Richard Anderson photos
University of Wyoming head football coach Joe Glenn, left, and Laramie High School head football coach Bob Knapton were the keynote speakers at the Laramie Quarterback Club Fall Sports Kickoff Banquet Tuesday night at the Laramie Country Club.
By Richard Anderson
Wyoming Sports.org
One coach plays on Fridays, the other coach plays on Saturdays. Yet, Laramie High School head football coach Bob Knapton and University of Wyoming head football coach Joe Glenn were united Tuesday night as headline speakers of the Laramie Quarterback Club Fall Sports Kickoff Banquet at the Laramie Country Club.
Also speaking briefly and giving short previews of their teams were Laramie High School girls’ swim coach Tom Hudson and Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen tennis coach Carlos Mellizo.
As it turns out, Glenn and Knapton have a lot more in common than just being football coaches and banquet speakers.
Glenn opened the banquet by talking about the first time he met Knapton, a University of Northern Colorado alumnus and star linebacker. When he first joined UNC as an assistant in the late 1980s, the school opened with an alumni game. That first year Knapton was the star -- against Glenn’s Bears.
“Some of these guys didn’t even fit into their uniform and they drank beer most of the day and then played in that alumni game. I said to myself, ‘These guys are going to get killed,’” Glenn said. “But they had one guy who came back who was as serious as a heart attack. This guy’s name was Bob Knapton. I’m going, ‘Will somebody please block this guy.’ He was all over the place and he was the leading tackler in Northern Colorado‘s history. We just could not touch Bob Knapton. He had just finished playing with several pro football teams. We became fast friends. Bob became a high school head coach on the Front Range of Colorado and I became head coach at UNC two years later.
“I recruited so many of his kids. When Bob Knapton told you that this kid can play, you flat-out knew to recruit him. We went on to win a couple of championships at Northern Colorado. Bob, I’m so thankful for you and your coaching years and helping us at Northern Colorado.”
Fast forward to present and Knapton is now the head coach at Laramie High School; his son, Gabe, will be a starting linebacker as a redshirt freshman at UW and his youngest son, Luke, is a starting linebacker for the Plainsmen.
“What a great catch for Laramie,” Glenn said.
Always an optimist, Glenn then turned his attention to his Cowboys, who will open the season Saturday when they host Ohio (noon) at War Memorial Stadium. Glenn said that his father-in-law always warned him to not get too excited, just in case things don’t turn out well.
Glenn, however, said he can’t help but be excited about the Cowboys.
“We’re going to have a great season, and that is from my heart,” Glenn said.
The Cowboys return 40 juniors and seniors back from last year’s 5-7 squad, including one of the top running backs in the league (senior Devin Moore), his entire offensive and defensive lines and four outstanding linebackers, including Gabe Knapton.
“This is the most experience I have had since I have been here,“ Glenn said.
Glenn said the biggest difference in this Wyoming offense comes from its leadership from new offensive coordinator Bob Cole.
“Bob Cole is the real deal,” Glenn said. “And we all know that Mike Breske (defensive coordinator) can coach. But Bob is the dynamics that our coaching staff hasn’t had.”
Knapton told the QB Club faithful that this is not the first time he has coached in Laramie -- he was a graduate assistant under Al Kincaid in the mid 1980s. His brother, Jeff, would also go on to be an all Western Athletic Conference performer under Paul Roach.
Knapton said he has enjoyed his short time in Laramie and is here for the long haul. He told the audience that they hold the key to the young athletes’ success -- on and off the court or playing field. He mentioned a study that was done at the Air Force Academy that required the Cadets to attend a certain number of sporting events. With the large numbers in the stands, the Academy discovered that its teams were more successful.
Knapton said that can happen at Laramie High, not only in football, but in all sports.
“High school kids need that much more,” Knapton said of support. “They know that when there are a lot of people watching them, they will give it all that they got. This is a perfect town to get that done. If you want a winning program, you need to get everyone involved.”
The Plainsmen open the season Friday night (7 p.m.) at Deti Stadium against Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Knapton said that the numbers have been good so far in practice and his athletes are hard workers.
“I’m real excited about the year,” Knapton said. “The kids are enthusiastic and they are ready to get after it.”
Hudson, the longtime LHS swim coach, said the overall numbers are a little down this year as they graduated eight seniors and lost two good swimmers who have moved out of town.
“We’ve never finished lower than fifth place at state and we only did that once,” Hudson said. “That’s going to be our goal and we’re going to have to battle to get that. We’re working hard and we’ll do the best that we can and hopefully represent Lady Plainsmen swimming.”
The Lady Plainsmen swimmers open the season Friday at the Casper Relays and compete Saturday at the Gillette Pentathlon.
Mellizo said they once again have big numbers out for the boys’ and girls’ teams, which makes him excited about the season.
“We have a few kids back who played last year, so we’re pretty deep on the boys’ side,” Mellizo said. “The Lady Plainsmen are relatively inexperienced. What they lack in experience, they make up for enthusiasm and they have a lot of fun.”
The Laramie tennis teams open the season on Sept. 4 at home against Casper Kelly Walsh.
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