The Cody Broncs are coming off a first round win vs. the Worland Warriors and are now set for a Big Horn Brawl rematch vs. their Park County Rivals, in the semi-final round of the Wyoming High School Playoffs. The road to state goes through Cody and what better for the Broncs than to host Powell. As the Broncs get set for this monumental match-up I was able to catch up with a pair of Broncs, Keaton Stone and Nic Talich, to get you set for the contest. One of the many reasons for the Broncs success this year has been the growth of the team’s youth from week one to now and Keaton touches on how that’s been a difference maker this season.
“Yeah the growth been definitely on the line and the wings, running backs. We got a lot of young guys and they’ve been doing really good. On the line, we got a small line but anybody they can block and the wings have just been terrific. We’ve got a lot of them. So we got a lot of depth there which is great.”
As for this week at practice Keaton says it’s all about sticking to the basics, staying focused and being fundamentally sound.
“Yeah, it’s definitely fine tune it and just do the little things. Definitely, gotta control the line on offense and defense. That’s where the game is won. Getting off the win last week was great but we just got to look forward to next week (today) and just forget about that (last week). We just got to focus on our opponent, Powell, and just do the little things and focus on what we have to do. Just getting better and we’ll do great.”
And up to this point I have been trying to pinpoint what’s made this team so special…and what is it? It’s heir unselfishness that’s been the cog to this years squad. Keaton touches on that aspect of this unit.
“Nobody cares about individual stats or anything. It’s just all about the team. Other than teams like Jackson where it’s just one, two guys that are just really carrying the team, it’s everybody on the team. We got 14 guys, as coach said, touching the ball last game so it’s just everybody’s getting yards, we’re pushing through and getting touchdowns.” As for seeing those young guys succeed, Keaton touches on their importance. “Without them we would not be going anywhere and it’s great to look forward to next year and years following. We’ve got a lot of Sophomores that are stepping up and doing good on varsity now and they’ll be doing great next year.”
As for Nic Talich, he echoes Keaton’s statements about the unselfishness of this years team and says this is a special group to be a part of.
“I don’t think anybody really cares about their own personal stats. We’re just all about winning. I mean, that’s why, why we’ve been so good and we’ve grown together as a team. That’s something I’ve never been a part of on a football team. So that’s really awesome this year.”
Earlier this season when I interviewed Nic he said walking off the field after losing to Powell in last year’s semi’s is a feeling he’ll never forget. He adds to that and gives his keys to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“Well nobody likes losing and so we’re all going to go out there and just play hard and execute, do our jobs and hopefully it turns out for the best of us.” As for the keys to this week. “I think that our bandits need to show up, our linebackers need to show up and our line needs to show up on defense. On offense we just need to hold onto the ball.”
As for the team’s mindset at practice this week? Nic says they’re more than locked it.
“It’s everything. I mean, the focused teams are going to win. We have a lot of respect for Powell so we need our guys on the bench to be focused, we need our starters to be focused, we need our coach to be focused. I mean, everyone is just focused. So that’s pretty cool to be a part of.”
There’s not much more that needs to be said. It’s the Cody vs. the Powell as Park County Rivals clash for the Big Horn Brawl Part II at Spike Vannoy Stadium. Winner advances to the State Championship. Catch all the action on KODI. Pre-game at 5:30, kick-off at 6pm.
To listen to all the play-by-play action click here: https://radio.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/index.cfm?stationcallsign=KODI&playSessionID=292957C8-A801-8F8F-129769C932B516D5&embedOpened=true&embedOpenedApp=song&embedOpenedSong=%C2%A0&embedOpenedArtist=%C2%A0&embedOpenedAlbum=%C2%A0
