LINGLE – Lingle-Fort Laramie Doggers Dallen Fleenor and Garrett Cooper have been named to the Wyoming-Nebraska six-man football shootout to be played this summer.
The two pair were named to the 18-man roster, featuring players from 11 different schools. They both played offense and defense for the Doggers this past fall. Fleenor will spend time as a tailback, safety and special-teamer and Cooper will play as both quarterback and middle linebacker.
“I’m very proud of these two young men and their work on the football field every year,” LFL football coach Matt Cornelius said. “They will be representing the best six-man players Wyoming has to offer.”
Cooper averaged more than 143 yards per game to lead the Doggers on all-purpose offense. He averaged 91 passing yards per game and had 42 completions throughout the season. A senior, Cooper racked up 12 passing touchdowns, while throwing just five interceptions.
Cooper was also the team’s third-leading rusher, averaging 50.8 yards on the ground per game. He led LFL in rushing touchdowns, with 15.
On the other side of the ball, Cooper racked up 22.1 defensive points per game to lead the Doggers. He averaged 8.9 tackles per game. Throughout the season, Cooper racked up 11 tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass break ups, a fumble recovery, an interception and he one blocked extra-point kick.
Fleenor finished second for LFL in all-purpose yards, with 126.1 per game. He was the team’s leading rusher and leading receiver. He rushed for 68.8 yards per game and averaged 42.4 receiving yards per game, twice as many receptions as his team mates.
Fleenor was the top-scorer for LFL, with 18 total touchdowns, 11 on the ground. He had four passing touchdowns and the remaining three in special teams action.
Fleenor proved to be a dominant force on defense, as well, forcing his opponents to turn over the ball seven times. He had three fumble recoveries and four picks in the 2016 season. Fleenor averaged 6.7 tackles per game to go along with seven tackles for loss, two sacks and seven pass breakups on the season.
“These guys exemplify hard work and dedication. Just from seeing them on the football field, they have confident, level-headed attitudes and they’re great leaders,” Cornelius said. “They lead by example.”
LFL is one of six schools to have multiple representatives named to the Wyoming team, which is only open to seniors. Guernsey-Sunrise had three players, LFL, Meeteetse, Midwest, Farson-Eden and Burlington all have two players named to the team. Kaycee, Hulett, Hanna-Elk Mountain, Dubois and Rock River each had one player on the roster.
Kaycee’s Leo Kremers is the head coach of the Wyoming team. Marvin Applequist (Farson-Eden), Tony Rouse (Kaycee) and Ken Swieter (Midwest) have all been named assistant coaches for the interstate clash.
The Wyoming-Nebraska shootout has been played five times. Nebraska is currently on a two-game winning streak after falling to the Wyoming team in the first three match-ups. The game will be played at Kaycee on June 24.
