LUSK – As the records piled up and Drake Lamp made Tiger Football history, the rewards have come back for the Niobrara County High School senior.
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LUSK – As the records piled up and Drake Lamp made Tiger Football history, the rewards have come back for the Niobrara County High School senior.
He became the ninth Tiger to make the Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 team and the 38th selected for the Shrine Bowl. Lamp is also the first four-time all-state player in school history. He was also a four-time all-conference and 2020 Offensive Player of the Year.
Lamp ran for 3,057 yards, 41 touchdowns on 245 attempts, as the Tigers went 8-3 and advanced to the 9-man state championship game. NCHS broke or tied 15 school records, and while statistical comparisons will always persist, Activities Director and head football coach Ryan Nelson and I have worked carefully to represent the transition smoothly. It could be a long time before some of these numbers are challenged.
He couldn’t have done it without the six other all-state players that were honored and the rest of the Lusk squad. They include Jasper Caldera (three-time all-conference and three-time Tiger Ironman), Dylan Molzahn (three-time all-conference, two-time all-state and three-time Tiger Ironman), Dayne Lamp (two-time all-conference and two-time Tiger Ironman), Aiden Applegarth, Riley Blackburn and Mason Wells.
Aric Eaton and Walker Kupke were also included on the 1A East All-Conference team. Eaton was one of the most dangerous return men in the state, averaging 19.6 yards per kickoff and 14.3 yards per punt return. Kupke’s strong first year as starting quarterback was overshadowed by the eye-popping numbers his counterparts at Southeast, Rocky Mountain, Shoshoni, Pine Bluffs and Saratoga put up.
It was another stellar year, as some of the other records that fell include Molzahn breaking a record for punting average at 41.1 yards. It’s a record that had stood since Steve Cockreham’s 39.2 in 1968. Lamp tied the record set by Billy Fitzwater in 1994 for yards per carry with 12.5.
The Tigers picked up the 500th win in school history when they won at Wright on Oct. 2, 2020. As the 2020 season came to a close, Lusk ranks fifth in program wins in Wyoming history.
The 2021 Shrine Bowl is scheduled for June 12 at Casper Natrona High School before the five returning all-state players and Kupke begin preparations for another deep run for the 98th season of Tiger football this fall.