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Dylan Nelson Running back Dylan Nelson (P24) rarely found open space to work with. Kickoff The Wrangler sideline cheers on the special team unit before the opening kickoff. Power running Power running While Glenrock gouged the vaunted Wrangler defense up the middle, runs to the outside — like this one by tailback Drew Nielsen (G23) — gave Luke Egle (P45) and the Pinedale defense the most trouble.

After an emotional comeback victory in the first round of the 3A football playoffs, Pinedale found itself matched up against the number one seeded Glenrock Herders.

Glenrock (10-0) lived up to its reputation, bringing a bruising run game that overwhelmed the Wranglers. Running backs Drew Nielsen and Taylor McIntyre combined on four rushing touchdowns for the Herders before the end of the first quarter, and Glenrock converted all four two-point conversions to take a 32-0 lead.

"Every position there was someone willing to just go out there and knock somebody down [for Glenrock]," Coach Mike Gregory said. "The execution was so crisp. It was so fast that the concept of read-and-react football for us just disappeared."

A big pass to tight end Zach Barta was about all the Wranglers could muster in the first half, and Pinedale (6-4) went into halftime with a 50-0 deficit.

"At halftime you kind of switch modes as a coaching staff, when you go into halftime from that," Gregory said. "It becomes a test of what guys want to do, if they want to be another one of the masses that got rolled over by Glenrock this year."

The team showed a resiliency that has helped it all year, and even though no points were put on the board, quarterback Nick Jaquez and the pass game came to life in the second half. Senior wideout Chase Lederer made several spectacular grabs, but in the end, the Wranglers highly successful season came to an end with the 56-0 loss.

"When you reflect on the season as a whole, it become a lot more positive," Gregory said. "Their goals that they set earlier in the season were met."

The senior heavy team finished the most successful Wrangler season since 2000, making the playoffs for the first time since then, defeating rival Big Piney for the first time since 1999 and hosting a playoff victory against Lovell.

"We had high hopes when we started, but I think they achieved in a level beyond what many would have expected on day one," Gregory said. "They played very well together. I saw them work together to overcome their own physical limitations of size and speed [for a successful season]."

Photos by Jonathan Van Dyke, Pinedale Roundup