponent. It’s another measuring sticking for a Warrior transitional player and seeing if they’re growing.

“We’ve seen Wyatt grow. He’s such an effort kid in practice and has been really important to the kids coming up. It was cool to see all his hard work pay off. He’s done what we’ve asked, he’s never complained and is always excited for the opportunity. It was just awesome to see that pay off,” said Sweeney.

After a two-game homestand, the Warriors head over the mountain to take on the Buffalo Bison on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Bison are 4-1 on the season, with their only loss coming against Cody. They’ve beaten 2A Newcastle and 3A Green River, Rawlins and Riverton. They have the sixth-ranked defense in 3A, allowing 267.2 yards per game. They also have the fourth-ranked offense in 3A with 323 yards per game.

If the Warriors leave Buffalo with a win, they’ll have the inside track for a top seed for the 3A State playoffs and host at least one playoff game.

“We’re going to play a tough team and a team that’s on a roll right now. We’ve got to respect them and approach practice with a high-energy and high-focus mentality. Maybe we’ll find a new field to practice on to be a little bit uncomfortable, just find ways to get ready to go over the mountain,” said Sweeney.