By: Shawn O’Brate
FREMONT COUNTY – After another amazing football season throughout the state of Wyoming, and all of Fremont County, the winter snow has come and the Friday night lights have dimmed on the field. While that feeling is bittersweet for many teams, especially those that made serious playoff runs like Dubois and Shoshoni, it does mean that the Wyoming Coaches Association (WCA) can finally release their All-State selections for all five classes.
Many Fremont County student-athletes grace the respective lists for their respective schools, some of which are not surprising and some of which are great stories after phenomenal seasons.
In the 1A 6-Man Class the Dubois Rams, who came one game away from the State Championship game in Laramie, have three players enhancing the All-State list: Clayton Rux, Wyatt Trembly and Ryan Wells.
The biggest name in that list is Trembly who broke the single-season rushing record in the 1A 6-Man Class with his 2,502 yards on the ground, almost 200 yards more than the previous record held by Little Snake River’s Riggen Myers back in 2019. He finished the season averaging 250.2 rushing yards per game on 11.5 yards per attempt, ending with 43 total touchdowns – all topping the 1A 6-Man Class when it was all said and done.
Trembly had three of the top-five performances on the ground this season, including a 350-yard rushing day against Burlington at the end of the regular season one month ago and he helped the Dubois Rams finish the season on top of the stat charts in both rushing yards per game (344.4), total rushing touchdowns (61) and total team offense (452.1 yards per game).
His quarterback, Wells, also finished as an All-State selection after tossing 12 touchdowns (fifth-most in 1A 6-Man) and only five interceptions this season. Wells also finished the season with the most pass blocks (21) on the team and tied his running back Trembly for the most blocked kicks (three).
And finally, Wells’ favorite receiver all season was Rux who finished the season with 10 receiving touchdowns and 270 receiving yards. He also threw for three touchdowns, led the team in total tackles (174), sacks (three), fumble recoveries (five) and finished fourth on the team in all purpose yards (518).
The WCA then selected 11 Fremont County football players for the Class 1A 9-Man All-State list, with Shoshoni (seven) and Wind River (four) trailing the State Champion Pine Bluffs Hornets (eight).
For Shoshoni the obvious selections were made with Pehton Truempler, Alex Mills, Trey Fike, Dom Jarvis and Cannon Campbell all making it along with the center Korbin Dewitt and tight end Jaxon Stanley.
Truempler, who was an All-State selection last year, finished the season with the second-most rushing yards in a single season (2,080) while his quarterback finished with the fourth-most passing yards in a single season (1,403). Meanwhile, Fike, who missed a handful of games due to injury, finished with the fourth-most receiving yards in a single season (509).
The standout Wrangler running back finished with 189.1 yards per game, second-best on the season behind Wind River’s Cooper Frederick (191.9), but finished with the most rushing touchdowns (29) out of all 1A 9-Man running backs.
Stanley had a breakout season as one of Mills’ favorite targets. At 6’6”, 295 pounds Stanley became a big receiver that was hard to bring down, leading to him finishing with the second-most receiving yards on the team (321), a team-high 24.7 yards per reception and a team-high six receiving touchdowns. He also finished with the fifth-most tackles on the team (53.5).
Jarvis was a huge factor in the 1A 9-Man State Championship game with four catches for 100 yards and two scores, but he was voted an All-State player after more than just that game as he finished with the most tackles on the team (120.5). He also finished with six total touchdowns on the season (three receiving, three rushing), leading to his second-straight All-State selection. On top of all that, Jarvis also finished with 30 extra point kicks made out of 44 (68.2%).
Dewitt was once again named to the All-State team as one of the best centers in the state as he snapped the ball to Mills, another All-State selection from last season. Mills finished the season with a 54.3% completion percentage, third-best in the 1A 9-Man class, and averaged over 127 yards per game through the air.
