Newsbreak: Shrine Bowl preview

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Shrine Bowl preview (Casper Star-Tribune).

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I have been lucky enough to watch some Shrine Bowl practices this week — two by each team. And while I think the North has the advantage this year, the South has impressed me with how it has approached the week.

The North offense strikes me as one that is steady and consistent, but I am not sure how explosive it will be. Meanwhile, the South offense has shown it can strike from anywhere at anytime, but I do worry about the South’s ability to consistently put together time-sustaining drives.

Defensively, the North squad will be strong against the run but will have to prove they can stop the South’s potent passing attack to win. The South defense, though, has to punch up its run-stopping efforts to keep the North from just handing off, gaining five yards a pop and piling up 50 points in the process.

Overall, the North has more depth and has shown more consistency on both sides of the ball, which is why I think the North wins. The South will need its playmakers to make big plays — and it will need to keep the North off-balance to keep the North’s consistent play inconsistent.

–patrick

Newsbreak: A week’s worth of Shrine Bowl stories

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From the Casper Star-Tribune: Stories on Wheatland’s Merit Bunker, Cody’s Andrew Blaylock, Evanston’s Lance Barker, Wright’s Holden Fauber and Cokeville’s McKay Tonga.

–patrick

Updated Shrine Bowl rosters

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Here are the updated Shrine Bowl rosters, as of Tuesday:

NORTH
Big Horn: Michael Klepperich, Wyatt Mirich, Nelson Alzheimer.
Buffalo: Jace Jensen, Hayden Kessler, Lee Iberlin.
Cody: Andrew Blaylock, Travis Calkin, Morgan Heimer, James Bushnell.
Dubois: Trent Slagowski.
Gillette: Brek Carper, Jake Gill, Riley Bousa.
Greybull: Clay Cundall, Dillon McCoy.
Kaycee: Shawn Straub.
Kelly Walsh: Kyle Smith, Tanner Vivian.
Lovell: Darren Ballard.
Natrona: Jim Shellenberger, Cole Montgomery, Braden Barnes, Lucas Rowley, Chase Cimburek.
Newcastle: Jeremy Beehler.
Powell: Tyler England, Colby Gilmore.
Riverton: Jarrett Watson.
Rocky Mountain: Kaleb Hoyt.
Sheridan: Kyle Hutchinson, Dawson Osborn, Zack Will.
Worland: Caleb Garza.
Wright: Holden Fauber, Ryan Haefele.

SOUTH
Big Piney: Zach Wenz, Shane Copeland, Ken Howard.
Cheyenne Central: Zach Peck, Josh Borm, Thad Lane.
Cheyenne East: Chase Metzler, Jacob Edwards, Michael Galicia.
Cokeville: McKay Tonga.
Douglas: Joe Lake, Dylan Klava, Justin Melton, Baylor Sieg, Gary Bolinger.
Evanston: Jeff Lee, Nolan Smith, Jack Lambert, Scott Davis, Lance Barker.
Green River: Cooper Palmer.
Laramie: Wes Dalles.
Lingle: Brody Serres, Jordan Mirich.
Lusk: Ace Thurston, Jerit DeGering.
Lyman: Nate Eyre, James Taylor.
Pine Bluffs: Blayne Gilbert.
Pinedale: Aaron Belton.
Rawlins: Jared Craig.
Snake River: Sean Rietveld.
Torrington: Evan Rader.
Wheatland: Merit Bunker, Ward Anderson, Quinn Zimmerman.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at Cheney Alumni Field in Casper.

–patrick

Shrine Bowl week starts today

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The Shrine Bowl, Wyoming’s annual all-star high school football game, is now just one week away.

But the preparation starts today.

Teams are arriving in Casper today and have their first practices tonight. The squads depart Sunday on their annual trip to Salt Lake City to visit the Shriners Hospital for Children and will resume practices in Casper on Tuesday.

Teams practice twice a day the rest of the week. The game will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cheney Alumni Field (NCHS) in Casper.

The all-time series between the North and South squads is tied at 17 victories apiece; three games have finished tied, including the 2009 game, which was cut short by a vicious thunderstorm. The North won last year’s game 27-26.

The rosters, barring injuries during the week or no-shows at registration, will be as follows:

NORTH
Big Horn: Michael Klepperich, Wyatt Mirich, Nelson Alzheimer.
Buffalo: Jace Jensen, Hayden Kessler, Lee Iberlin, Jake Hepp.
Cody: Andrew Blaylock, Travis Calkin, Morgan Heimer.
Dubois: Trent Slagowski.
Gillette: Brek Carper, Jake Gill, Riley Bousa.
Greybull: Clay Cundall, Dillon McCoy.
Kaycee: Shawn Straub.
Kelly Walsh: Kyle Smith, Tanner Vivian.
Lovell: Darren Ballard.
Natrona: Jim Shellenberger, Cole Montgomery, Braden Barnes, Lucas Rowley, Chase Cimburek.
Newcastle: Jeremy Beehler.
Powell: Tyler England, Colby Gilmore.
Riverton: Jarrett Watson.
Rocky Mountain: Kaleb Hoyt.
Sheridan: Kyle Hutchinson, Dawson Osborn, Zack Will.
Worland: Caleb Garza.
Wright: Holden Fauber, Ryan Haefele.

