CHEYENNE – Improved play on both lines helped No. 1-ranked Cheyenne East walk away with a 34-9 victory over Kelly Walsh on Friday.

Senior quarterback Graedyn Buell scored a 7-yard touchdown on the Thunderbirds’ opening drive, but Kelly Walsh marched down the field little by little on its ensuing drive. The Trojans got to East’s 18 before their offense stalled and they settled for a field goal.

Kelly Walsh (3-5) got past the 50-yard line just once more before the fourth quarter.

“We were really over-penetrating on the line and that caused a lot of breakdowns on that first drive,” East defensive tackle Bradley Whitright said. “Holding them to a field goal on that drive was huge. It was points on the scoreboard for them, but it wasn’t what they were looking for and that takes a lot out of a team.”

T-Birds coach Chad Goff liked the way his defense adjusted after the opening drive.

“That’s a credit to their maturity and not putting their head down when the other team is driving,” he said.

“They kept their heads up, stayed with it and found a way to keep them out of the end zone and hold them to a field goal.

“A lot of the yards Kelly Walsh was gaining early was because we were over-penetrating and over-running things, but our guys settled down. They were still aggressive, but they were doing what they were coached to do.”

The T-Birds (7-1) scored on four of their next five possessions, and the line also played a role in that. Buell was forced to scramble a lot early, but was able to settle in and find receivers downfield as the game progressed.

“We had to have some heart-to-hearts with the offensive line after the first couple possessions because we were being sloppy and a little lazy,” Goff said. “They picked up their protection in the second quarter, and that continued through the rest of the game.

“We got good push and had some good runs from Cade (Pugh). They know we’re not going to score every time, but we can still do good things with the ball and flip the field.”

East held a 21-3 halftime lead thanks to a 2-yard touchdown reception from senior Jake Rayl, and a 7-yard touchdown catch from sophomore Keagan Bartlett.

It went up 27-3 when Pugh bulled his way in from a yard out midway through the third quarter. The T-Birds’ final score came when Buell found Gavin Goff for a 30-yard touchdown.

East was without the services of senior receiver Jackson Hesford, who suffered an injury during the T-Birds’ win over Cheyenne Central. Buell still threw for 260 yards and three scores.

Gavin Goff caught seven passes for 129 yards, while Rayl added six catches for 68.

“Our receives coach, Paul Garcia, nitpicked us all week and wanted us to be perfect,” Gavin Goff said. “We still have a lot to work on, but we were able to show what we’re capable of when we’re focusing on the little things.

“(Garcia) wanted us to be better at our get-outs and not be jammed so much off the line. We really worked on our footwork and spacing this week. We can’t run into someone else’s route because that really messes things up.”

Senior linebacker Trey Bower posted 14 tackles (four solo), while classmate Julian Vigil had nine (six solo). East closes the regular season against fifth-ranked Rock Springs (5-3) at 6 p.m. Friday in Rock Springs.

EAST 34, KELLY WALSH 9

Kelly Walsh…… 3 0 0 6 – 9

Cheyenne East…… 7 14 6 7 – 34

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

CE: Buell 7 run (Larue kick), 8:22.

KW: Stowe 35 field goal, 1:52.

Second Quarter

CE: Rayl 2 pass from Buell (Larue kick), 3:46.

CE: K. Bartlett 7 pass from Buell (Larue kick), 0:14.

Third Quarter

CE: Pugh 1 run (Larue kick failed), 4:18.

Fourth Quarter

CE: Goff 30 pass from Buell (Larue kick), 9:31.

KW: Walker 1 run (Stowe kick failed), 4:30.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Kelly Walsh: Kaufmann 2-9, Spllane 4-22, Burkett 19-53, Walker 11-59. Cheyenne East: K. Bartlett 1-0, Cade Pugh 13-55, Schlabs 3-14, Buell 12-62, Brinkman 3-2, Goff 1-6, Team 1-(minus-1).

Passing

Kelly Walsh: Walker 3-5-0 14. Cheyenne East: Buell 20-29-0 260, K. Bartlett 1-1-0 16.

Receiving

Kelly Walsh: Jahr 1-2, Cockrum 2-12. Cheyenne East: K. Bartlett 3-32, Cade Pugh 2-17, Schlabs 2-14, Goff 7-129, Lopez 1-16, Rayl 6-68.

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.