Even after all the players walked off Cheney Alumni Field, the annual homecoming bonfire had burned itself out and the dance music began across the street, the scoreboard inside Mustangs Stadium proudly beamed Friday night's 38-35 final.
Over three hours after the opening kickoff, Natrona County finally escaped with a double-overtime victory over Cheyenne East. It was as much a chess match as a shootout. It featured costly mistakes, big plays, defensive stops, heart-stopping close-calls and euphoric highs.
No moment came higher than junior Ben Hoppens' 27-yard field goal to not only win the game but right, what he thought, was his downfall.
"Last year I actually lost the East game for us and I had it in the back of my mind," Hoppens said. "But everybody said, 'You got this. We believe in you.' If it wasn't for my team I don't know if I would have been able to do it."
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He was referring to his would-be 46-yard field goal into the wind that fell short at Okie Blanchard Stadium last season. Coupled with his pair of missed field goals earlier Friday, that made him 0-for-3 against East. With that history, and the fragments of the flu, he still told coaches they didn't have to run an offensive play in the second overtime. He could hit that field goal and end the game right there.
Hoppens converted on the Mustangs' first play of double-overtime. On the previous play, junior Nolan Valdez earned Natrona County's first interception of East quarterback Graedyn Buell on his 42nd attempt of the night. That came after Buell found senior teammate Chance Aumiller for their fifth touchdown connection of the night, offsetting Harrison Taubert's touchdown pass to Roman Overstreet that started overtime.
Taubert threw for four touchdowns to three different receivers, including two passes of over 50 yards, to offset the injury absence of Super 25 running back Dante Wallace. The junior had used his feet to spark the Mustangs' game-winning drive against East in the semifinals 330 days earlier and replicated that success with his arm on Friday.
Then there was Wilsk Jackson, who had an exciting kickoff return for a touchdown called back a quarter after he burst through the defense for a 51-yard touchdown run. There was also the offensive line that protected Taubert on rollouts and opened running lanes. Together, they helped an offense move with more consistency against a top-caliber defense than it did weeks earlier at Sheridan.
"Dozes of stories of kids who really took the next step," Natrona County head coach Steve Harshman said. "We kind of pulled together. We took a big step forward in a lot of areas."
Perhaps the more stunning aspect of Natrona County's win came on defense. Faced against the most potent offense in the state, the Mustangs pressured Buell and came away with fourth-down stops and that crucial interception. Unofficially, Buell finished with 393 yards, which, according to wyoming-football.com is the seventh-most yards in a single game in Wyoming high school football history. Aumiller's 237 yards gave him the fifth-most prolific receiving game in history. And yet East walked away on the wrong end of Friday's battle.
Natrona County coaches preached fundamentals to their players in practice. Fundamentals like staying true to their assignments. A long interception return from Jackson Hesford put East in prime field goal position in the final 2 minutes of regulation. East was held to a failed fourth-down conversion, however, because of a 17-yard sack by senior Johnathan True, who stayed home waiting for Buell to spin back his direction after being chased by the opposite-side Mustang defenders.
"Get to the next play and we'll win this thing," True explained. "You're not thinking about anything except doing the next play and keeping the fundamentals down."
Harshman mentioned post-game that games like that improved both teams. East had the fortitude to rally from a 14-point deficit and answered adversity multiple times. Natrona County showed the resilience to always put another foot forward. Like when Buell found Aumiller on fourth and goal in the first overtime. The Mustangs held for three straight plays before that one silenced the homecoming crowd. But instead of capitulating, they came back on the next play and Valdez made the interception to give Natrona County the ball and allow Hoppens to make the winning field goal.
Hoppens, having faced his own adversity, kicked the ball like he was aiming for Casper Mountain. That brought his teammates, coaches, and the homecoming crowd onto the field for the intense celebration.
"Proud of our guys, our coaches, and our whole student body," Harshman said. "It's really been a great night people won't soon forget."
That emotional high lasted the night and into Saturday, before the Mustangs faced their new test -- at No. 1 Thunder Basin next week.