LHS football not fazed by opening day festivities against Natrona

Aug. 25—The Laramie Plainsmen varsity football team will open the season Friday at 7 p.m. against Natrona County in Casper.

The Mustangs are celebrating senior night, and there will be pre-game festivities, which pushed the game back from the normal 6 p.m. start time. This will be the only game this season where the Plainsmen start at a time other than 6 p.m.

LHS head coach Paul Ronga thinks his team is prepared for the atmosphere. They are preparing for this game as they would any other game.

"Whenever we're on the road, we're always someone's homecoming or senior night and there is something going on for this game," Ronga said. "So, we're used to this. We're trying to improve how we travel. We have guys in travel shirts this year, so we look like one. We are going to be more focused when we get out of the classroom, on the bus and in the locker rooms."

Friday is the first full-length school day of the year for LHS students. Players will attend about 75% of the school day and be dismissed at 12:40 p.m. to gather and leave for Casper.

In addition to the bus of players, the Plainsmen will travel with a support vehicle with a trailer of equipment attached. Ronga will try to balance focus and relaxing during the 2 1/2 -hour drive.

"I'm really big on focusing, and I'm very serious in taking your role in representing Laramie High School seriously," Ronga said. "You know, we fly that flag, we carry that banner, and we wear those colors."

Everyone will get their first official look at the Plainsmen's new offense, with junior Fisher Frude at quarterback. Frude, a captain for the Plainsmen, has taken the majority of first team reps in practice.

"He's a huge part of our program this year," Ronga said. "The stage is set for him this year and next year going into his senior season."

Laramie's offense will be centered around the running game. It has a two-headed rushing attack in seniors Porter Trabing and Dakota Ledford.

Trabing has held the position down for LHS the past two seasons, and continues to be a leader for the Plainsmen. He also plays safety, and is one of the key communicators on the defensive side of the ball.

Ledford also shines on both sides of the ball. He was one of the leading tacklers and pass rushers for Laramie last season. He originally played wide receiver for the Plainsmen before Ronga moved him to running back, and he regularly found holes in the Maroon-vs.-White intrasquad contest on Aug. 18. Ronga said he isn't sure how the snaps will be split, but both players will be heavily involved.

The Mustangs are replacing a strong senior class, fielding an entirely new offensive and defensive line, and replacing their two-year starting quarterback, Wyatt Powell, top two rushers from a season ago and top four leading receivers, according to the Casper Star-Tribune. Despite this, Ronga has his team prepared for an opponent they expect to be one of the best in the conference.

"Each year, they are at the top for a reason," Ronga said. "They have excellent coaching, excellent personal and transition from seniors moving out. They're just excellent in everything they do, and we expect a stacked Natrona team."

The Plainsmen feel they have a good idea of what Natrona will look like on the field. Mustangs head coach Steve Harshman has an established formula of success. He enters his 33rd season at the helm of Natrona County football.

"A lot of their offense is forcing you to commit to the run and then beat you over the top with play-action," Ronga said. "Things start to manifest for them through that. Most notably, disguising their tight end and finding him open when you're committed to stopping the run.

"Defensively, they're kind of vanilla," Ronga said. "They like cover 3, they have very sound tacklers, and they fill all their gaps. They basically wait for their opponent to implode. They're also very good on special teams, and often win the field position battle due to sound kicks and returns. They present a lot of obstacles."

For Laramie, it is aware that the number one thing it must do to give itself the best chance at victory is avoiding penalties. The Plainsmen can't afford to beat themselves against a team as sound as Natrona.

"We have to avoid penalties, especially offensively," Ronga said. "We were just running through a script yesterday, and what we thought was a 20-yard gain ended up being a 10-yard loss. Defensively, we have to avoid giving up explosive plays. Those are our two biggest areas of concern."

Austin Edmonds covers Laramie High, University of Wyoming and community athletics for WyoSports. He can be reached at aedmonds@wyosports.net. Follow him on X at @_austinedmonds.