Dear Mustangs,
Thanks for looking in on the Mustangs from wherever you are. Your interest and well wishes are powerful and an important part of our season.
PRESEASON
We had over 100 young men attend Spring ball the last week of school and exactly 90 attend camp at Chadron State. What a statement of dedication and committment. We then hosted a strength clinic with over 100 athletes, boys and girls spending two days learning and working and making a committment to improve. In addition, we had coaches from every program coming together to learn and serve. It was two days of inspiration. TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAMWORK! We then went on to have the best summer of lifting in the 20 years I have been a part of it. Phenominal! We also hosted the Extreme Air Academy and the 20th annual Mustang Mini Camp. In addition, under the direction of Coach Grogan (NC,2000) your Mustangs completed several hundred hours of community service this summer. Finally we started a new tradition with our Seniors called "Camp Victory." Too many memories and good things to list here. In short it was a summer of growth for all of us. :) You can click on the following CST links to read more about your Mustangs.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/vmix_e6f82304-a388-11df-b117-001cc4c002e0.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_d0594b39-4ea3-572c-a4f5-8b333f1e2b2b.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_9364c32e-f6ed-556d-bdfb-a5d29d34e260.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_d0594b39-4ea3-572c-a4f5-8b333f1e2b2b.html
FALL PRACTICE
We were the first to practice on August 9th. Our Seniors started on August 9th at 12:01am. Our 1 hour of Midnight Madness was great! It was an opportunity to get our Seniors squared away for the activities that were to come the next morning, 7am came early for our Seniors but they got us off on the right foot. This is our second year of fully intergrating Freshmen football at NCHS. The transition is going well. Our freshmen number at 58 who we have divided into two teams so they play and learn more. Our numbers overall are great with 157 players. Thank goodness the school board decided that it was necessary to build new lockerrooms. I am not sure where we would have put everyone. We had 7 days of two a days with some days a combined schedule and some days a split schedule. We have really tried to push the pace to a faster, more crisp atmosphere. We have not lined up and run 1 wind sprint, we simply run everywhere in practice. School started 9 days after our first practice on August 9th. We ended a very successful fall camp with a scrimmage on Saturday August 21st. It was short and sweet and the officals provided a great learning experience for everyone.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL WEEK ZERO
The Indians come to town following a very successful 09 season in which they ended up in the state championship game falling to Sheridan. They lost several linemen to graduation but return key defenders, a great kicker and a good running back. They are always good and fundamentally sound and well coached. It will be a great test for our team.
It was a warm, beautiful summer night. There were several firsts...we entered from under the stadium for the first time in over 50 years, we wore orange pants and we walked the "Mustang Walk" fifteen minutes before kickoff. In addition, Coach Fittje fired the cannon to start the season.
We kicked off, held and received great field position. We were a little slow to establish a rhythm on offense but once we did we scored consistently. 10 in the 2nd Qtr, 14 in the 3rd and 7 in the 4th. The defense played well to start and great by the end. Special teams were also solid. More than anything we played hard, stuck together and really improved. I can't think of a team that has improved so much "during" the first game.
In addition the Sophs and JV teams were victorious and the Frosh teams tried hard but came up short. You can click on the following CST links for more info about the game.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_88479bbd-2747-5c35-8aad-b92340a26642.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_b25ac38e-6587-515b-92e6-07c7f4186ef6.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_63bda9f4-f103-5535-80d6-d8e4fa06cbe2.html
http://trib.com/news/vmix_e81147a2-b26a-11df-9200-001cc4c002e0.html
EVANSTON WEEK ONE
WOW! in Coach Pat Fackrell's debut game as the new head coach of the Red Devils they travel to Gillette, practice on Thursday at NCHS, and go on to whip the Camels 44-21! I can't remember Gillette being beaten at home by giving up 44 points. Evanston returns the most All-State players of anyone in 4A. Watching the film they are talented and tough. It will be a great test for us to travel and get off the bus and play. Kickoff is at 6pm in order for us to get back home after the game. This is perhaps the most important week of the season. Most teams improve more from week 1 to week 2 than any other week during the season.
