KEMMERER – The Pinedale High School Wranglers football team boarded the bus for its first conference game of the season against Kemmerer on Friday, September 13.

Despite a second-half rally by the Wranglers, Pinedale came up short in closing the lead established by the Rangers in the first half and Kemmerer posted the win, 31-12.

The Rangers reached the end zone for a touchdown early in the first quarter. A field goal by Kemmerer widened the Rangers’ lead going into the second quarter, 10-0.

“This week’s match-up looked good going in, but Pinedale never really got started, with turnovers and miscues being the dominant factor in the first quarter,” assistant coach Mike Gregory wrote. “This led to easy conversions for Kemmerer’s offense and kept Pinedale’s offense off the field.”

Kemmerer controlled the scoreboard for most of the second quarter with two more touchdowns to pull ahead, 24-0.

The Wrangler offense found its footing late in the second quarter to score Pinedale’s first touchdown. Junior quarterback Ian Rigo launched the ball to junior Landon Fornstrom for a 40-yard touchdown pass play.

Pinedale came up short on converting two extra points and the halftime score favored the Rangers, 24-6.

“The turnover bug continued to bite Pinedale into the second quarter, leading to a 24-point deficit halfway through the period,” Gregory added. “It wasn’t until the later part of the second that Pinedale’s offense and defense picked up the tempo, leading to Rigo connecting with Fornstrom.”

A determined Wrangler offense returned to the gridiron in the third quarter and scored Pinedale’s second touchdown when Rigo connected a 10-yard pass to junior Kolbyn Jaquez.

“Pinedale showed spark in the third quarter, with Rigo hitting Jaquez on a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle, but we were not able to completely shake the slow start in the late third and fourth quarters,” Gregory said.

The Rangers responded with a touchdown at the end of the third quarter, although the Wrangler defense shut down Kemmerer’s attempt to score two extra points.

“Overall, Kemmerer brought a focused and physical team on Friday night, but this was a game where we beat ourselves as much as anything,” Gregory added. “Although this is obviously a disappointing outcome for a number of reasons, it does expose areas of our offensive and defensive play that have to improve as we look to this week’s match-up with Worland.”

Pinedale hosts the Worland Warriors for Homecoming Week on Friday, September 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

“Things like ball security on offense and staying focused on assignments on defense become the priority as we prepare for a Worland team that will challenge our guys on both sides of the ball,” Gregory wrote. “We will again lean on our offensive line to give us room to run and provide enough time for our talented receiver group to find the opening in the defensive secondary. On the defensive side, quick reads and aggressive pursuit and sound tackling will be absolutely necessary to keep a strong Worland offense off the field.”