CHEYENNE — No. 2-ranked Cheyenne Central’s last loss came in 1-0 fashion to eventual Class 4A state champion Thunder Basin just under 13 months ago. While it isn’t the exact same team as last year, the Indians still get up for the game anytime they match up.
On Friday evening, the Indians took care of business against the Bolts in 4-1 fashion to remain perfect on the season.
“We just have the mentality of thinking what they did to us last year,” junior forward Justin Hendren said. “We just bring it in and try to score as many goals as we can (against them).”
Both teams were physical with one another while trying to exert their will throughout the match. But Hendren said the Indians were not phased in the slightest by the level of physicality.
“We knew how physical they are,” he said. “They are a great team, but we were ready to play against their physicality.”
The teams played a relatively even first 20 minutes. Thunder Basin registered the first dangerous attempt on net when it broke into the attacking third and blasted a high shot on net just three minutes in. Sophomore keeper Leo Somerset was up to the task, however, and kept the ball out of the net.
Hendren, who isn’t a normal starter for the Indians, drew into the starting lineup for the Indians after senior captain Samuel Lucas Smith was given two yellow cards — resulting in a red card — Wednesday at Cheyenne East.
In the 25th minute, Hendren made his impact. Owen Black fed a pass deep into the the penalty area and, after a chip pass from Andy Lam, Hendren ran onto the ball at the five-yard line and blasted a perfectly-placed shot past to the low-right side of the net to give Central a 1-0 lead.
“Justin always plays well,” Indians coach Dirk Dijkstal said. “He has a great first touch and is probably one of the most technically skilled kids we have on the team.”
Central scored a nearly identical goal just over six minutes later, when senior Sammy Shumway scored from a similar spot to make it 2-0. The goal proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Central added two more goals in the second half from Owen Black and Cooper Bush in the 66th and 79th minutes, respectively, to pull away with the game.
In between those two goals, however, Thunder Basin found some life. After a bouncing ball was played deep into Central’s zone, Somerset was forced to come off his line to challenge. He wasn’t fast enough, and Bolts sophomore Boone Roswadovski chipped the ball over his head.
The ball bounced into the back of the net, despite a valiant effort from Tyler Davis to catch up. It was just the second goal Central has allowed this season.
Despite the marker, Central’s defense did enough to prevent the Bolts from climbing any closer. Thunder Basin mustered just a trio of shot attempts for the final 7 minutes, 39 seconds of play, only one of which ended up on the frame.
“We played really well and were technically sound,” Dijkstal said. “People like Justin and some others stepped into roles and really stepped up. (Thunder Basin) is a really well-coached team and they have some pretty sick counter attacks that are pretty deadly.”
