The Kemmerer High School football team closed out what could best be described as a rebuilding season Friday, falling to 2A West rival Mountain View at home 42-0.

Despite the lopsided final score, the Rangers (1-7, 0-6 in 2A West) played tough against the top team in 2A, moving the ball well at times against one of the state’s toughest defenses — regardless of class — and holding the Buffalos’ high-powered offense in check for much of the first half.

“We moved the ball well in spurts on them,” said KHS head coach Bart Jernigan. “Sustaining it at the right moments was the biggest question — we got down inside the red zone on them early on, and had a couple of other trips down on their side of the field. We just couldn’t do what we needed to do, so that consistency issue reared its head. But I was proud that it was more a penalties issue, and less a turnovers issue, so that was good. That shows some growth. But that’s the No. 1 defense in the state right now, so you have to tip your cap. I was proud of our boys for the effort. It was probably one of our better games played all-around, considering the kids we were missing, and the execution level we were able to put out there.”

While primarily a ground-and-pound team, the Rangers mixed things up a bit Friday against Mountain View (9-0, 6-0 in 2A West), allowing quarterback Tanner Schramm to pass the ball on occasion, which he did with some success. Jernigan said he’s not opposed to running a more balanced offense, when he has 

the players to do so.

“We’ve tried to open the offense up a bit — Tanner’s a capable quarterback, we just need to make sure we’re giving the time and protection,” Jernigan said. “I’m kind of an old-school coach, in that I like to keep it on the ground. But Tanner has done a good job of delivering the ball this year, and we were able to move it a little bit through the air — just enough to be dangerous. Especially on early downs, it’s a key part of our offense, in terms of avoiding predictability as a play caller. Make that defense think twice about just pinning their ears back and going all in on the run.”

Jernigan also praised his defense for standing their ground and getting stops against the Buffs, especially in the first half.

“Overall, I thought our defensive effort — after the first series, and all the way up until the mid-third quarter — was pretty darn good,” Jernigan said. “I thought our kids were flying to the ball, and we were making them work for everything they got. The effort really stood out to me. I felt like we got worn down later in the game — their size started to become more and more noticeable, and drained our kids that were playing both ways against them. But I was proud of the defensive effort.”

Gabe Emery and Kyle Fox did a nice job of running the ball against a tough defensive front.

“I thought the O-line play was near the best game we’ve played this season,” Jernigan said. “I thought the kids ran the ball hard, and our ball security was generally pretty good. I thought our kids did a better job of protecting the ball this week, and penalty-wise, I thought we were more disciplined, as well.”

Mountain View’s size and numbers — coupled with the Rangers’ injuries at several key positions — began to take its toll as the game progressed in the second half.

“It’s been a rough season — it’s been one of those seasons where some of the kids came in pretty dinged up, some of them just came in young,” Jernigan said. “Your body just hasn’t developed yet to take that Friday night pounding consistently that you tend to see once you get to that varsity level of football. Hopefully, though, nothing too major, in terms of those injuries — everybody should be healed up in a couple of weeks, and good to go for their winter sports seasons.”

The Rangers will lose three seniors to graduation, and the team took time before the game to honor their hard work and sacrifice to the program.

“We lose three seniors — Tanner Schramm, Gabe Emery and Bryce Brown — and I definitely want to thank them for all the work they’ve put into this program, sticking it out and battling through, not just this year, but throughout their careers,” Jernigan said. “They’ve done a really good job of helping contribute a base to the program that hopefully the young kids that are returning will be able to capitalize on and build upon.”

Jernigan is confident he’ll get the rest of the team back next season, as well as some new players who may have been on the fence about playing this year. Off-season workouts will be a priority, as will recruiting younger players to come out for the team.

“Of a roster of 27, we should have 24 kids that hopefully return, and hopefully we can grow the classes around those kids, get a couple more seniors and juniors that weren’t out this year,” Jernigan said. “That will be a big point of emphasis for us — making sure we have a good off-season, to be able to put ourselves in the best position to succeed. There’s a pretty visible difference in the size a team like Mountain View has, and the strength level kind of bears that out — we need to do a lot of work in the off-season to make sure we can catch up on those fronts.”

With another season in the books, Jernigan said the postgame talk with the team was bittersweet, though the players set to return are hopeful for the future.

“We thanked our seniors — we played that game for them, and I was proud of our young kids and the effort they gave for them,” Jernigan said. “We talked about how, ‘We Are KR, We Are Family.’ We reminded them that means, even when you can’t play football next year, or when you need help with a scholarship application, or you need a reference for a job — that’s part of what being a family is about. We’ll continue to be here for each other, and support each other. And we talked about the off-season — 1-7 isn’t good enough. It’s not what we aim for, and not what we want to be as a program. We need to be perennially competing for the playoffs, so we talked about the next steps. That includes getting involved with winter sports, and doing good stuff there, putting time in the weight room, 7-on-7 spring season, summer camps, that kind of thing. Just putting in all the work to make next year that much more successful.”