TORRINGTON – The Torrington Trailblazers had a historic season, reaching the state title game for the first time since 1996, and although they didn’t pick up the win, it was a solid season.

The Blazers started off their season on the right foot, picking up a 56-6 win over Wheatland in Week 1. Following the win, Torrington took a massive road trip to Afton to play, at the time, the two-time defending champions, falling 38-14. Finishing up the non-conference schedule, Torrington turned in a 55-10 win over Newcastle in Week 3.

The win over the Dogies set Torrington in the right direction and they hit the conference schedule hot. Torrington picked up wins over Lander, 52-7, and Buffalo, 34-6, before blanking Douglas in Week 6 for the Bearcats’ Homecoming game, 41-0, to close out the regular season, Torrington beat Rawlins (59-8) and Riverton (42-14).

The Blazers’ 5-0 record in the conference solidified them as the top seed from the east for the postseason. To open the playoffs, Torrington hosted Worland, winning 46-21, setting up a rematch from last year’s postseason. Green River came to town for the semi-finals and gave Torrington their closest game of the season, but the Blazers still pulled out the 17-13 win, advancing them to the title game against Cody.

In the championship game, Torrington could not finish their drives and allowed the Broncs to score on two big plays. The Blazers lost the contest 20-0, finishing the season with a 9-2 record.

The Blazers were strong on both sides of the ball, but their specialty was on offense, tying Star Valley for first in yards per game (367.9). Torrington’s 52 touchdowns were the most among 3A schools.

Torrington’s rushing attack narrowly edged out it’s passing attack. The Blazers averaged 203.9 yards per game on the ground, which was fifth in the classification. Their 33 rushing touchdowns was second in 3A and their four lost fumbles was tied for seventh.

Torrington boasted one of the top passing games in 3A, ranking fourth with an average of 164 yards per game through the air. The Blazers had 19 passing touchdowns (second) and 11 interceptions (ninth).

Bryan Lemmon was the top rusher for the Blazers, averaging 114.6 yards per game, racking up 1,261 yards on the season. He also turned in 18 touchdowns on the ground. Lemmon ranked third in the class on his yards per game, but he topped the list in total yards on the season.

Josh Posten was second for the Blazers in scoring, racking up 42.2 yards per game, while Breyden Bivens chipped in 17.2 yards per game on the ground. Posten and Bivens combined for 13 rushing touchdowns, while Bo Moorehouse and Casey Britton had one apiece.

In the passing game, Bivens was the go-to guy, racking up 1,765 yards through the air for an average of 160.5 yards per game. He had a 61 percent completion percentage and 19 touchdowns on the year. He ranked third in 3A in yards per game, while ranking second in total passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Nathan Stitt was Bivens’ top target on the year, coming down with 11 touchdowns on 43 receptions. He racked up 68.9 yards per game. He sat first in receiving touchdowns in 3A and fourth in yards per game.

Behind Stitt, Lemmon was the top receiver, coming out of the backfield and racking up 43.2 receiving yards per game. He had four receiving touchdowns on the year. Moorehouse turned in 14.7 yards per game, while Posten and Cade Schwartzkopf combined for 16.7 yards per game. Moorehouse and Posten each had a receiving touchdown, while Dylan Waller had two on the season.

The strength of the Blazer defense came against the run, ranking second in the class after allowing 121.3 rushing yards per game. They allowed 10 touchdowns on the ground (third) and came up with five fumble recoveries (10th).

Torrington also stifled opposing quarterbacks, allowing 102.8 yards per game through the air, ranking fourth. The Blazers led the class in interceptions, with 17, while allowing only five passing touchdowns, tying them for second in 3A.

On the team defense leaderboard, Torrington ranked third, allowing 224.1 total yards per game. The Blazers ranked second in both touchdowns allowed (15) and turnovers (22).

Lemmon was the top defender for the Blazers, ranking 10th in 3A with 14.1 defensive points per contest. He averaged six tackles per game, while racking up nine tackles-for-loss, a sack, a pass breakup, an interception and a blocked kick. Josh Kingsley also had a solid year on defense, tallying 10.6 points and four tackles per game. He was a nightmare for quarterbacks, finishing the year with four sacks, four tackles-for-loss, a pass breakup, a fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.

Posten was the third-best tackler for Torrington with 3.9 tackles a game. He had one of the team’s interceptions, a tackle-for-loss and four pass breakups. Jacob Wamboldt was not far behind, finishing with 3.6 tackles per game this season. He also had a sack and seven tackles-for-loss.

Schwartzkopf, Moorehouse and Stitt were ball hawks in the secondary. Schwartzkopf finished the season with six interceptions and three pass breakups. Moorehouse tallied five picks and four passes defended against, while Stitt had four interceptions and six pass breakups.

The Blazers had 11 seniors on this year’s roster. If Torrington wants to make a return trip to War Memorial Stadium next season, it will need a lot of this year’s underclassmen to step up.

*Many of the stats used were compiled by WyoPreps.