Wyoming's Tanner Tetrault doesn't need to trash talk.

The crushing sound of his tackles usually does the talking for him.

The defensive back saved multiple touchdowns with his vicious shots and scored one of his own in the Cavalry's 51-26 victory against Arizona in the AIFA West Division playoff game Friday at the Casper Events Center.

"The sky is the limit for the kid," Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak said. "He's a veteran player now, and I'm just glad that he's on our football team."

The Adrenaline were driving early in the second quarter when Tetrault made his presence known -- on Arizona receiver Maurice Bryant.

Bryant caught a ball in the end zone, but Tetrault hit him so hard that he dropped the ball, lost his helmet and had to stay on the ground for a few minutes after the hit.

"It always feels good when something like that happens," Tetrault said.

Tetrault saved another touchdown in the fourth quarter, then scored the Cavs' final points when he returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown with just more than a minute left.

Tetrault shrugged off his play -- "I was just doing my job in the defense," he said -- and Maciejczak said for the star of Friday's game, that's typical.

"My dad always said, 'If you are good, you don't need to tell anybody,'" Maciejczak said. "'Someone will tell you.' And that is kind of his philosophy in life. I don't know if he knows it or not. You don't need to tell him how good he is. You can just watch film or you can get hit by him and see."

Wyoming led the entire game, but looked sloppy on offense early. Quarterback Matt Strand struggled initially after sitting out last week's game, throwing two interceptions in the team's first three series. He quickly recovered, finishing with four passing touchdowns and two more on the ground.

"It's a good thing that the defense was really there and picked it up tonight," Strand said. "They really held their own and then some. We did a good job of getting on a roll in the second half and that made the difference in the game."

Contact sports reporter David Buck at (307) 266-0596 or david.buck@trib.com.

Cavalry Tracker

n FRIDAY: AIFA West Divisional playoff, Wyoming 51, Arizona 26

n RECORDS: Cavalry (12-3); Adrenaline (11-4)

n UP NEXT: Wyoming plays the winner of today's South Division playoff game between the Columbus (Ga.) Lions and the Mississippi Mudcats for the Western Conference title. The date and location of that game will be determined tonight.

n TERRIFIC TANNER: Cavs defensive back Tanner Tetrault saved multiple touchdowns, had huge hits and an interception for a touchdown in Wyoming's victory.

n HE SAID IT: "I was just doing my job in the defense." - Tetrault.

Wyoming 51, Arizona 26

Ariz 0 8 6 12 -- 26

Wyo 8 7 14 22 -- 51

FIRST QUARTER

Wyo - A.J. Street 6 pass from Matt Strand (Street pass from Strand), 5:26

SECOND QUARTER

Wyo - Strand 2 rush (conversion failed), 4:46

Wyo - Brian Anderson rouge, 3:47

Ariz - Quincy Jackson 2 pass from Chad DeGrenier (Jackson pass from DeGrenier), 0:16

THIRD QUARTER

Wyo - Dante Dudley 7 pass from Strand (conversion failed), 12:55

Ariz - Maurice Bryant 1 rush (kick failed), 5:35

Wyo - Dudley 6 pass from Strand (B.J. Charlton pass from Strand), 1:51

FOURTH QUARTER

Wyo - Street 39 pass from Strand (Charlton pass from Strand), 11:59

Ariz - Jackson 30 pass from DeGrenier (conversion failed), 10:40

Wyo - Strand 4 rush (conversion failed), 6:45

Ariz - Jackson 7 pass from DeGrenier (conversion failed), 2:53

Wyo - Tanner Tetrault 42 interception (Charlton pass from Strand), 1:19