Frosh Black defeated Cheyenne South and Frosh Orange fell to Douglas on Thursday. Gillette cancelled our Soph game set for Saturday so we were fortunate to pick up the Tongue River Varsity for a Friday evening home game. The Mustangs played well and had a chance at the end but fell 20-13. The JV's spent the night in Evanston and defeated the Red Devis 48-12 on Saturday morning.
We had the "shortest" trip ever to Evanston. We stopped in Rawlins and ate a sack "brunch" and then toured the old state penetentiary. That is quite an experience. We then bussed over to Little America for a pregame meal. It was warm and sunny with a breeze that blew from goal post to goal post, south to north. We won the toss and deferred thus we kicked off and played defense first. Evanston drove down the field and kicked a FG to take the early lead. We then received the kick off and Cole Montgomery scored on the first play! He would repeat that on the next series...1st play...score! We only ran 3 plays in the first quarter Overall it was a hard fought game. Evanston has a good football team and the Mustangs had to fight hard and not let their guard down as the Red Devils have several very talented players who can score from anywhere on the field. The was well played by both teams and once again we continued to improve. We got better and better as the game went on. There were important plays made on offense, defense, and special teams which made this a great TEAM victory. You can read the following CST links on the game.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_76dfdb5a-2aa5-5848-ba57-678ca7a4f94d.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_b39c69da-e36d-5c99-8bcc-1eb3e5644107.html
LARAMIE WEEK TWO
We are just starting our preparation for the Plainsmen so not much to report as of yet. The have struggled in their first two games but that doesn't mean much. We need to continue to focus on our Attitude and our Effort and humble ourselves and practice and prepare like champions.
What a week. We had Monday off so our preparation was a little different. Hats off to the players who did a nice job of learning Laramie and getting ready. We had some adversity to work on this week. You have to expect adversity and then smile because you know it will come and it makes us better and stronger. When game time came everything was in order and it was time to celebrate and have some fun playing football. The day was blustery and cool but when game time came around the temperature went up and the weather turned perfect! Calm and 67degrees! We celebrated the Orange with free T-shirts to the fans, Jr. High Football Night and the Mustangs dressed in Orange from head to toe! The sky was a beautiful Orange and the stadium was packed with a "sea of Orange." We started fast scored the first drive and played a solid, complete game on special teams, defense and offense. We rolled up 28 points in the first quarter, scored on Defense with a school record 98 yard interception return and had a shutout. You can read and view more information on the following CST links.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_e6695d8d-588b-583c-afaf-9ae2618d7f8c.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_7278e9e1-9d89-5bec-92d3-63574df49cf9.html
http://trib.com/sports/collection_11d69af0-bd61-11df-9dd7-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/news/vmix_aeb0e134-bd64-11df-b96f-001cc4c002e0.html
OIL BOWL WEEK THREE
It's that time of year again. What a fun time for the town of Casper! Last years game was one for the ages and this year promises to be another great game. The Trojans have played most of the better teams up to this point and played very well at times. The Game is set for 7pm Friday at Harry Geldien Stadium. The weather forcast looks great.
Well...the weather was different...It was hot during the day...over 90° at the bank sign. Then it cooled down quickly. By the end of the game 5 hours later it was 42°! However, the cool weather could not cool your Mustangs off. We scored on the first posession and the second and led 14-0 after 1 quarter. We then had two long drives to take a 28-0 lead. Defense got a nice stop and we were able to move the ball 60 yards in 55 seconds with no timeouts to push the half-time lead to 35-0. Our goal during the 2nd half was to continue to have no turnover, zero penalties and preserve the shutout. We did most of those with just two penalties. The Trojan's packed the box with 8 defenders blitzing on nearly every play. Our quick passing, screens and perimiter game led the way on offense. QB Jimmy Shellenberger was 21/28 at one point and ended 21/30 for 325 yards passing. The Mustangs rolled up nearly 500 yards in total offense and limited the Trojans to 150. It was a great team win with many contributions from the special teams as well. A couple of notes...thanks to the great student body! What a crowd we had...I understand it took some perseverance to even get in! Thank you to all of the fans. Secondly, everyone wanted to ask me about "last year" and the disappointing defeat and how sweet was this revenge etc....Time Out, last years Oil Bowl was one of the greatest games ever played. It was unbelievable...we lost but lets keep it in perspective. Secondly, we owe alot to last years Seniors...they were in the unfortunate position and we all hit rock bottom together. That experience has been used to make all of us better...Third, hats off to this years Seniors who "gave it a go" they have thrown themselves "all in" and given their trust and faith. That is not as easy as it sounds.
