CHEYENNE – The tides quickly changed for Cheyenne East on Friday night.

After establishing a 28-0 lead over Thunder Basin, the Bolts flipped the script and turned the four-touchdown deficit into a 39-34 victory at Okie Blanchard Stadium.

The teams entered the game tied for the top-ranked spot in the WyoPreps.com coaches and media poll.

East (0-1) started the contest with three touchdowns in the final 4 minutes, 20 seconds of the opening quarter. The early success was sprung by the Thunderbirds’ ability to control the game up front. Jakob Culver blocked and recovered a punt for the first score, and East recovered the ensuing kickoff. Culver was responsible for the following touchdown just 1 minute, 25 seconds later on a 18-yard reception from senior quarterback Gavin Goff.

Things continued to go East’s way with pressure on Bolts quarterback Ryan Baker leading to a Kaleb Romero interception on the following possession. Again, the T-Birds took advantage when Goff found Garet Schlabs for a four-yard touchdown and the two connected again for an 80-yard score to start the second period.

However, that was the high point for the T-Birds.

“Their front seven just said ‘We’re not going to put up with that anymore,’ and they dominated a little bit on us there,” East coach Chad Goff said. “We did some good things at times, but just not consistently … we came out high and you’ve gotta be able to stay high – gotta be able to stay up there the whole time.”

It was the final minute of the first half that saw the biggest swing in the contest. East was forced to punt inside its own territory with just over a minute left in the half. Isaiah Haliburton returned it 25 yards, eventually leading to a Bolts touchdown when Baker found Ethan Cox in the back of the end zone on a 13-yard completion.

The play gave the Bolts some life going into the break as they trailed 28-15.

“We came out strong and then after that they had a couple of big plays that sparked them … I just thought they were a little tougher than us before the half there,” Schlabs said. “Momentum’s a huge thing in sports.”

That momentum turned into a six-play, 65-yard drive that lasted 1:23 to start the half for the Bolts. It was capped by a 14-yard touchdown on a Baker scramble.

“Going into halftime, after they scored (our mentality shifted),” Romero said. “It was a punch to the gut for us, (it) changed the energy of the game and then we just couldn’t stop them.”

Less than 3 minutes later, the Bolts took the lead for good. Ryan Jordan picked off a Goff pass and Baker hit Kayden LaFramboise – who was streaking down the left sideline – on the very next play for a 51-yard score and a 29-28 advantage.

East could never garner back the lead with only six second-half points – a touchdown coming with 21 seconds left in the game. It’ll look to get its first win of the season next week at Natrona County.

“We just gotta come in and get better, and try to be 1-0 next week,” Schlabs said. “One step at a time and that’ll do it.”

THUNDER BASIN 39, EAST 34

Thunder Basin………. 0 15 21 3 – 39

Cheyenne East……… 21 7 0 6 – 34

SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

CE: Culver Def (LaRue kick) 4:20

CE: Culver 18 pass from Goff (LaRue kick) 2:55

CE: Schals 4 pass from Goff (LaRue kick) 0:55

Second quarter

CE: Schlabs 80 pass from Goff (LaRue kick) 9:52

TB: LaFramboise 12 pass from Baker (2-pt good) 8:31

TB: Cox 13 pass from Baker (Ayers kick) 0:15

Third quarter

TB: Baker 14 run (Ayers kick) 10:37

TB: LaFramboise 51 pass from Baker (Ayers kick) 7:58

TB: Zimmerscheid 3 run (Ayers kick) 3:52

Fourth quarter

TB: Ayers 33 field goal 9:14

CE: Jackson 18 pass from Jackson (2-pt failed) 0:21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

Thunder Basin: Baker 9-24, Randall 2-13, Halliburton 32-213, Zimmerscheid 1-3. Cheyenne East: Jackson 1 (minus-3), Pugh 16-44, Schlabs 7-30, Goff 12-55.

Passing

Thunder Basin: Baker 13-26-2 193. Cheyenne East: Goff 20-30-2 268, Hayes 3-3 48.

Receiving

Cheyenne East: Cox 2-22, Ayers 4-39, Jordan 3-68, Haliburton 1-16, Hatzenbuhler 1-10. Cheyenne East: Jackson 3-41, 2-9, 11-196, 3-37, Hayes 1-6, Romero 1-6, Pafford 2-20.

Robert Munoz is a writer for WyoSports. He can be reached at rmunoz@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter @rmunoz307.