Defense lifts GMS teams over Shoshoni

Greybull Middle School dominated both ends of a doubleheader Saturday in Shoshoni as the eighth graders rolled to a 40-8 win to improve to 2-0 while the sixth and seventh graders prevailed 16-6 for their first victory of the season.
Coming off a big win over Rocky to open the season, the eighth graders started fast against the Wranglers and led 32-0 at the half.  Alan Burgos and Jayden Marchant accounted for all four first half touchdowns — Burgos on runs of 23 and 88 yards along with a swing pass that covered 40 yards, Marchant on a run of 55 yards that made it 32-0.
Coach Logan Burningham credited the defense, saying, “We held strong again this week, allowing very few yards in the first half and having seven tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.
“This has been the base of our team this year is playing great defense which seems to take the life out of the other teams when they can’t sustain a drive.”
While it was Burgos and Marchant who made the defenders miss, Greybull’s first half touchdowns also “had a lot to do with great blocking up front,” according to Burningham.
The Buffs made some lineup adjustments at the half, giving seventh graders some playing time on both sides of the ball.  Shoshoni capitalized, scoring on a 60-yard run and adding the two-point conversion.
But the Buffs quickly countered, extending the lead back to 32 with a 4-yard touchdown run by Baron Eichelberger.
“The eighth grade has been very impressive and seems to grow each week,” said Burningham. “The line is getting the calls and schemes down and it has played a big difference in being able to sustain drives.”
Younger team
After dropping their opener to Rocky Mountain, the sixth and seventh graders showed “tremendous” improvement in their 16-6 win over the Wranglers, according to Burningham.
“They still have a long way to go but the mistakes made in week one were for the most part fixed,” said Burningham. “As we look at this group going into this game we made some position changes and they seemed to make a major difference.
“The big play of the game was on the opening drive when the offense ran a fake wide receiver run, Irving pulled on a counter run back to the running back Kayson Herebia and helped break a 40-yard run with a big block. 
“Everyone got a ton of playing time from and it is always exciting to see everyone making positive plays for the team!”
This week
GMS returns to its home field this weekend, hosting a single with Thermopolis Saturday morning. Kickoff is at 9:30 a.m.