Garrett Hill's first game at forward this season went better than even he could have planned.

A hat trick, a congratulatory handshake from his coach and a Class 4A West Conference victory were all his.

After spending most of the season on defense, Hill moved up the field to forward this week, and it worked out fantastic for the Natrona County junior. He scored three goals in the Mustangs' 4-1 victory over Evanston on Friday at Cheney Alumni Field.

"You have to have that threat," NC coach Dan Wright said. "We've been looking for that threat."

Hill's move only came after NC's younger players had developed enough for him to move off the defensive end of the field. Freshman Cole Montgomery moved from the midfield to Hill's vacated spot on defense, while sophomore Derek Gibbins moved from the forward spot to Montgomery's old place in the midfield.

"(Hill's success) is a testament to his teammates, who have been working so hard in practice and developing enough to fill in those spots," Wright said. "We haven't lost anything."

Hill's first two goals were similar, but that was by design. The first goal, tallied nine minutes into the game, came on a pass from Logan Bailey, who shot a perfectly timed pass through the Red Devils' defense to Hill. Hill made a couple quick touches before shooting it past Evanston keeper Kason Belnap.

The second goal developed 16 minutes later on a lob pass from Tyler Stone. Hill took the pass, dribbled in and chipped a shot over Belnap to make it 2-0.

"They moved the ball well, (and) spread us out," Evanston coach John Cox said. "They take advantage of your weaknesses, and that's what they did to us."

Hill's last goal of the night came midway through the second half off a throw-in. Hill dribbled nearly 30 yards unchallenged, then put a shot just inside the right post.

"We've been working on diagonal runs all week," Hill said. "It felt good just to capitalize and finish."

Soon after Hill's third goal, Wright pulled his newfound offensive threat off the field, flashed a huge smile and gave him a big handshake, then let him enjoy the final 20 minutes from the bench.

For Wright, the change felt right in practice, and that vibe translated well on the field.

"We noticed (in practice) he was getting it done," Wright said. "He was real comfortable in front of the goal.

"We had a lot of one-touch, two-touch combinations. When you do that, you're going to be able to get someone free and Garrett certainly made the correct runs to get free."

So is it safe to call the change permanent?

"I'm hoping so," Hill said.

Everyone else in the West Conference is hoping not.

Contact high school sports coordinator Patrick Schmiedt at (307) 266-0615 or patrick.schmiedt@trib.com.

Natrona County 4, Evanston 1

Eva (1-8-1, 1-5-0 West) 0 1 - 1

NC (5-5-0, 4-2-0 West) 3 1 - 4

Scoring: NC, Garrett Hill (Logan Bailey) 9; NC, Hill (Tyler Stone) 25; NC, Aaron Hendricks (FK) 38; NC, Hill (UA) 59; Eva, Matt James (Ben Gilmore) 66.

Shots: Evanston 10, Natrona 20. Shots on goal: Evanston 3, Natrona 5. Saves: Evanston (Kason Belnap) 1, Natrona (Clay Brownell) 2. Corner kicks: Evanston 0, Natrona 9. Offsides: Evanston 0, Natrona 4. Fouls: Evanston 8, Natrona 9. Yellow cards: Evanston 1, Natrona 0.