WHEATLAND – In what turned out to be a frustrating night for the Wheatland High School football team, the Bulldogs dropped a tough one by the score of 15-7 to conference rivals Burns. After dominating for the majority of the game, a couple mistakes handed the win to the Broncs. To their credit, the Burns Broncs hung tough and kept fighting, which served them well as they capitalized on a small handful of crucial Bulldog miscues.
The Bulldogs scored on their first drive with tough senior running back Waylon Milnes running it in from seven yards out following a methodical march down the field. Cooper Meyer’s extra point kick made it 7-0, Bulldogs. The score remained 7-0 until deep into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs had several chances to score throughout the game but came away empty due to a series of untimely mistakes and penalties.
Bulldog Head Coach Tony Borton commented, “We just couldn’t get out of our own way.”

To his point, until midway through the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs amassed nearly 220 yards offense compared to a mere 45 yards for the Broncs, yet had only seven points to show for it.
Everything changed on one play in the fourth quarter. Burns scored on a Medley to Martin bomb covering 69 yards. Following the extra point kick, the score was knotted up at 7-7. After the ensuing kick off, Wheatland drove down to the Burns 20-yard line, where the drive sputtered out. Burns took over on downs and regulation time ended with the score tied.
Burns got the ball first to begin the overtime period. They had four downs to score, which they were able to do. They converted a two-point try, bringing the score to 15-7. This is where the score stood after Wheatland failed to score when they got the ball.
Coach Borton said of the outcome, “Our guys fought hard and never gave up. Sometimes it comes down to who makes the most mistakes, or rather, who doesn’t. I’m proud of our effort tonight. There is a lot of football left to be played this season. Hopefully, we can learn and move on.”
The Bulldogs finished with 233 offensive yards, most of which was produced by Milnes and the Bulldog offensive line. Milnes carried the ball 36 times for 144 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Jake Hyche ran seven times for 26 yards. He also completed 3 of 10 passes for 48 yards. Defensive leaders for the Bulldogs included Hyche, Abad Luna, Quincy Palmer, and Bode Stone.
Pending the outcome of the fires in northwest Wyoming, the Bulldogs will play the Tongue River Eagles this week in another conference tilt. It remains to be seen where the game will be played, due to the proximity of the fires to Dayton.