Next...we can enjoy this for the weekend but we must humble ourselves and discipline ourselves and get back on board...This journey has many more stops and twists and turns we don't even know about. Humility, self discipline, attitude of grattitude...Check out the links, you can also watch the webcast of the game through these links.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_d8a08600-2015-5340-84c0-851d24874cda.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_5c1e0c4b-2748-57f7-89c2-80df991c650a.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_bf2431d3-887f-5a8d-9db5-f37716f34a67.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_5b0ddd6d-20cf-5f20-8433-c8ba79cd347a.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/collection_6f01dd4e-c2e2-11df-965b-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_e82b0bfd-720a-57e2-8366-4b8246c1acc5.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_887266c1-f87d-5b26-b869-9a3d7bbb3670.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_1d9659c4-7a09-5343-977a-ee002cb293b4.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/vmix_77cf353c-c311-11df-bfda-001cc4c03286.html
GREEN RIVER WEEK FOUR (GAME 5) HOMECOMING!
The Green River Wolves have a tough squad who has played well and been in every game that they have played. It will be an exciting night for all Mustangs...Past..Present..Future.
We had a great week of practice. It was the fastest week in history! Wow! The Frosh both picked up wins on Thursday over Chey. East and Riverton. Homecoming week was fun. Thursday evenings coronation/parade/bonfire was well attended and fun. The weather was perfect all week. The Wolves could only play one "sub-varsity" game so the JV game on Saturday was moved to Friday and the Soph game was cancelled. We played mainly Jrs. the first half and Sophs. the second half.
The crowd was large and the Mustangs dressed in their traditional Orange tops and black pants. We played fast and executed well and took a 51-0 halftime lead. We had a special guest at halftime as legendary coach and 57 grad Del Wight came into the lockerroom and was introduced to the kids. What a football coach! The game was in the running clock mode because of the point differential. We started with our younger players and they played the entire 2nd half. The final score was 51-12. Couple thoughts as this season starts to slip into the memory books. 1. We are blessed. Our kids have worked hard and put themselves into a good spot. 2. Be Humble, blessings are not the work of men! 3. Stay Humble!...Self Discipline is the key to daily improvement. 4. We can only control our Attitude and our Effort...focus on that. 5. Be alert!...avoid the traps, temptations and attacks that will continue to come. Links to CST articles:
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_ddbffb6f-a9e9-538d-b0e1-d05c7dd2e592.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_110b50a5-75ff-517c-a0b6-c0be95288fbf.html
http://trib.com/news/vmix_a54a7ac2-c865-11df-9763-001cc4c002e0.html
CHEYENNE EAST WEEK FIVE (GAME 6)
Our first trip out of Casper looks to be a dandy. East is similiar to us with many returning starters. They are coming off a Capitol Bowl loss in which they didn't play as well as they are capable of playing. They are good and continue to improve. It will be a tremendous test for us. It is all about the preparation. When we practice and study well, we give ourselves a chance.
