Progress on ‘A Century of Fridays’

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I have received several emails in the past couple weeks asking about my new book, “A Century of Fridays,” which covers high school football in Wyoming from the first game in 1894 to the 2011 state championships last November.

The book, unfortunately, will not be available in time for Christmas. You CAN still give the book for Christmas by having your gift receiver proceed to this page; then, when the book comes out, you can hook them up for realsies.

The book is in the final stages of production and should be available in roughly 6-8 weeks. I’m doing everything I can to keep the price as low as possible. Mostly, that means chopping my share of the profits down to basically nothing. I’m trying to keep the actual price of the book as close to the cost of the production as I can.

I have several excuses as to why the book was not ready before now, but they’re all excuses. The bottom line is that the book is still coming out, just about a month or two later than I would have hoped, and if your friends are really good friends they’ll understand why you’re giving them a web page for Christmas and not a book.

–patrick

fridays

A Century of Fridays cover. Book by Patrick Schmiedt.

Site updates: Lyman, Lusk, Guernsey-Sunrise

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Two quick updates:

I noted that Lyman’s head coach from 1973 to 1975 was Rick Lambson, not Brad Jacobson as previously noted. Thanks to current Lyman coach Ted Holmstrom for the help!

I also noted the Oct. 11, 1999, between Lusk and Guernsey-Sunrise was an 85-0 Lusk victory, not 75-0. Thanks to Ryan Rapp and Cory Griffith for their help on this one!

–patrick

Consecutive scoring streaks, through 2011

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One of the most interesting records going in the state right now was preserved through the 2011 season.

Cokeville, in winning the Class 1A 11-man championship, scored in all 11 of its games this fall, extending to 141 its streak of consecutive scoring games. The Panthers haven’t been shut out since 1997. It’s the longest such streak in state history.

Of course, the Panthers were shut out in regulation once this year, against Mountain View, but scored three points in overtime in a 6-3 loss to keep the streak alive.

Oddly enough, the second-longest streak in state history is current, too, as Buffalo has gone 105 games since being shut out. The Bison’s streak runs back to 2001.

Here are the top 10 active streaks in the state, through the end of this year:

1. Cokeville, 141 games
2. Buffalo, 105 games
3. Gillette, 78 games
4. Southeast, 74 games
5. Natrona, 73 games
6. Sheridan, 61 games
7. Douglas, 52 games
8t. Greybull and Midwest, 39 games
10. Ten Sleep, 34 games

All-time, streaks that have reached at least 70 games (not including current streaks) include:

Byron, 96 consecutive games from 1963-74
Gillette, 93 consecutive games from 1989-99
Lusk, 92 consecutive games from 1993-2003
Lingle, 88 consecutive games from 1953-65
Basin, 86 consecutive games from 1965-75
Evanston, 86 consecutive games from 1976-86
Green River, 85 consecutive games from 2002-10
Rocky Mountain, 82 consecutive games from 1991-2000
Burlington, 77 consecutive games from 1992-2001 (includes three forfeit losses)
Mountain View, 75 consecutive games from 1989-98
Basin, 74 consecutive games from 1977-86 (streak grows to 80 when adding Riverside’s 1987 season)
Big Horn, 70 consecutive games from 1939-57
Buffalo, 70 consecutive games from 1987-94

–patrick

Schools with artificial turf fields

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Just a little random checklist to make sure I have all of the schools with turf fields accounted for. If any are missing, let me know.

Big Horn

Cody

Douglas

Jackson

Moorcroft

Natrona

Pinedale

Powell (next year’s new field)

Riverton

Rock Springs

Sheridan

Star Valley

That makes 12 total. Anyone I am forgetting?

–patrick

Updates: 2011 all-state and Shoshoni

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The 2011 all-state teams have been added to the all-state listings.

Additionally, I made one small correction to the overall record for Shoshoni; the Wranglers’ all-time victory total is 256 and I had listed 252. The update has been made on all the relevant pages.

