TORRINGTON – The Torrington High School football team let a 10-7 lead slip away in the fourth quarter to the Wheatland Bulldogs on Friday evening at Wiseman Field.

The end result was a 20-10 loss, dropping the Blazers to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the 2A East Conference on the season.

After a scoreless first quarter, the visitors were first on the scoreboard early in the second quarter on a 1-yard run.

Six minutes later, senior Braeden Flock battled through a pass interference penalty by the Wheatland defense to haul in a leaping grab for a 23-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Ryan Moorehouse.

The score remained tied at seven through halftime into the late moments of the third quarter.

“Offensively, the first half, we were just backed up,” coach Russell Stienmetz said. “We had the entire field to drive. We couldn’t put together drives to flip the field, and we gave them the short end of the field.”

Torrington managed to force three turnovers on downs in the first half.

“For the most part, the defense did well, stepping well and getting several key stops on fourth down,” Stienmetz said.

With 3:31 left in the third quarter, senior kicker Juan Carlos Stevens broke the tie, booting a 36-yard field goal to give Torrington a 10-7 lead.

“It was good to see what he can do when the pressure is on him,” Stienmetz said.

Wheatland regained the lead with 6:35 left in the game on a 1-yard quarterback keeper to go back in front for good.

The Blazers had their chance to halt on the Bulldog drive. With 8:57 left in the game, Wheatland was looking at a 4th-and-4 situation, but Torrington jumped offsides, handing the visitors a first down, ultimately leading to the go-ahead score.

Torrington was forced to punt with 4:33 left in the game, before the Blazer defense forced their fourth turnover on downs with just under three minutes to play.

THS drive drove into Wheatland territory before turning the ball over on downs with 1:55 left in the game.

The Bulldogs got one more score for good measure inside the final minute of the contest.

Junior running back Jacob Durrant led the Blazers in rushing with 82 yards on 13 carries, while Moorehouse added 18 yards on 13 attempts. Moorehouse was also 9-of-24 passing for 83 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Flock hauled in five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown. He also had two interceptions on the defensive side of the football.

Stienmetz said he is hopeful to get either quarterback/linebacker Bryce Hager or running back/linebacker Dylan Packard back this week but stressed nothing is guaranteed.

“They are such key players and when you lose a quarterback and a running back, you try to fill it in, but it is what it is and make the best of it,” he said. “Each week, we’ll get them more prepared and more confident.”

Torrington travels to Big Horn (2-1 overall and 2-0 in the 2A East) on Friday. Kickoff is scheduled at 6 p.m.

“This week, we go to Big Horn. They air it out,” Stienmetz said. “They have one of the best QBs in the state, and we, for sure, need to change some things up defensively and give them some new, fresh looks.”