Dynamic offense, stingy defense leads East past Thunder Basin

Sep. 8—CHEYENNE — Cheyenne East's offensive prowess was on full display in a 52-7 blowout win over third-ranked Thunder Basin on Friday night.

The Thunderbirds (3-0) put on a masterful performance in the first half, scoring all 52 of their points in the opening two quarters to come away with the victory.

"Kids just executed," East coach Chad Goff said. "The offensive line gave (Cam Hayes) so much time to throw, and he read things right. (The receivers) made good catches and good blocks.

"... It felt like we went 1-0."

Senior quarterback Hayes lit up the Bolts (2-1) defense in the first half. In just two quarters, he completed 20 of his 23 passes for 308 yards and four passing touchdowns. He also rushed for 31 yards and a score. Hayes didn't throw an incomplete pass until the final two minutes of the half and connected on his first 18 passes.

"Cam is a great quarterback," junior linebacker Wyatt Dean said. "There is only one Cam. Personally, I think he's the best quarterback in (Class) 4A."

East opened the game with a quick seven-play drive that ended with a seven-yard pass from Hayes to Renton Jensen. East went on to score on its next five drives, running the score up to 42-0 before the run was eventually stopped.

Drew Jackson accounted for two of Hayes' five touchdown completions. Both came on short passes that Jackson broke for long touchdowns. He also had a 24-yard rushing touchdown midway through the second quarter and accounted for 186 yards of total offense in the first half.

Nathan Mirich and Renton Jensen rounded out the scoring for the T-Birds. Mirich scored on a 36-yard touchdown pass on East's second drive of the game. Jensen added a 14-yard rushing touchdown after his opening-drive score.

But it wasn't just the offense getting things done for the T-Birds. Entering the contest, Thunder Basin's offense was the top-ranked attack in the state, averaging 486 yards and 56 points per game.

The T-Birds knew this and came into the game with a solid game plan. It centered around keeping the Bolts' rushing attack at bay, and limiting star quarterback Alonso Aguilar's damage in the passing game. Above all, Goff preached execution and sticking to assignments throughout the week.

"They are really run heavy, which is what we saw on film," said Dean, who had a pair of interceptions on the night. "They're really fast. We had to get a lot of outside contain, which we were really excited for as outside backers because of our job."

The plan worked. East's defense held Thunder Basin to just 97 total yards in the first half and no points. They also held Aguilar to just 48 yards on 5-of-19 passing. By the time Thunder Basin was able to score its first touchdown of the game midway through the third quarter, it was too late.

"(We were) playing assignment football and doing what (we) are supposed to do," Goff said. "When you do that, good things come to you, and good things are coming to the guys that are doing what they are supposed to do. They are executing what was called.

"... It was, 'Do your job and see what happens.' When everyone is doing that, good things happen."

East will be on the road next week and will visit the Laramie Plainsmen. The Plainsmen are coming off a 58-7 loss to reigning state champion Sheridan.

EAST 52, THUNDER BASIN 7

Thunder Basin...... 0 0 7 0 — 7

Cheyenne East...... 35 17 0 0 — 52

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

CE: Jensen 7 pass from Hayes (Bohlmann kick), 9:31

CE: Mirich 36 pass from Hayes (Bohlmann kick), 7:23

CE: Hayes 7 rush (Bohlmann kick), 5:32

CE: Jensen 14 rush (Bohlmann kick), 3:22

CE: Jackson 29 pass from Hayes (Bohlmann kick), 2:48

Second Quarter

CE: Jackson 29 pass from Hayes (Bohlmann kick), 8:24

CE: Jackson 29 rush (Bohlmann kick), 5:01

CE: Bohlmann 28 kick, 1:37

Third Quarter

TBHS: Avilla 14 pass from Hudson (Kaplan kick), 8:10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Thunder Basin: P. Hatzenbuhler 23-162, A. Aguilar 5-13, H. Hudson 3-2, Q. Kaplin 1-(minus-3). Cheyenne East: D. Jackson 5-53, C. Hayes 6-31, R. Jensen 1-14, N. Horton 3-(minus-8).

Passing

TBHS: A. Aguilar 5-19-2 48. Cheyenne East: C. Hayes 20-23-0 308, N. Horton 4-7-1 52.

Receiving

TBHS: L. Scalise 4-42, B. Edwards 1-(minus-1), P. Hatzenbuhler 1-13, A. Alvia 2-18. Cheyenne East: R. Jensen 4-30, D. Hondel 2-22, N. Mirich 62, D. Jackson 7-128, Bohlmann 2-38, N. Hortan 1-23, A Ricardo 1-34, C. Hassler 3-18.

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Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @MattAtencio5.