We had a good ride down to Cheyenne. The Sophs played well against a good Cheyenne East squad and looked stronger as the game went on. We never trailed and won going away at the end. The weather was great and we had a great following of fans from Casper, Laramie and Colorado. We lost the toss and the Birds got the ball first. Their game plan was executed well as they slowed the game down and kept the ball for 17 plays. We bent but did not break and gave up a field goal. The East lead lasted about 10 seconds as Cody Vollmar, one of the states fastest players took the ensuing kickoff and went 97 yards for a score and the lead. We played well but and it was good that we had to work and battle for everything we got in this game. It was a long game as East passed over 40 attempts and it was their Homecoming with a extended half. You can read about the game at
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_081bc009-bf09-5894-aa2b-88ae517277b2.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_a1d93352-aadd-590f-a072-bab423ef7109.html
GILLETTE WEEK SIX (GAME 7) FACULTY NIGHT
Gillette is coming off of two great come from behind wins over Sheridan and Central. It is a testament to their kids character and the competitive spirit. We have a great rivalry with Gillette. It is rivalry that has grown out of mutual respect and many hard fought games that more often than not decided a conference or state championship. They have a wide open offense and many talented players. They are well coached and play hard. The weather looks to be great and it should be a fun night.
Great game, the weather was perfect, the band awesome, the Mustangs in Black tops and Orange bottoms. Orange bandanas on hundreds of heads! Great game, we saw speed from the Camels that we had not seen in several weeks. Our guys stayed up and played together. It was a classic Gillette-Natrona battle. Time now to rest up, Recharge, Stay Humble and keep getting better every day at practice. What a journey. No one knows where or when it will end so do the best you can every day, Smile, Love one another and you can continue to change the world. Read more at:
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_a0b3c406-76fd-5adb-96fb-e8c7c7159c0d.html
http://trib.com/sports/college/article_5eaa3d35-d7e4-5b68-863d-9f30b7a8b0b3.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/ Watch the Webcast
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/collection_5d430098-d367-11df-81d8-001cc4c03286.html Photo Gallery
ROCK SPRINGS WEEK SEVEN(GAME 8) SENIOR NIGHT
The Tigers are fresh off a big win last night over Cheyenne East. They run a wide open offense and a blitzing 3-5 multiple defense. They have speed and skill and look like a million dollars on film. They will be another great test for the Mustangs. We started fast and played pretty well. We always have things to work on to keep improving. It was a beautiful night and we honored the Seniors in a new format. The parents did a great job and made it a special night. You can read about the game below.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_a803c13e-361c-5b7b-ae6f-360bc7e26ce0.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_f892d795-5ebb-5a4b-87eb-0abcc51a0335.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_1921acfb-aff1-511e-afed-5f6ec76c4820.html
http://trib.com/sports/collection_f5c4052e-d92f-11df-bc07-001cc4c002e0.html Pictures
http://trib.com/news/local/vmix_b8123ebc-d8f3-11df-a882-001cc4c002e0.html Video
SHERIDAN (GAME 9)
Sheridan is a good football team. They have the 2nd ranked defense and play hard. They are well coached and are the defending state champions. They were down a few guys last week but should return to full strength.
It was a beautiful night in Sheridan, the wind died down at kickoff. Thanks to all of the fans who made the trip. We sputtered on offense and took a 7-0 lead into the half. We extended the lead to 14-0 before the game tightened with 2 big Sheridan plays. We extended our lead 17-10 with 3 minutes left but on the ensuing kickoff the Broncs took it to paydirt and then went for two to take their first lead of the game and win 18-17. Congrats to them. We will learn and get better. It has been a great regular season. That is now over. The Post-season is now here.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_a2576723-752f-58e4-95df-2e6c6b5aee6e.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_63c1d58e-b6e9-552a-b388-5003635139f9.html
QUARTERFINALS (GAME 10)
The Mustangs will host the Green River Wolves Friday Oct 29th at 7pm. This is what we have worked for. We have had a great regular season 8-1, secured the No. 1 seed and now that is all over. It is the POST SEASON. Everyone is 0-0. Pure excitement!
