Cowboys Win Shootout Over Rival Bulldogs

Friday in Bancroft spectators were treated to what could be considered the Rocky Mountain Conference football game of the year.  Two teams stepped onto the field Friday afternoon to play a game with huge implications and when the dust settled the result though not what was hoped for will likely be talked about for years to come.  What was on the line Friday afternoon was a district title and a spot in the playoffs.  It was not as simple as win and you’re in for the Cowboys.  Due to a heartbreaking loss to Challis two weeks earlier the Cowboys not only needed to win but needed to win by a large enough margin to give them the tie breaker advantage.  For Rockland it was as simple as win and you’re in since they had been able to get the win over Challis the prior week.  So the stage was set and what ensued was an instant classic.

On senior night two Cowboy seniors would step up and leave everything they had on the field.  Craig Yost and Haydn Frandsen have been integral parts of the Cowboys team for more than just this season.  Yost has been racking up yards his whole high school career while Frandsen has spent his career working in the trenches the past two years as the team’s center.  Last Friday behind Frandsen, Yost put up some incredible stats breaking one huge record along the way.

As the game got underway both the Cowboys and Bulldogs offenses opened up the playbook.  In the first quarter each team would find the endzone two times.  The only difference was that the Cowboys were successful with their two point conversions while the Bulldogs were not.  The second quarter was a repeat of the first only the Bulldogs were able to convert one of their two point conversions leaving the Cowboys with a six point advantage at the half.  In the third quarter North Gem seemed to grab control of the game but every time the Cowboys tried to pull away the Bulldogs would answer back.  When the third quarter ended each team had put up an incredible thirty points and North Gem still held their six point lead.  After a third quarter that saw a combined sixty points the teams slowed things down in the fourth.  The Bulldogs struck first in the fourth quarter and had a successful conversion taking a two point lead.  About halfway through the quarter the Cowboys answered back and retook the lead by six.  Five minutes later North Gem was in the endzone again and now led by fourteen.  With just two minutes left in the game it appeared as though North Gem had sealed the victory but the Bulldogs were not done.  After a quick score the Bulldogs got the ball back now trailing by just six points.  In a game where defense seemed rare it was senior Yost once again stepping up intercepting a pass and finally putting the Bulldogs away.  Unfortunately even with the dramatic win the Cowboys had not done enough to earn a playoff spot but they did play spoiler to the Bulldogs.  With the close game not only did the Cowboys miss the playoffs but it also caused the Bulldogs to lose the tie breaker with Challis sending the Vikings to the playoffs.  The Cowboys finished their 2025 campaign with just three losses all to teams that will be moving up to 2A next season.

Yost carried the ball thirty-five times for three hundred eighteen yards and seven touchdowns.  The incredible performance cemented Yost in the North Gem record books, as during the game he broke the schools career rushing record that had been held by his dad Date Yost.  One can only assume that Date did not mind having his record broken that day.