Shrine Bowl end zone packed with future Wyoming Cowboys

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) - When the North beat the South in the Shrine Bowl at Cheney Alumni Field in Casper, brown and gold won in more ways than one.

While the North, wearing brown jerseys and gold pants, won the game 41-26 Saturday to secure its fourth straight Shrine Bowl victory, the Wyoming Cowboys looked just as victorious, as players committed to play in Laramie scored seven of the game's 10 touchdowns.

"That's pretty awesome," said Sheridan's Riley Sessions, who returned an interception for a North touchdown. "Hopefully that means we have a good generation coming through and make things happen up there."

In addition to Sessions' score, Jackson's Theo Dawson scored two touchdowns on the ground and Sheridan's Dontae Crow had two through the air, all for the North, and Southeast's Jeff Burroughs hauled in two touchdown passes for the South. They were all members of Wyoming's 2016 recruiting class, Dawson on scholarship and Sessions, Crow and Burroughs as preferred walk-ons.

"It's cool to see everybody compete against each other and see, who the standouts are and how a lot of us are going to U-Dub," Dawson said. "So it's fun to see."

Dawson will join the Cowboys after a two-year mission with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also headed to Laramie on scholarship is Gillette fullback Zach Taylor.

When the North recovered a first-half kickoff on the South's 2-yard line, Taylor took it one yard and Dawson took it the second to tie the game at 13.

Foreshadowing of a future Cowboys backfield, perhaps?

"I hope so," Dawson said. "I love playing with (Taylor). He's a machine. He's a great guy to be around."

Crow's first touchdown was a 30-yard screen to put the North on the board after falling behind 13-0. His second came in the second half on yet another successful screen pass, a play that gave the South defense fits all game.

"I have some speed on the outside, so they had to give me a little bit of a cushion," Crow said. "So I mean, if I just sit there, the cornerback is stuck to decide whether to push up or drop back, and he was dropping back."

Crow, who earned the game's Offensive Most Outstanding Player, was born in Laramie.

"I feel so lucky" to play at Wyoming, he said. "I'm blessed. Of course, I wish I would've got a scholarship and whatnot, but still walking on, just having that opportunity feels good."

Also set to walk on for the Cowboys are Shrine Bowl players Nathan Willis, Joshua Calvert and Justis Borton - all of Wheatland - and Pine Bluffs' Kyle Jeffres and Torrington's Skyler Miller.

"I made a lot of new friends that I'll be seeing at the next level," Sessions said. "I'm just real excited to start working with them and getting to know them better."

Taylor added: "It was good. Getting to know them a lot better than I already did."

Though the North and South were mostly separated for the week, the players got to spend valuable time with the future Cowboys on their side of the state, just weeks before reporting to Laramie.

"I think everybody enjoyed ... getting comfortable with each other and starting new friendships," Burroughs said. "I think that was awesome."

Plus, now they're more than comfortable playing in brown and gold.

"I loved it," Dawson said. "I walked out, and I was like, 'I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be.'"

"I like it," Sessions added. "It fits well."

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Information from: Casper (Wyo.) Star-Tribune, http://www.trib.com