The Kemmerer Rangers are all smiles after winning against the Saratoga Panthers on Friday, Sept. 1, the first win for the team since 2012. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

Fans filed into Kemmerer Stadium on the evening of Friday, Sept. 1, eager to start the regular football season. It was a great night to win a football game, and the Rangers did just that, shutting out the Panthers 34-0.

The last time the Kemmerer Rangers won a football game was on Sept. 28, 2012, against Big Piney. That means the Rangers owned Wyoming’s longest losing streak, at 36 games, until Friday night.

“We are extremely excited to have broken the streak,” first-year head coach Bart Jernigan said. “I am excited for these young men who have been through an awful lot and this community that has supported them through these last couple years. The looks on those boys' faces during and after that game tell me that it was worth it to them. They will always have that memory and place in Kemmerer football history as the team that broke the streak.”

The Rangers started off a little shaky in the first quarter with some of the same offensive confusion fans saw against Cokeville last week, but they quickly shook it off.

Juniors Hayden Walker and Donny Proffit started an impressive defensive show that they would carry out through the whole game.

Juniors Jeydon Boyd and Anthony Tibbetts also showed up strong on defense, helping to hold the Saratoga Panthers to a mere 50 offensive yards the whole game.

Tibbetts led the Rangers with nine defensive tackles, and Boyd pitched in another seven.

The Rangers scored a safety touchdown when they tackled a Panther player into their end zone, bringing the score to (2-0) with Kemmerer on top.

Junior quarterback Josh Thatcher found freshman Austin Martinez, who wove in and out of the defense for the game’s first touchdown. The Rangers missed the kick, bringing the score to (8-0) with Kemmerer in the lead.

Martinez continued his strong offensive performances throughout the game. He’s a freshman who doesn’t make freshman mistakes, and Jernigan agrees.

“For a true freshman, Martinez was stellar. I know there were some nerves for him, but he sure did not play nervous. I don't have the stats, but I would assume it has been quite a while since we have had a freshman rush for over 100 yards (125 yards) and 2 TDs in a game in Kemmerer,” Jernigan said.

The second quarter started off strong, but then the Rangers seemed to lose a little offensive energy, allowing junior quarterback Josh Thatcher to be sacked, and earning some penalties with false starts and delays of game.

The offensive line stayed strong, however, with Hayden Walker and Anthony TIbbetts continuing to show they can be a powerful defensive duo.

Anthony Tibbetts runs in for a touchdown as the Kemmerer offensive line makes some space for him. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

Experience from last week’s scrimmage seemed to be paying off.

“The improvement from week one to week two was great. It always seems as if that first to second game gap produces the most growth for one reason or another,” Jernigan said.

The Rangers headed into the locker room at the end of the first half with a lead of (8-0).

The second half saw more energy from the Rangers against a Panther team that has even fewer numbers than Kemmerer.

Donny Proffit had two interceptions in the third quarter.

“I am a firm believer that great football teams are built around great defense,” Jernigan said. “If these boys keep progressing, we are going to have a pretty good defense. To get a shutout meant a lot to me and these boys. Donny Proffit and Hayden Walker were two players who stood out as having stellar defensive games for us.”

Donny Proffit runs for a touchdown against the Saratoga Panthers in the Rangers win on Friday, Sept. 1 in Kemmerer. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

Sophomore Thomas Archibald and senior Cyrus Skidmore also took advantage of Panther offensive slipups to get the ball back in Ranger hands. Hayden Walker played well on both sides of the ball.

The Rangers offensive line really seemed to find a rhythm in the third quarter.

“The offensive line play was bone-crushing. Most games are won or lost in the trenches, and the efforts of our boys up front made the offensive explosion (366 yards and 34 points) possible. Jeydon Boyd laid some of the most physical blocks I have seen in a long time out there,” Jernigan said.   

Thatcher ran in for a touchdown to bring the Ranger lead to (15-0) with 3:30 left in the quarter.

Going into the fourth quarter, it was clear these Ranger boys wanted to hold off the Panthers and bring home the win. Anthony Tibbetts scored a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, bringing the Kemmerer lead to (21-0).

Ranger defense forced a Panther turnover, and the offense followed it up with a 30-yard pass to senior Louis Failoni.

Senior Louis Failoni runs for a first down during the Saratoga game on Friday, Sept. 1. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

Then freshman Austin Martinez logged another touchdown for a (27-0) lead.

“Play with aggression,” Jernigan yelled from the sideline, and the Rangers took note.

Donny Proffit scored a touchdown with less than a minute left in the game, and the final score was (34-0).

After the game, fans, family and friends gathered to congratulate the boys and celebrate a new era of Kemmerer football. It’s always a good sign when no one, player or fan, wants to leave the stadium after the game.

The Rangers lead the crowd in a cheer of “We are KR, we are Family,” after the game against the Saratoga Panthers on Friday, Sept. 1. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

“While it was fun to see the reaction of the community and the attention of some outsiders, we are far from satisfied with this win,” Jernigan said. “We are not going to get lazy reading our own press clippings. We have to get back to work come Monday. We want to make this an expectation and we want to play with the same effort, intensity, competitiveness, and fire we brought tonight. The only way to do that is to get better this week.”

Jernigan emphasized that the team had reason to celebrate, but the real work has only begun.

“(These young men) are building a foundation for what I hope to be a perennial football power, and there is not a lot of glory in pouring a foundation,” Jernigan said. “But in the long run, the foundation is the most important part of any piece of architecture that is going to last. Sure, you can catch a flash in the pan every once in a while, but to sustain it, the foundation must be strong. And these young men are absolutely strong.”

The crowd cheers for the Rangers after the win on Friday, Sept. 1. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Michelle Tibbetts)

Jernigan also addressed skepticism about the Rangers’ hard-fought win and the team’s ability to carry that success into the rest of the season.

“Many in the state have already qualified the win with the fact that it was against a smaller school and others had already defined it as our best or only shot to get a win this year,” Jernigan said. “I think that those assessments of this win will provide the fire and motivation to prove that we are better than a one-win football team. 

"Hopefully the spark from this win coupled with the tinder of others' doubts and logs of outsiders' perceptions about who we are can be a fire that drives us to do those things this season," Jernigan said.

Senior Hayden Walker hugs his mom Jamie Walker after the Ranger win. Before Friday, the Rangers hadn’t won a game since 2012. (GAZETTE PHOTO / Theresa Davis)

The Rangers travel to Lyman to play on Friday, Sept. 8, at 4:00 p.m.

“(Lyman’s) program is one that has always played us well,” Jernigan said. “They play a hard-nosed and physical style of football. We are excited to see how we grow this week and how we match up with them. They're a good team with a very solid coaching staff.”