Hanna whips Longhorns

The Meeteetse Longhorns came to Hanna to wrest a playoff game from the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) High School football team, but the Miners were having none of it.

The weather was unseasonably cold, with winds making the air that much more chilled.

The field had been cleared, but there was still remnants of the several inches of snow that had come the days before.

"I would really like to thank the groundskeeper for getting the field ready, because there was a foot plus out there," Head Football

Coach Zach Scott said. "Harold Phillips worked hard to get our field in shape and I really appreciate it."

Scott acknowledged the weather made it hard for both his team and the Longhorns.

"The field, the weather all had a bit of say in the game," Scott said. "But both teams had to play in it, and it was a matter of who played better in it and our boys overcame the obstacles."

It was true the Longhorns had some trouble in the first quarter hanging onto the ball the first several times and the Miners were able to capitalize on the turnovers, scoring on four of them.

The Longhorns were not scoreless in the first quarter, but the Miners were the winners going into the second quarter as the score was 32-8. On a turnover in the first few seconds of the second quarter, the Longhorns capitalized by scoring. Now the score was 32-16 and the Longhorns were feeling some momentum.

The Longhorns threatened several times, but the Miners defense stayed tough, allowing no score.

There was some slipping going on with both teams. At one point, the announcer told the crowd that the snow tackled Conor McGraw.

With 42 seconds left in the first half, Meeteetse scored. The game was uncomfortably close for the Miners at 32-23.

The Miners recovered an onside kick on the 20 yard line.

Shane McGraw did a fake and ran to the one yard line with 28 seconds left. Shane was not done. On the next play he ran it in for a touchdown. Going into the half, the Miners were ahead 40-23.

The second half started with snow flurries coming down.

The teams went back and forth, but it was Brendon Reeves who scored on receiving a pass from Shane and the score increased for the Miners, 47-23. The Miners were not done scoring in the third quarter as Devon Grosstick scored with three minutes left. The score was now 54-23.

Going into the fourth quarter, Tom Wagner scored a touchdown and it was 61-23. The Miners kept going and Conor scored and it was 67-23.

The Longhorns did score next and the score was 67-30.

Meeteetse kept coming, but time was not on the Longhorns side. With 5:31 left, the Longhorns scored. Although it was 67-36, the several touchdowns needed back-to-back looked tough to pull off.

Shane crushed any thoughts of the Longhorns getting back into the game with his touchdown as 3:34 was left in the game. He would be the last player to score for either team.

The Miners won 73-36.

Shane passed for 196 yards. Conor rushed for 179 yards and Shane rushed for 140 yards. Reeves had 67 receiving yards and Grosstick accumulated 40 yards in reception. Shane scored 30 points, Conor had 25 points, Reeves 12 and Grosstick 6.

"It was a great and exciting game," Scott said. "The boys really practiced hard this weekend and they came out with a tempo of we are coming for you."

Scott said the Longhorns were bigger than he thought they would be and he said Meeteetse kept coming at the Miners.

"Football for us this year has been times of ebb and flow," Scott said. "You know, players are going to mess up and teams are going to score on us, but that is okay because, as a team, we win together and lose together. We pick each other up and move on as a brotherhood."

Scott said this team really are brothers, not just the McGraw Machine, which Saratoga Football coach Logan Wright aptly named the McGraw twins.

"The team really are brothers and they are moving on," Scott said. "These kids are fun to watch. I am really proud of all these kids who stepped up."

He acknowledged Shane had one of his best games of the season, but Scott had high praise for Alex Claice.

"Zander (Alex) played the whole game on both sides," Scott said. "He had an amazing game. He is a senior and is good football player and sometimes it doesn't show because he is on a team of excellent football players, but Zander is an excellent football player."

Scott is savoring the victory.

"I am so proud of this team in so many ways," Scott said. "They are the literal definition of the word brotherhood."

The next playoff game will be at 1 p.m. on Nov. 7 in Hanna against Lingle-Ft. Laramie to go to the championship game.