By Greg Johnson, Cowboy State Daily
greg@cowboystatedaily.com
Had he posted it on a Sunday in the NFL, Colson Coon’s stat line would’ve obliterated all fantasy football records. For now, the Sheridan High School senior running back will have to settle for a Wyoming 11-man football record.
The 517 rushing yards Coon posted in a 63-42 Class 4A state semifinal win over Cheyenne Central High School on Friday knocked Theo Dawson down a peg in the Wyoming high school record books, who ran for 489 yards for Jackson High School in 2014.
Coon’s performance also scores out to a ridiculous 103 fantasy points. That compares to NFL Hall-of-Famer and former San Francisco 49er Jerry Rice, who holds the record for the best single-game fantasy score with 65.5 points, set against Atlanta in 1990. The No. 1 all-time fantasy running back performance was by Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles, who posted 59.5 points against the Oakland Raiders in 2013.
Once-In-A-Career Game
Fleshing out his stat line, Coon ran for 517 yards on 29 carriers, a 17.8-yards-per-carry average, scored seven of Sheridan’s nine touchdowns and accounted for all nine of the team’s extra points.
“Man, I wish I had him on my fantasy team,” quipped his coach, Jeff Mowry. “Last week, I got smoked.”
But having Coon play for the Broncs is much better, Mowry said, adding that while he knew the senior was having a good game Friday, he didn’t realize in the moment it was historic.
“No, I really had no idea about that,” Mowry told Cowboy State Daily. “I knew he was having a good night, that was pretty apparent.”
The magnitude of Coon’s night “was brought to my attention in the press box after the game,” the coach said. “It’s just wow. I think I had that (many yards) for my whole career. Those numbers in 11-man football is unheard of. It just doesn’t happen.”
‘It’s So Surreal’
Like his coach, Coon said he knew he was having a good game, but was caught up in executing each play and not appreciating the big picture.
“During the game I mostly just wasn’t even thinking about it,” Coon told Cowboy State Daily. “I was thinking we have to win this game.”
He also is quick to credit his teammates, especially the offensive line, a group that began the season young and inexperienced and has developed into one of the best line of blockers in the state.
“We started off the season with very little experience and were a little rough to begin with,” he said. “They’ve grown so much and come so far and definitely are one of the best offensive lines in the state.”
That was apparent Friday, he said, when, “I had a couple of runs where I was never touched, everything just opened up so perfectly. It’s so awesome when you see that.”
Since learning how many yards he ran for and that it’s a new state record, Coon said he still hasn’t fully processed the accomplishment.
“It’s something you never think would happen to you and just felt amazing,” he said. “It’s so surreal, breaking a state record. Also, winning the game was the goal.”
Another Broncs Title?
The reward for Coon and the Sheridan Broncs is advancing to another Class 4A state championship game, a place the program has been to plenty of times. The Broncs are the defending state champs and have won seven Class 4A titles since 2009.
They’re the favorites to repeat, going into Saturday’s title game with Cheyenne East High School at War Memorial Stadium on the University of Wyoming campus in Laramie a perfect 11-0 on the season.