Mills also finished with the most interceptions in the class with nine, two more than the QB / Safety on the other side of the field in Laramie, Stu Lerwick. At the end of the year he was responsible for 21 touchdowns (19 passing, two rushing) and came 19 yards shy of becoming a back-to-back state champion.
Two of Mills’ favorite targets, Campbell and Fike, both graced the All-State selection list for the second straight year after Campbell finished the year with nine total TDs (seven rushing, two receiving) and Fike led the team in receiving yards per game (46.3) to go along with his five receiving scores. Fike finished with the fourth-most all purpose yards on the team (623), right behind Campbell (751), while Truempler toppled the list with 2,559 total yards.
The Wranglers’ rivals, the Wind River Cougars, who they had to face off against in the State Semifinals once again also landed a few players on the All-State list alongside Shoshoni. Wind River’s Casey Befus, Cooper Frederick, Tucker Jensen and Calder Johnson made the list with the last three all marking their second-straight time on the All-State team.
Frederick’s 549 rushing yards in the Quarterfinals against Lusk not only set the single-game rushing record in 1A 9-Man but it also helped prop him up to number one in the rushing per yards category (191.9). Not only was Frederick a dominant force on the ground on offense, he led the team in tackles (96.5) and ended the season tied with Joaquin Stevens and Aiden Ruby with three interceptions for the Cougars. He finished with 2,028 total yards, equalling 202.8 total yards per game, almost 870 yards more than last year’s All-State selection Jaycee Herbert (1,163) who missed the last quarter of the season due to injury.
Jensen was simply a powerhouse on the defensive end of the ball, finishing with 46 tackles, two fumble recoveries and four tackles for a loss, including one sack. Johnson finished with more tackles (67.5) and more tackles for a loss (6.5) but he also finished with 243 yards on offense, fifth-most on the team. Johnson’s two touchdowns came through the air, including one 65-yard touchdown reception.
Finally, Befus was a force to be reckoned with on the field even if his stats don’t necessarily show it. The 6’1”, 195-pound senior had one fumble recovery and one interception to go with his three tackles for losses, this was all on top of getting nearly 30 tackles on the season.
Lander Valley High School (LVHS) found their way into the All-State conversation after being beaten in the Quarterfinal game for the fifth-straight season. Gabe Harris, Brenon Stauffenberg and Matisse Weaver all made it onto the list, with Weaver being the only one to grace the list before back in 2020 as a specialist.
All three seniors put their best foot forward this season, especially in big games, but it was obvious that the offense ran through the duo of Harris and Weaver, especially after senior running back Jack Pasquinelli got injured midway through the season.
Harris finished with the fourth-highest receiving average per game (69.9 yards) and tied Star Valley’s Wyatt Crogg, who led the Class 3A in that same statistic, in touchdown receptions with seven (fifth-highest). Overall, Harris finished with 12 touchdowns on offense and finished with 105.5 tackles on the season which would end up being second-most in the entire 3A Class. He also added 12.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, one fumble recovery, two interceptions and three blocked kicks to his stats.
Weaver would finish right behind his teammate Harris in every defensive category including total tackles (62), tackles for a loss (11) and sacks (two). On the offensive side of the ball Weaver was explosive at many times during the season, scoring six times (three rushing, three receiving) and finishing the year with 730 all purpose yards (third-best on the team).
Throwing him those touchdowns was his senior quarterback, Stauffenberg, who landed on the All-State list after a year where he completed over 60% of his passes for 1,523 yards, sixth-most in 3A. The LVHS Tigers team was very balanced on offense, meaning Stauffenberg’s 14 touchdown passes and six interceptions seem menial to players like Star Valley’s Taft McClure (34 TDs, 11 INTs) but Stauffenberg’s three interceptions and four pass breakups on defense really boosted him up into another level.
Stauffenberg also finished the season as the Tigers’ fourth-best rushing threat with 129 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns, more than Pasquinellli and tied with Weaver.
Congratulations to all the All-State selections this year and congratulations on some amazing seasons through and through. We can’t wait to see what you do next year and at the next level!