SHERIDAN -- Trailing Kelly Walsh 7-6 with 2 minutes, 12 seconds to play and the ball at its own 23-yard line, Sheridan didn't panic.

The Broncs simply let senior quarterback Austin Woodward take control.

Smart choice.

Woodward completed 4-of-5 passes for 82 yards -- he was sacked twice for minus-17 yards -- and drove the Broncs into position for Drew Slikker's game-winning 28-yard field goal with 9.2 seconds to play as Sheridan beat KW 9-7 in the Class 4A semifinals on Friday at Homer Scott Field.

Sheridan will take on Cheyenne Central, a 27-10 winner over Gillette, for the state championship on Nov. 14 in Laramie.

"Austin is the No. 1 quarterback ever," said Sheridan wide receiver Kody Williams, who caught a 44-yard pass from Woodward on fourth down to keep the final drive alive. "He's always calm ... I knew he was going to lead us down the field."

Added Woodward: "I just told the offensive line to give me the best protection they've ever given me, and I told the wide receivers to watch the ball into their hands."

Woodward's teammates listened.

Following a 19-yard completion to T.J. Stender on first down, the Trojans' got back-to-back sacks from Kyle Smith and Matt Brown to bring up a third-and-27 from the Sheridan 25.

Woodward then connected with Stender, who lateraled the ball to Will Hendrickson, for a 16-yard gain.

"We work on that play maybe once a week," Sheridan coach Don Julian said. "I thought it was a good time to give it a shot.

"They ran it perfectly and put us in a situation where we could pick up the first down."

Sheridan did just that as Williams got behind the KW secondary and hauled in a perfect strike from Woodward at the KW 15.

Four plays later Slikker, who had missed three times on the night -- field goals from 55 and 51 yards and an extra point -- floated the ball through the uprights.

Julian said that even though he didn't know how Slikker would respond after his earlier misses, he never lost faith in his junior kicker.

"A lot of these kids tend to get down on themselves if things aren't going their way early in the game," Julian said. "I was a little concerned, but Drew is a great kicker. And he got it done when it counted.

"This team has been resilient all year. They've just taken a very business-like approach to the season, and I couldn't be prouder of what they've accomplished."

Slikker's kick was the Broncs' first lead of the night, as KW got on the board first when senior quarterback Lucas Nolan plunged in from the 1 midway through the second quarter.

Nolan, who finished with a game-high 108 yards on the ground, rushed for 63 yards on the drive.

Sheridan answered with a nine-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run from Woodward. But Slikker's extra point was wide right and the Trojans took a 7-6 lead into the locker room.

On the opening possession of the second half KW drove to the Sheridan goal line, but Woodward stopped Riley Moore inches short on a fourth-down run to give the ball back to the Broncs.

"We had an option play called, and we thought we could score with Riley," KW coach Jim Horne said. "Teams had been loading up on Tom [Manning] so … we just came up an inch or two short.

"But I couldn't be prouder of this team. They did everything we asked them to do all year."

Both teams squandered scoring opportunities in the first half, with Nolan picking off a pass in the end zone to stop a Sheridan drive and the Broncs' Hendrickson returning the favor by grabbing a tipped ball in the KW end zone at the end of the half.

"We made a decision not to kick it," Horne said. "We thought we could get one more play, but it didn't work out."

In the end, everything worked out perfectly for Woodward and the Broncs.

"Austin Woodward is a tremendous football player," Julian said. "I'm the luckiest coach in the world to be able to coach him.

"That play he made on [Moore] was huge. For us to keep them from scoring there was huge.

"My hat's off to KW because they're a tremendous football team. To hold the top rushing team in the state to seven points ... our defense just really stepped up [Friday]."

Contact sports reporter Jack Nowlin at (307) 266-0528 or jack.nowlin@trib.com.

Trojans Tracker

FRIDAY: Sheridan 9, Kelly Walsh 7.

RECORDS: Broncs (10-1); Trojans (6-5).

PRESSURE KIKKER: Sheridan junior Drew Slikker kicked a 28-yard field goal with 9.2 seconds to play after earlier missing two field goals and an extra point.

HE SAID IT: "I was a little concerned, but Drew is a great kicker. And he got it done when it counted." -- Sheridan coach Don Julian.

NEXT: Sheridan will play Cheyenne Central in the Class 4A Wyoming State High School Championship game on Nov. 14 at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

Player of the Game

Sheridan QB Austin Woodward: The senior signal-caller finished his home career in style, completing four of five passes for 82 yards, including a 44-yard strike to Kody Williams on fourth-and-11 on the game-winning drive. Woodward also stopped Kelly Walsh's Riley Moore short of the end zone on a fourth-down play on the opening drive of the second half.

Turning Point

Facing 3rd-and-27 from its own 27-yard line, Sheridan gained 16 yards on a hook-and-ladder from Austin Woodward to T.J. Stender, who lateraled the ball back to Will Hendrickson and give the Broncs a shot at picking up the first down.

Sheridan 9, Kelly Walsh 7

KW 0 7 0 0 -- 7

She 0 6 0 3 -- 9

Second Quarter

KW -- Lucas Nolan 1 run (Tanner Vivian kick), 6:36.

She -- Austin Woodward 1 run (kick failed), 3:17.

Fourth Quarter

She -- Drew Slikker 28 FG, :9.2.

Team Statistics

KW She

First Downs 16 14

Rushing (att.-yards) 45-243 19-40

Passing yards 57 257

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 3-7-1 20-30-1

Fumbles-lost 2-0 1-0

Penalties 7-60 4-30

Total plays-yds 53-300 40-297

Individual Statistics

Rushing: KW, Lucas Nolan 23-108, Thomas Manning 13-74, Riley Moore 7-46, Lane Fischer 2-15. Sheridan, Austin Woodward 16-27, Will Hendrickson 2-13.

Passing: KW, Nolan 3-7-1--57. Sheridan, Woodward 20-30-1--257.

Receiving: KW, Harrison Johnson 2-43, Riley Moore 1-14. Sheridan, Raith Durham 3-74, Kody Williams 4-52, T.J. Stender 8-90, Hendrickson 4-32, Dan Zemski 1-9.

Related

• Sheridan Vs. Kelly Walsh