Editors note: Articles covering all-state and all-conference awards for each of the three football teams in Goshen County will run in the Torrington Telegram the following week.

LINGLE – The Lingle-Fort Laramie (LFL) Doggers football team punched in an historic season.

LFL went undefeated in the regular season for only the fifth time in the program’s 122-year history. The Doggers also posted their second consecutive year going 6-0 in conference play for an overall 19-2 record in 2023 and 2024.

LFL swept its opponents in the 1A 9-man playoffs to clinch a berth in the state championship game for the first time since 2009 – the fourth title berth in the Doggers’ 12-decade history.

LFL’s success was rooted in exceptional talent on the gridiron and it comes as no surprise that three senior athletes on the Doggers’ varsity squad snagged 1A East conference player of the year awards. 

Senior Louden Bremer earned the offensive player of the year award and was named to the Casper-Star Tribune’s Super 25 roster. The 2024 season marked the second year Bremer earned both awards.

While earning the awards were not goals Bremer initially set out to achieve, Bremer stated he was “thankful” to earn both.

“All the glory to God – I couldn’t do it without Him,” Bremer added. “It’s a lot of hard work that has paid off – early mornings in the weight room, a lot of hard practices for the last four years. I think it reflects the coaching staff and the team. Without them, I wouldn’t have been put in the position to get offensive player of the year (and Super 25) the last two years.

Senior Kaiden Riggs clinched the Super 25 and 1A East special teams player of the year awards for the first time.

Riggs also opened the season with one goal in mind – a state title, but the senior was grateful for the awards.

 “All glory to God for giving me the strength to do what I can do in practice and in games,” Riggs said. “I wouldn’t be getting these awards if it wasn’t for all of the players coming out to practices and the coaches pushing me to be the best player I could be.”

Senior Cooper Smith garnered the 1A East defensive player of the year award for the first time. Earning the award was a goal Smith set out to achieve early in the season.

“Last year was pretty close and I was leading statistically (on defense) for about half the year,” Smith said. “I knew that I wanted (player of the year) to be one of my goals coming in this year. I’ve strived to be the best person I could be defensively this whole year.”

“It was a great season overall,” Smith added. “We worked well together. It’s going to be hard not playing football again and leaving that team behind.”

A memorable season

LFL’s offense bulldozed over each opponent in the regular season and playoffs.

“Our offense rolled really well throughout the entire season,” Bremer remarked.

LFL particularly excelled at its running game. Bremer recalled watching video of a Division II college football national champion advancing to the title game following a season totaling only 15 passes.

“That got me hyped up because that was how we were,” Bremer said. “Our running game was where we got after it. I took a lot of pride in having three backs that got after it and ran hard to make little DBs and linebackers scared of us.”

Bremer felt the Dogger offense really came together in the semifinal game against Big Piney when LFL won by a 52-6 margin.

“Our offense was clicking against Big Piney,” Bremer added. “We put in some new stuff for that game and we executed it really well.”

LFL’s special teams found their footing in the October 10 county rivalry game against Southeast. The Cyclones opened the game with a touchdown to take an early 6-0 lead.

LFL responded with a pick six by Riggs on Southeast’s ensuing kickoff and the Doggers never looked back.

Riggs praised his teammates on special teams for blocking during the pick six and other explosive plays throughout the game.

“We’d been taught to block, open the middle and have me run the football,” Riggs said. “Allowing me to get those kick returns was huge. We were down, 6-0, at the beginning of the game and (Southeast) kicked to the two biggest threats on kick return and allowed those two biggest threats to do some damage and take the momentum, 7-6.”

Smith played defensive end and approached each game from a slightly different angle.

“The goal (for defense) is to prevent the opponent from getting outside and to squeeze their running backs while rushing the quarterback,” Smith said. “I like to play it by watching the backfield – watching things develop as fast as they can and making decisions off that.”

The Wind River game stood out as a highlight for Smith when the Doggers’ tenacious defense shut out the Cougars’ offense in a 57-0 blowout. The cross-county rivalry game was also memorable.

“We just really started to connect and trust everyone to do their jobs (against Southeast),” Smith said. “Once we trusted our teammates, we could really do everything to the best of our ability.”