–patrick

2011 Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 team

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The Casper Star-Tribune released its annual Super 25 all-star team on Friday. Members of the first team included:

Nick Bazemore, Gillette

Josh Cragoe, Powell

Collin Eisenman, Sheridan

Matt Eddington, Evanston

Wade Eyre, Lyman

Mark Grant, Lovell

Colter Hamel, Green River

Terry Jackson, Kelly Walsh

Jordan Johnson, Cokeville

Jerome Krysl, Green River

Tanner Miller, Douglas

A.J. Montanez, Lovell

Olie Olson, Powell

Braidy Parks, Douglas

Dan Reese, Natrona

Jordan Roberts, Sheridan

Riley Ryan, Sheridan

Tanner Simpson, Lander

Cisco Taylor, Lyman

Jake Thomas, Natrona

Anthony Valdez, Cheyenne East

Cody Vollmar, Natrona

Daniel Wille, Snake River

Jeremy Woods, Cheyenne East

Zac Zimmerer, Southeast

Second team, third team and honorable mention choices were also made. See Friday’s Star-Tribune for bios on each first-team player, as well as the other selections.

–patrick

2011 season updates posted

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The 2011 season updates have been posted on all the relevant pages. The update includes 310 games; that bumps the total up for the site to 22,440.

Additionally, I have one small update to mention: a Coaches Project update for Superior.

–patrick

Championship Humble Pie: A busy week. A busy seven years.

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Want to know what I was up to this weekend? Click here and here and here and here….

The final weekend of the high school football season was highlighted by a pair of blowouts (Snake River over Dubois and Sheridan over Cheyenne East), a pair of hard-fought victories (Lovell over Lyman and Cokeville over Southeast) and what may have been the best high school football game I have ever seen (Powell over Douglas).

First, the blowouts. Dubois and Cheyenne East were both decided underdogs going into their games, and although both teams tried to keep their games close early, their chances slipped away late — East’s under a steady stream of Jordan Roberts’ running, Dubois thanks to Snake River’s slow-down second half.

Second, the hard-fought victories. Lovell built a 21-0 lead and then survived as Lyman came back; the Eagles may have won if high school quarters were 15 minutes long instead of 12. Cokeville produced a solid defensive effort to hold down Southeast and win its second consecutive 1A 11-man championship, beating an undefeated team from the East Conference in Laramie for the second consecutive year.

Finally, the game of the weekend. With a score like 15-14, you would think the excitement of this game was reserved for just a few key moments. Nope. This game was full of exciting, dramatic plays at every step of the way. Douglas out-gained Powell 420-332 and the Bearcats’ Tanner Miller ran for 280 yards, but most of the yards went for naught. Powell stopped Douglas at the 4-yard line on the Bearcats’ first drive, establishing the theme of the game: Douglas also came away without points on drives that ended at Powell’s 22-yard line, Powell’s 31-yard line and Powell’s 1-yard line. In the crunch, Powell always had the upper hand on Douglas. Of course, never was that clearer than with 15 seconds to go, when Douglas, down 15-14 after a touchdown catch by Braidy Parks on fourth down, elected to go for the two-point conversion and the victory. However, Powell’s Olie Olson stepped in front of a Luke Andrews pass on the conversion try to seal the Panthers’ victory in one of the most dramatic finishes to a state championship game.

snowglobe

Snow at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie.

The weekend was capped by — what else? — snow. I made the mistake of trying to drive home Saturday night; not long after I left Laramie for Casper via Cheyenne, Interstate 80 closed on me. I only went in the ditch once (drove off the road because I couldn’t see the road, literally) and it only took me an hour and 40 minutes to get from Laramie to Cheyenne (and then another almost four hours from Cheyenne to Casper while fighting the wind), but I arrived home safe. Frazzled, but safe. Quite an end to the season….

And, maybe, quite an end to what I do here. I recently accepted a position teaching journalism at North Dakota State University in Fargo, and my wife and I will move up to that area in December. What I will do with the blog and the rest of the site remains uncertain. What is certain is that my book on Wyoming high school football — now officially titled “A Century of Fridays: Wyoming High School Football, 1894-2011” — will be available for purchase here as soon as it is completed. Hopefully that’s soon.

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A Century of Fridays cover. Book by Patrick Schmiedt.

Thanks to everyone who has embraced what I have done the past seven years. An even bigger thanks to those who have shared what I’ve been doing with others. And a big rochambeau kick to those who have used the information I have provided on this site without crediting me (I know who you are).