The weather was nice, the wind died down some just before kickoff. We took the ball and scored on the opening drive and every subsequent drive of the first half to take a 24-0 lead at half. Our Sophs's took over and scored 3 more TD's to push the final score to 45-0. What a testament to our guys. They prepared well and got themselves ready to play. All of our guys! The sideline was great. Friday really represented a great week of practice and a great effort by our scout team. On to the Semi's! Read the CST links
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_6d6c2e7f-2b74-5928-8279-26312e8b6749.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/collection_ef8ae6fc-e3d7-11df-927b-001cc4c03286.html?photo=11
http://trib.com/news/vmix_6609613e-e3e5-11df-9920-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_26388cf1-d13f-5834-aff9-1d82c4af539b.html
SEMI-FINALS (GAME 11)
It's another classic, Natrona v. Gillette. Mustangs and Camels. Gillette is a good football team and they are well coached. It should be quite a game.
I can't remember a more beautiful Fall day. It was 71° at kickoff. The stands were packed, the band was awesome and it was a great day for highschool Saturday playoff football. It was a great game for our guys. We played very physical and our guys were just focused in such a way that just oozed confidence. Gillette is a very talented team and it was another great Natrona-Gillette battle. Check out the CST articles.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_d37f0048-f78b-5de7-bb14-e22b2fd55a8e.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_508503f7-87e2-5620-b3fd-33ea2d26d79b.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_705b11c1-5a4b-5df6-aeb2-57b13fd6df65.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/collection_b41ba33e-ea0a-11df-8e42-001cc4c002e0.html PHOTOS
FINALS (GAME 12)
One More at the War!. Next Saturday at 4pm the Mustangs will host the Sheridan Broncs to finish up Championship weekend. The Broncs are the defending state champions. It will be a great challenge as the Broncs handed us our only defeat of the year in Sheridan 17-18. It will be great fun!
It is hard to put it all in words. The wind was cold before the game. We warmed up in the Indoor Practice Facility in light gear..sweated like crazy! We then went back to the RAC(Cowboys home locker room) and changed into cool weather gear. When we completed our warm-ups the wind stopped, the sun was bright and the sky was clear blue. It was a beautiful day in Laramie! The Mustangs wore "Orange Out". The crowd was excellent and loud. We are so grateful for the folks who traveled, spent their hard earned money and supported the Mustangs. What a great experience for kids. The Jr. ROTC Mustang Battallion was there in force and presented the colors. Kristen Trumbell sang all four versus of America the Beautiful and our Fighting Mustang Marching Band was in attendance as well. The Mustang Walk was as big as ever. We were the number one seed and it was like a home game! WOW! Once again thank you for your support. Finally, we were fortunate to have a Mustang stop by during Friday pre-practice. Darin Murphy (03) champions and Captain gave an awesome talk about belief, common consciousness...WOW! read the links to check out more info on the game. Thanks again for checking in on your Mustangs.
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_65378a5e-ca33-51d8-9af3-a52ed2cacfbe.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_23276836-1bac-5e72-a17c-305350654a96.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_9d45ec2a-b518-585f-bfbb-00c075dc0e0d.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_9ad1026f-01a8-5ddf-b00e-0dc711496316.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_8c7bf5d0-f0ad-50d1-a3ed-070bf1d9cfc5.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_d234efbb-a766-5530-9be1-3c0c0a506f21.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_df07356f-99ef-5d46-8de3-2642004aa1d6.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/image_12d02fc6-ef51-11df-8aa7-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_7f833663-20e8-5d15-9525-fd034218701e.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_6668f2ba-ebc9-5f7e-b81a-875e3f617080.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/collection_e198ee52-ef9b-11df-8ae6-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/football/image_f6c6dee6-ef51-11df-84b4-001cc4c03286.html
http://trib.com/sports/high-school/article_6668f2ba-ebc9-5f7e-b81a-875e3f617080.html?mode=video
Thanks for checking in. There has been a ton of work to get ready for the season and we know it will quickly be a memory. Trust that we will do our best, hang together and make this a season of growth. I can't tell you what a blessing it is to work for these kids at NCHS. "All Hail to Casper High" and remember that "Every Day is a Great Day to be a Mustang."
Regards,
"On a Scale of 1-10, Be an Eleven"
Coach Harshman
"Trust" Proverbs 3:5-6
