November 20, 2023 |
Photo – Ryan Marquez (WR/H) makes the catch – Courtesy gowyo.com
Wyoming football: A record home crowd at the War Saturday saw the Cowboys start fast and finish strong in a 42-9 win over Hawaii to improve to 7-4 overall, 4-and-3 in the Mountain West.
Wyoming’s dominating start included five touchdowns in the six opening possessions. The first came less than a minute into the game with Andrew Peasley hitting Ryan Marquez with a 44-yard bullet for a quick six.
Keith Kelly had the call as Wyoming put the first points on the board early. The score was 7-0 one minute into the contest with more highlights coming quickly. Three minutes later, Peasley connected with John Michael Gillenborg for the longest Wyoming touchdown reception in eight years.
The extra point made it 14 and the Cowboys rolled on a Senior Day romp to a blow-out win before an enthusiastic home crowd.
Wyoming put up 21 more points in the second quarter. Harrison Waylee broke free for a 28-yard touchdown run. Peaslee hit Wyatt Wieland for a 40-yard touchdown pass and Asiir Asante scored on a six-yard run at the 2:35 mark to put the Pokes up 35-nothing at the half.
Hawaii put up nine points in the third quarter to avoid the shutout.
The Cowboys put an exclamation point on the win when backup quarterback Evan Svoboda ran 18 yards behind the brunt force of the left-side of the offensive line for his first-ever Wyoming touchdown.
The extra point was good for the 42-9 win, one week after Hawaii upset Mountain West leader Air Force. The Cowboys claimed the Paniolo Trophy for the 17th time in 27 games against the Rainbow Warriors. Coach Craig Bohl was elated with the outcome, calling it “really special.”
The Coach said he was especially happy for his quarterback playing in his final home game on Senior Day. Peasley opened the game Saturday after the disappointing performance in the conference showdown with UNLV one week earlier, triggering two touchdowns in four plays to open the game Saturday.
More than 18,200 fans turned out for Saturday’s final home game of the season. The weather was unusually mild for mid-November in Laramie. Some were hoping for a blizzard to greet the Hawaii team. Snow was not needed. On the year, the Cowboys set a single-season attendance record at War Memorial Stadium with 162,144 fans attending at least one game this year.
Now it’s off to Reno, Nevada where Wyoming will face the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday, Nov. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Bigfoot 99 will be on the air at 5:30 in the afternoon.
Other Mountain West football action, UNLV defeated Air Force to claim the top spot in the Mountain West Saturday night. The Rebels shut out the Falcons in the second half, including a stop on fourth down with Air Force threatening as time ran out.
The Rebels (9-2, 6-1) hold a one-game lead over the Falcons with one game remaining in the regular season.
