TORRINGTON – The events following Torrington High School’s 22-21 victory over the Jackson Broncs on Friday, Nov. 2, overshadowed a thrilling finish between two of the top teams in Class 3A.

As a result of the win, the Blazers punched their ticket to the state championship in Laramie for the second consecutive season.

Now with the season over, THS football coach Mark Lenhardt and athletic director Dave Plendl broke their silence concerning the ending and ensuing events of that evening.

“One of the greatest football games that I’ve been a part of that came right down to the wire was ruined by all the controversy that took place,” Lenhardt said. “Our biggest goal as coaches is to try to educate kids and show them that sometimes things may go your way and sometimes not, but you always have to take the high road.”

But it was the events following the game which made the headlines in the days after the semifinal playoff football game.

Many Jackson supports were unhappy about the final 70 seconds of the game – specifically the last few seconds – when Torrington senior running back Bryan Lemmon scored a touchdown and ultimately sealed the victory with the two-point conversion with no time left on the clock.

“Jackson fans were upset with what they thought were inaccuracies of the game clock within the last minute, specifically the last few seconds of the game,” Plendl said.

As he was escorting the game officials back to the locker room, several Jackson fans “charged after the referees,” Plendl recounted.

“Myself, along with the Jackson AD (Mike Hansen), stood in between them so they couldn’t get to the officials until they could get to the door of the building,” Plendl said.

Verbal vulgarities towards Plendl and the officials ensued.

However, Lenhardt wanted to stress it wasn’t the entire Jackson fan base who were causing issues.

“There were a few Jackson parents that came and congratulated our boys and congratulated me either through messaging or through text,” he said. “I appreciate that. I think that Jackson AD Mike Hansen did an excellent job of handling things throughout the week.”

A handful of people felt like Jackson had been “cheated” or “robbed” of a chance to play for the state championship last Friday on the campus of the University of Wyoming.

Plendl went on to praise the Torrington fan base for not reacting in response.

“Our fans have acted in a classy manner,” he said. “They’ve restrained themselves from getting into a social media war with anyone.”

There were many comments made on Facebook and Twitter, including comments directed at the Blazers’ Facebook page, along with comments made about local businesses from the Jackson fan base.

“I want to stand up for our students, our student body, coaches, our school, our community. I want to stand up for our businesses in our community,” Plendl said in reference to critical comments made about the Torrington Livestock Market, located south of Wiseman Field. “The livestock market is a very good neighbor. They are very strong supporters of the school.”

Plendl was also thankful for the Torrington Police Department’s presence at the Jackson game and later escorting the team to and from Laramie over the weekend.

According to Torrington Police Chief Tim Hurd, rumors of a physical altercation between game officials and Jackson High School fans only reached his department as hearsay. 

“I’m not aware of any physical altercations whatsoever,” Hurd said. “Our officer wasn’t aware of anything other than hearsay. There was nothing, he saw nothing. Mr. (Dave) Plendl apparently had a confrontation with a parent from the other school. He could not identify the guy and didn’t go any further with it. There were no reports of any physical confrontation, if any occurred.”

Hurd said officers did respond to the scene on the field, but it was a preventative response. 

“Our officer had to respond to prevent any issues from occurring,” he said. “There were no arrests, there were no issues. They were there, and they responded just to prevent any issues from recurring.” 

The Torrington Police Department did provide a two-car escort for the THS team bus to Laramie, and Hurd said he contacted the University of Wyoming Police Department to make them aware of possible harassment. The move turned out to be just a precaution, as the TPD officers assigned to the buses reported there were no issues. 

“They told me straight,” Hurd said. “It was great. It was a good time. There was no interference and there were no problems with the fans. They even talked to the fans. Nobody from Jackson tried to interfere with anything.”