This week: 5-0 (100 percent). This season: 254-50 (84 percent — my new best one-season mark!). Seven-year total: 1,596-448 (78 percent)

–patrick

Championship game picks

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The 2011 state title games. I’m picking the winners, you’re reading about it:

Class 4A
Cheyenne East (7-4) vs. Sheridan (10-1)
Any previous meetings? Sheridan beat East 44-14 on Oct. 21 in Cheyenne. Sheridan leads the series 20-11.
Any common opponents? Oh, a bunch. Cheyenne Central (Sheridan beat 31-12; East beat 21-14); Evanston (Sheridan beat 42-35; East beat 21-13 and 28-27 in overtime); Gillette (Sheridan beat 38-14 and 45-29; East lost 30-21); Kelly Walsh (Sheridan beat 55-14; East beat 52-7); Laramie  (Sheridan beat 35-19; East beat 29-6); Natrona (Sheridan lost 20-6; East lost 26-3 and beat 24-19); Rock Springs (Sheridan beat 28-0 and 42-12; East lost 27-6); Cheyenne South (Sheridan beat 62-6; East beat 49-6).
Recently? Sheridan had its last “scare” five weeks ago, a 35-19 victory over Laramie in the Gem City; since then, the Broncs have won every game by at least 16 points, including the 44-14 victory over East in the regular-season finale. East finished the regular season a pedestrian 5-4 but has shown incredible gusto to beat both Evanston and Natrona in the playoffs.
The pick? Sheridan. The Broncs have been really consistent all season long, including with their two big victories in the playoffs. Oh, and the Broncs have Jordan Roberts, the most consistent running back in the state.
Could I be wrong? Definitely. East is no fluke. The Thunderbirds have momentum and confidence, two ingredients that have created champions in the 4A classification in years past. Oh, and the Thunderbirds have Jeremy Woods, the most explosive running back in the state. And didn’t East just beat Natrona?
Kickoff? 4 p.m. Saturday. Bring a coat; it’ll be dark after the first quarter.

Class 3A
Powell (8-3) vs. Douglas (9-1)
Any previous meetings? None since the 2008 semifinals, when Douglas beat Powell 28-27 in double overtime. Powell leads the series 4-2.
Any common opponents? Seven. Buffalo (Douglas beat 27-21 and 20-14; Powell beat 20-17); Cody (Douglas beat 34-7 and 29-0; Powell beat 42-23); Green River (Douglas lost 32-15; Powell lost 38-14 and beat 23-21); Lander (Douglas beat 45-7; Powell beat 45-6); Riverton (Douglas beat 44-0; Powell beat 34-6); Star Valley (Douglas beat 27-7; Powell lost 19-13); Torrington (Douglas beat 52-8; Powell beat 49-0).
Recently? Douglas has won nine games in a row since losing the season opener to Green River; the run has included a pair of close victories over Buffalo, including last week’s 20-14 semifinal victory, and a bunch of blowouts. Powell has been on a roller coaster all season long, but is finally cashing in on the potential most observers thought they had entering the season by notching road playoff victories over Lander (45-6) and Green River (23-21).
The pick? Powell. The smart money is on Douglas and its consistency, but I have seen too many games won by emotion and momentum to know not to discount what the Panthers have been building the past couple weeks. After winning in the fashion they did last week, the Panthers have to feel like they’re the team of destiny.
Could I be wrong? Most people would say yes. Douglas is the more consistent team, the one riding that nine-game winning streak, the one more familiar with War Memorial, the one that comes in as the three-time defending 3A champion. If the Bearcats match the Panthers emotionally, the game is probably theirs to lose.
Kickoff? 3 p.m. Friday. If you’re wavering about whether to come down to Laramie early, this game should be enough to persuade you to hit the road before Saturday morning.

Class 2A
Lyman (10-1) vs. Lovell (10-0)
Any previous meetings? Lovell beat Lyman 21-7 on Sept. 16 in Lovell. Lovell leads the series 5-4.
Any common opponents? Six, seeing as they play in the same eight-team conference. Big Piney (Lovell beat 55-6; Lyman beat 47-0); Greybull (Lovell beat 24-13; Lyman beat 40-7); Kemmerer (Lovell beat 42-13; Lyman beat 41-0); Mountain View (Lovell beat 21-19; Lyman beat 27-0); Pinedale (Lovell beat 54-0; Lyman beat 48-6); Thermopolis (Lovell beat 32-13; Lyman beat 21-7).
Recently? The Bulldogs have been tested several times, but none greater than last week’s 23-20 skin-of-the-teeth victory over Newcastle in the state semifinals. Lyman, meanwhile, had won four straight games by at least 27 points before eking out a 22-14 victory against Glenrock in the semis.
The pick? Lovell. I think this one will be closer than the 21-7 victory Lovell had in the regular season, but you can’t overlook the fact that these two teams have already played each other and the Bulldogs won that game.
Could I be wrong? Maybe. Lyman is playing well right now — maybe even better than Lovell, if you just look at last week — and come in as the underdog with nothing to lose. That is a powerful position.
Kickoff? Noon Friday. We start the weekend with a great matchup.

