TORRINGTON – Helped by five touchdowns from Bryan Lemmon, the Torrington Trailblazers ran to a 46-21 win over Worland in the first round of the class 3A playoffs on Friday, advancing to a semi-final matchup against Green River.
The first drive of the game was all Lemmon. He had two runs and three receptions, ending with a 48-yard reception from Breyden Bivens. The 69-yard, five-play drive got Lemmon started in the right direction. After a turnover on downs by the Warriors, Lemmon capped of another drive in the end zone on a 16-yard run to end a drive that started on Torrington’s 34.
“They were going to try and slow the game down and let the clock run all the way out. We wanted the ball to go score real quick and coach put in a good plan so we got the ball and went down and scored,” Lemmon said. “Then we got a three-and-out and went and scored again.”
Jake Wamboldt recovered a fumble on the second play of the ensuing Worland drive, setting up the Torrington offense on the Worland 20-yard line. For the third time in the quarter, Lemmon picked his way through the defense on a 20-yard score, putting Torrington up 21-0 at the end of the first.
Josh Posten got himself into the scoring column in the second quarter, capping a nine-play 55-yard drive with a 4-yard scamper. Josh Kingsley got a piece of the next Worland punt to put the Blazers on the 38-yard line. Seven plays later and Lemmon scored again, this time on an 8-yard dash. After a three-and-out by Worland, Torrington marched down the field in eight plays and Nathan Stitt kicked a 37-yard field goal as the second-quarter clock expired, putting the Blazers up 38-0 at the break.
“Everybody stayed sharp to their own roles,” Lemmon said of the hot first half. “Everybody played their own role and it kind of just fell into our lap and we got the stops.”
Both teams went three-and-out on their first drives of the second quarter, but Worland got on the board halfway through the frame on a 30-yard touchdown pass to trim the lead to 38-6. Lemmon still wasn’t done for the night, capping off a 14-play, 80-yard drive with a 7-yard scoring run. Casey Britton converted the two-point conversion with a pass to Stitt. On the drive, Stitt converted a fake punt with a 12-yard pass to Bo Moorehouse.
Down 46-6 heading into the fourth quarter, Worland wasn’t done scoring. They put together a 10-play drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run. On their next drive, the Warriors scored again from 22-yards out to bring the score to 46-21.
Lemmon was the star of the show for Torrington, leading the Blazers in both rushing yards (131) and receiving yards (61), while accounting for five touchdowns.
“77 and 64, Jake and Scott – they’re big dudes and their big and strong,” Lemmon said. “In my opinion, they’re the best two guards in the state… They’re big players but I trust all my line. I just run wherever coach tells us to and I have faith in everybody else.”
Also in the ground game, Posten finished with 73 yards on 11 carries. Bivens had 32 yards and Trace English totaled 21, both on five carries. Moorehouse and Ryan Johnson combined for 27 yards on four carries.
Behind Lemmon in the aerial attack, Stitt accounting for 34 yards on three receptions. Posten, Moorehouse and Lathen Canaday had a reception apiece, combining for 31 yards. Bivens went 8-for-16 for 114 passing yards and a touchdown for the Blazers.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kingsley had a stellar night, racking up 19 defensive points on a blocked kick, a fumble recovery, three solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Matt Garcia wasn’t too far behind, accounting for 13 defensive points on five solo and three assisted tackles. Corbin Harris and Scott Woodruff each had a sack in the win, while Stitt had a tackle for loss. Moorehouse came down with an interception in the third quarter.
The win advances the Blazers to the semi-finals, where they will host Green River. The Wolves beat Douglas 28-7 last week to move past the quarterfinals. The rematch of last year’s quarterfinal game between Torrington and Green River will kick off Friday at 7 p.m. at Wiseman Field.
“It’s just preparation for next week,” Lemmon said. “This game is over with. It was fun while it lasted, but we have to move onto next week.”
