Wyoming's football scrimmage at Dick Cheney Alumni Field in Casper last Saturday produced some good moments and some not-so-good moments. Just like all scrimmages.

But it was far more than just a scrimmage.

It was a highly successful "outreach" event, something to which UW and its athletics department are committed.

It was a great day.

The weather was beautiful, the crowd was great, and the experience for the Cowboys themselves was a very positive one.

Fans from Casper and the surrounding area came out to see their Pokes on a sun-splashed day that had the crispness of a perfect football afternoon.

"That was a good day," Head Coach Craig Bohl said on the way back to Laramie. "It was a lot of fun to see so many Cowboy fans come out to see our team. It was a heck of an experience for all of us."

Moving a football team anywhere is an undertaking. This particular enterprise included four buses, the equipment tractor-trailer and a good-sized contingent of staff members including marketing, ticketing, media relations, creative video services, Cowboy Joe, and the Brown & Gold.

And the Casper area responded.

In partnership with Pepsi, Casper's David Street Station and Wyoming Food for Thought, fans were asked to bring a non-perishable food item to the scrimmage for a free Pepsi product at the game. Independently operated Food for Thought (a local non-profit organization) collected 2,064 items of food, and $357.36 in donations. The group distributed in excess of 1,200 tickets for free Pepsi products, which amounted to some 80 cases.

A guy who had a great deal to do with the afternoon's success was Shannon Moore, the Cowboys' tight ends and fullbacks coach. In the early 2000's, Moore was head coach of the Wyoming Cavalry of the National Indoor Football League, and made a lot of friends in the Oil City. Shannon worked extremely hard at helping the organization of the event, and making sure it was a success.

Thanks also goes to Natrona County High School, its administration, and in particular head football coach Steve Harshman—the proud father of Cowboy tight end, Josh--who opened their excellent facilities to the Cowboys.

"Outreach is a mindset and a commitment," says Athletics Director Tom Burman. "We want to continue to take our programs to towns throughout Wyoming. It's great for our fans, it's great for our student-athletes."

In recent years, Cowboy and Cowgirl athletic teams have competed in nearly every corner of Wyoming. It's all designed to bring UW's student-athletes to the state. In fact, every program has participated in the outreach initiative.

"Outreach is a great opportunity for us to give back as well as reach out to our season-ticket holders and donors," says Randy Welniak, Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development and Revenue Enhancement. "Coming to them is an opportunity to thank them for all of their support."

Bohl is a great fan as well. "It's awesome for our players to see other parts of the state, and to understand how far our fans travel to see them play," says Bohl. "Outreach is an important part of what we do here. This is not the University of Laramie, it belongs to the entire state."

For the record, the Cowboys scrimmaged 84 plays during the afternoon. "It was pretty vanilla, which we anticipated," says Bohl. "I think we accomplished a lot of the things that we wanted to. We wanted to see who could throw, who could catch and who could tackle. I thought we moved the ball well on the ground, and I thought our offensive line did some good things, as well as our running backs. From a quarterback perspective it was a little bit of a mixed bag. Both the two experienced guys—Sean Chambers and Tyler Vander Waal—did some good things, but there are things we've got to work on.

"That's what spring football is all about."

Fittingly, the leading rusher on the day was a Natrona County High School alum, Brett Brenton who rushed for 71 yards on 17 carries, and scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. The other Cowboy to score a touchdown in the scrimmage was sophomore fullback Jeff Burroughs who is from Yoder.

Wyoming's outstanding place-kicker, Cooper Rothe, also was impressive during the scrimmage. "In the kicking game, Cooper is right where he needed to be," says Bohl.
 
A great exclamation point to the afternoon came after the running and tackling was over. Bohl, his staff, and the Cowboys remained on the field to sign autographs and pose with fans for photos. That interaction is always the highlight of an event like this one.

Following tomorrow's 11^th practice, the Cowboys will have just three more work days before the annual Spring Game which is set for 2 p.m. on April 27, in War Memorial Stadium. The annual event will close the 15 practice days during the training period.

Spring is an extremely important part of the maturation process of a football team. Unfortunately an inordinate amount of injuries has prevented the coaching staff from evaluating everyone has planned. The silver lining, of course, is that those injuries have given more Cowboys an opportunity.

It's all building to that exciting home opener with Missouri on Aug. 31, in War Memorial Stadium. What a terrific day that should be.

I can't wait!