WHEATLAND – The Torrington High School football team’s defense fended off multiple late game charges by the Wheatland Bulldogs Friday evening en route to a 14-7 road victory.

All 21 points of the contest were scored in the first two quarters of play.

Wheatland took the opening drive into the Blazer territory but stalled at the Torrington 35-yard line. The Blazer defense got the stop from senior Jacob Durrant, forcing the turnover on downs.

“Jacob plays well for us on both sides of the ball,” THS coach Russell Stienmetz said. “Heck of a player, and we did get some big stops when we needed to tonight.”

Torrington drove 68 yards on their first offensive drive the of the game and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown by senior quarterback Bryce Hager with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for Wheatland to respond and tie the game.

“I’m proud of those guys up front,” Stienmetz said. “They are doing a great job up front, and when we needed, we ran the ball down the field and secured the win behind our line.”

With 10:51 left in the second quarter, Bulldog quarterback Brock Peasley connected with senior receiver Bryce Stenson on a 50-yard completion. After the successful point-after touchdown, the score was tied at seven.

On Torrington’s next drive, Wheatland’s defense looked to force a turnover on downs with 7:35 left before halftime. With the Blazers down to the Wheatland 34-yard line, Torrington went for it, picked up the first down to keep the drive alive.

A little more than a minute later, Hager connected with Torrington sophomore receiver Landre Greiman on a 19-yard touchdown, giving the visitors a 14-7 advantage.

It proved to be the final score of the game with 6:15 left in the half.

However, Wheatland had multiple chances to tie the game again, including right before halftime.

As the Wheatland drive moved into the Torrington territory, but with 32 seconds left, Greiman picked off a deep pass from Peasley at the 10-yard line.

Wheatland threatened again early in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs came within 17 yards of the endzone in the first minute of the fourth quarter. A bad snap over the head of Peasley on a 4th-and-13 handed the ball back to the Blazers.

The Torrington drive was short-lived as Wheatland forced Torrington to cough up the football, giving the football right back to the Bulldogs.

“Last week, we had several penalties and turnovers, and we knew if we were going to win tonight, we weren’t going to turn the ball over and have those penalties and penalty yards,” Stienmetz said. “We cleaned that part up, and hopefully, we can keep it clean and keep rolling.”

Wheatland, again, couldn’t take advantage of the short field.

With 6:15 left in the game, Wheatland faced a 3rd-and-3 play, and Peasley was sacked by junior Andrew Haffner for a loss of 11 yards.

Wheatland was unable to pick up the first down on the ensuing play, giving the ball right back to the Blazers.

Torrington was able to bleed the off the final 5:30 of the game, picking up the Blazers’ second win of the season.

The Blazers return home for two straight games against Big Horn and Tongue River.

“They are going to be very tough, very physical games,” Stienmetz said. “I’m glad we are at home with those two games.”

The Blazers host Big Horn on Friday for Homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.