Class 1A 11-man
Cokeville (9-1) vs. Southeast (10-0)
Any previous meetings? None since last year’s semifinals, when Cokeville beat Southeast 24-7. Series tied 4-4.
Any common opponents? Four. Lingle (Cokeville beat 33-6; Southeast beat 28-0); Lusk (Cokeville beat 28-7; Southeast beat 18-12); Riverside (Cokeville beat 48-0; Southeast beat 35-7); Shoshoni (Cokeville beat 49-0; Southeast beat 60-0).
Recently? Cokeville has won nine in a row since losing to Mountain View 6-3 in overtime in the season opener; the Panthers’ two playoff victories were their closest games in that stretch (33-6 over Lingle and 28-7 over Lusk). Southeast has won all 10 of its games this year; since back-to-back close ones against Lusk (18-12) and Pine Bluffs (26-6), the Cyclones have won every game by at least 28 points.
The pick? Cokeville. This game shapes up eerily similar to last year’s 1A 11-man championship game, and Cokeville took Lusk to task in its 26-6 victory. I don’t think either team will win by that much this time around, but Cokeville won a similar showdown last year.
Could I be wrong? Definitely. Southeast has been just as stingy on defense as Cokeville — the Cyclones have allowed 45 points all season, the Panthers 39. If anyone can stand up to the Panthers’ offense, it’s the Cyclones’ defense. I’ll go out on a limb and say the key stat in this game could be third-down conversions. The team that can put together two or three drives may be the one that wins, and that will require some big conversions.
Kickoff? 1 p.m. Saturday. The traditional Championship Saturday kick time goes to the small 11-man schools this year.

Class 1A six-man
Snake River (10-0) vs. Dubois (9-1)
Any previous meetings? Snake River beat Dubois 66-24 on Sept. 10 in Dubois.
Any common opponents? Of course; this is six-man. Farson (Snake River beat 63-30; Dubois beat 84-18); Hanna (Snake River beat 52-0; Dubois beat 66-6); Hulett (Snake River beat 72-15; Dubois beat 54-12); Kaycee (Snake River beat 66-6 and 66-15; Dubois beat 50-34); Meeteetse (Snake River beat 79-24; Dubois beat 65-0); Midwest (Snake River beat 68-52; Dubois beat 49-20 and 75-47); Ten Sleep (Snake River beat 45-6; Dubois beat 72-34).
Recently? The Rattlers were challenged sparingly in the regular season and have won their two playoff games by a combined 108 points. The Rams have won eight in a row with little trouble, as well, with a 16-point victory over Kaycee and last week’s 28-point victory over Midwest the closest calls.
The pick? Snake River. The Rattlers have been the class of six-man all season. They’re the defending champions and they’re on a 20-game winning streak. And they beat Dubois by 42 points earlier this season.
Could I be wrong? Maybe, but probably not. The Rams have a lot of ground to make up to catch up to the Rattlers, although comparatively the Rams’ scores against common opponents match up fairly well with the Rattlers’ scores.
Kickoff? 10 a.m. Saturday. Wake up early, lazy bones. It’ll be worth it.

I know you have some thoughts and want to make some predictions, too. Chip in what you’re thinking about this weekend’s games by commenting below.

–patrick

Buffalo’s Lynch resigns

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Buffalo head football coach Pat Lynch officially resigned on Monday after distributing what a media report called an “inappropriate flier” to his football team prior to a playoff game against Star Valley.

The Big Horn Mountain Radio Network reported Lynch’s resignation. The network’s story did not specify the details of the flier distributed to the team.

The network’s story said Lynch will maintain his position as a guidance counselor at Buffalo High School.

Lynch had been Buffalo’s head coach since 1998. He led the Bison to state championships in 2004 and 2005 and runner-up finishes in 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2010. His career record with the Bison was 97-41.

Buffalo finished 6-4 this season, defeating Star Valley in the Class 3A quarterfinals before losing to Douglas in the semifinals.

Click here for the BHMRN story.

Lynch is the third Wyoming football head coach in the past week to vacate his position. Mountain View coach Tim Gonzales resigned last week, while Big Horn coach Bert Dow and his staff were let go by the school district.

–patrick