Everyone dreams of the spotlight. Oh, for the chance to make a difference. To be special. Maybe, famous, for just a minute. On October 30, sophomore Jake Fogg got his chance. After bowling over the Rock Springs blocker, Jake got a hand on a Tiger extra point kick attempt and helped his T-Bird teammates advance to the semi-finals with a 14-13 playoff victory in the 4A playoffs. After a game full of nasty hits and big plays, Jake didn’t grasp how big of a difference he made until the teams headed to the locker room.

“It wasn’t until after the game, when I got interviewed, that I realized it was one of the determining factors of the game,” said Fogg. In post-game interviews, the coaches praised Jake for his continuous effort and ability to make the big play.

Jake’s big moment may have never arrived if it wasn’t for a serious leg injury to Jacob Ross. Ross suffered a terrifying leg injury early in the 1st half and Fogg was told to take his place on the defense.

Ross has contributed over 30 tackles for the T-Birds this year from his defensive end position on his way to setting a new team sack record this season. With such a valuable player injured, coach Goff had a tough decision to make. East’s roster was already young, and it keeps getting younger. Two seniors, Ricky Garnica-Cole, and Uriah Gracia got hurt early this season. There was already one starting sophomore on the offensive side for the T-Birds.

“I was pretty mad because of Jacob getting hurt, and I was mad at the sidelines because we looked a little down and we were still in it,” said Jake Fogg.

With the Tigers up 13-7, the defense lined up and Fogg went to work. “We just put (Fogg) in the ‘A’ gap and told him to blow through the other kid,” Goff said in an interview with www.wyosports.com. “He was able to get his hands up and on the ball.”

Sophomore running back Ethan Ashworth put up both touchdowns for the T-Birds, and junior kicker Quinn Hunt executed both of the extra points.  The T-Birds had a total of 388 offensive yards, while the Tigers were right behind them with 382 yards.

The Thunderbirds traveled to Gillette on November 6 to compete against the top-ranked Gillette Camels, who beat Laramie, 77-33, in the first round of the playoffs.

The Camels showed the state why they deserved the No. 1 ranking as they knocked off the T-birds, 61-6. Ethan Ashworth scored early in the third quarter, but it was not nearly enough as the Camel already held a 40-0 lead. The Camels defense stopped anything that came their way, allowing the Thunderbirds only 177 total offensive yards, while Gillette’s offense came out and posted 492 total offensive yards.

“After the first mistake I felt like everyone let up” said junior Chance Casias.

The Camels earned their way to the state title game on November 14 in Laramie where they fell to the second-seeded Sheridan Broncs, 38-31. Sheridan reached the title game by beating Casper Natrona County 35-10. The T-Birds advanced to the 4A semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.