Hard work and team chemistry

Small-town, rural football can be a grind. Because teams are small, athletes typically find themselves playing both sides of the field, along with special teams. While teams from larger town and cities possess the numbers to specialize, starting players from communities like Lingle-Fort Laramie are out on the gridiron for every minute of every game.

Preparing for these games involved significant conditioning during practice, Riggs said. Riggs threw plenty of punches on defense, but he preferred playing special teams and offense.

“I prefer the offensive side because that’s what I’ve been taught – my main position is running back,” Riggs added. “But if my coach needs me to play both sides of the ball, I’d be willing to do that.”

Bremer described playing offense, defense and special teams as a way of “glorifying God through the abilities that He has given me. Being able to go out there and play a good game on offense, a solid game on defense and work hard on special teams – I take it as a blessing.”

Smith specialized in defense, although he received significant playing time on offense, culminating in a touchdown late in the season.

“Coming from a small school, we expect to play both sides in every sport,” Smith noted. “I’ve been playing both sides of the ball since my freshman year.”

Smith preferred playing defense as an underclassman. In 2024, offense and defense were more evenly matched due to the offense “clicking” throughout the season with explosive plays. The scale ultimately tipped to defense, though.

“I like being able to watch everything develop (defensively) and make my own decisions,” Smith said. “I like being able to think for myself while also trusting my teammates to do what they are supposed to do.”

The ability to step in and out of roles on the field and fill out the lines on both sides of the ball involves a strong work ethic. Riggs credited his perseverance to the everyday grind of practice.

“I’ve always been told to practice how you play,” Riggs said. “You’re not going to go out and practice and give it 50 percent and go into a game and give it 100 percent.”

Riggs also learned to dig deep by watching older players as an underclassman.

“A lot of my work ethic came from upperclassmen telling me not to give up,” Riggs continued. “It’s about striving to get better to see that varsity spot and making myself better as a football player.”

Bremer looked back over six generations of his family attending school and playing sports in Lingle – a tradition Bremer strove to uphold during his football career.

“Work ethic comes from pride and a standard I hold myself to that prohibits me from giving anything less than a hundred percent,” Bremer said. “I truly believe that if you don’t have pride in something, you can’t stand firmly for anything.”

Smith developed his grit from his parents. 

“I grew up with a strong work ethic mainly because of my family,” Smith said. “They have pushed me to be the best I can and to always work for what I want. My family has always helped me grow to be a good person.”

At the end of the day, success came down to what Bremer described as “unmatched” teamwork between each of the Doggers grinding out on the field each week. 

Smith emphasized the team’s “commitment to being a family this year.”

The desire for athletes to pull their weight made the seniors’ leadership roles relatively easy.

“With the group of kids we had this year, it didn’t seem like there was a whole lot of prodding that needed to happen,” Bremer remarked. “We didn’t listen to any of the outside talk. We’re defined by who God says we are. Because of that, we were super grounded. We were focused on each other and playing good football to glorify His name.”

The seniors each look forward to the next path in life. Bremer plans to study business at the University of Wyoming. He is also looking into the possibility of going into ranching or the ministry.

Riggs hopes to continue his football career at the collegiate level and is pursuing different options. Career-wise, Riggs set the goal to go to dentistry school and open a dental practice. 

Smith is interested in studying mechanical or nuclear engineer, possibly at the University of Wyoming.

Bremer gave a shoutout to teammate and junior Colter McFarlin for encouraging Bremer to “work my butt off over the summer.”

Bremer also singled out junior and teammate Colt Brown:

“That kid does everything that’s asked of him and doesn’t say a word about it.”

Bremer also expressed gratitude to the “extremely great leaders” on the Doggers coaching staff.

“The most important thing I’ve reflected on this season is that God’s will is way greater than my wants,” Bremer concluded.

Riggs focused his thanks on his teammate Smith:

“Cooper makes practices so much better –  he’s always there to get better and makes practices fun. The team has been awesome this year. Working with this group of guys my senior year was a blessing and I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Smith gave a shoutout to the community for supporting the Doggers throughout the season. He saved his biggest thanks for family and friends.

“My family has supported me through wins and losses,” Smith said. “My friends have always pushed me to be the best I can be on the team and off the team. I really feel like everybody around me has tried to help me be the best person I can be.”