Student Manager: Kristin Tammany, Riverton.

Coaches: John Cundall and Jeff Sukut, Greybull; Vic Wilkerson, Gillette; Pat Lynch, Buffalo; David Trembly, Dubois; Dustin Sipe, Kaycee.

SOUTH
Big Piney: Zach Wenz, Shane Copeland, Ken Howard.
Cheyenne Central: Zach Peck, Josh Borm, Thad Lane.
Cheyenne East: Chase Metzler, Jacob Edwards, Michael Galicia.
Cokeville: McKay Tonga.
Douglas: Joe Lake, Dylan Klava, Justin Melton, Baylor Sieg.
Evanston: Jeff Lee, Nolan Smith, Jack Lambert, Scott Davis.
Green River: Cooper Palmer.
Laramie: Wes Dalles.
Lingle: Brody Serres.
Lusk: Ace Thurston, Jerit DeGering, Derek Smith.
Lyman: Nate Eyre, Colby Gaylord, James Taylor.
Mountain View: Wynston Anglen.
Pine Bluffs: Blayne Gilbert.
Rawlins: David Greninger, Jared Craig.
Snake River: Sean Rietveld.
Torrington: Evan Rader.
Wheatland: Merit Bunker, Ward Anderson, Quinn Zimmerman.

Student Manager: Megan Wingeleth, Lyman.

Coaches: Pat Fackrell and Larry Wagstaff, Evanston; Scott Schultz, Wheatland; Ted Holmstrom, Lyman; Matt VandeBossche, Lusk; Michael Bates, Snake River.

Who is your favorite? Which team do you think has what it takes to get the job done on Saturday?

–patrick

Wyoming high school football: Five talking points for 2011

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The start of the 2011 season is now less than three months away. It’s just about this time every year that I start thinking about high school football in earnest. These are some of the questions that have been bouncing around my head the past few weeks:

1. Can the Douglas win streak keep going? The streak is now at 30 or 31 games, depending on how you count. Either way, what the Bearcats have done the past three seasons demands respect and inspires disbelief. Stringing together back-to-back undefeated seasons and three consecutive state titles is exceedingly rare. Whether Douglas can continue the rampage across Class 3A in 2011 remains to be seen; maintaining a streak like that, no matter the talent level, is incredibly difficult. Of course, a streak doesn’t become a streak unless you can overcome all of that anyway….

2. Can Rawlins and Shoshoni end their losing streaks? Rawlins has lost 23 consecutive games, Shoshoni 19. Will those streaks come to an end in 2011? For the sake of those programs and those communities, let’s hope so. Rawlins may have the tougher go, as the Outlaws face seven Class 3A foes and open with Sidney, Neb., and Rawlins hasn’t beaten a team from its own classification since 2006. Shoshoni, meanwhile, was an extremely young team last year and another year of maturation might help the Wranglers not only break the streak, but crawl into playoff contention, too.

3. How will reclassification affect things? This year, five schools — Green River, Wheatland, Wyoming Indian, Dubois and Hulett — have dropped in classification. But a change in classification doesn’t necessarily mean a change in results on the field. The last three schools to drop in classification all saw mixed results: Greybull went from 2-7 to 1-7 after going from 3A to 2A in 2007; Southeast went from 10-1 to 11-0 after going from 2A to 1A in 2007; and Riverton went from 1-8 to 4-6 after going from 5A (now 4A) to 3A in 2009. Dropping a classification, then, is no guarantee of success.

4. How will Cheyenne South do in its first varsity year? Cheyenne South’s first year of varsity football will be handicapped by the most obvious of missing elements: no seniors. But the Bison also have to overcome a brutal three-week stretch to open the season: at defending state champion Natrona in Week 0; hosting perennial power Cheyenne Central in Week 1; at Sheridan, last year’s 4A runner-up, in Week 2. If the Bison can survive that three-week stretch without losing confidence, they could climb into the postseason in their first year — but the question is, can a team with no seniors maintain the needed confidence to face the rigors of a 4A schedule week in and week out?

5. Will parity rule in 4A? I didn’t realize this before I started writing this post, but think about this: In the past seven years, the Class 4A/5A championship has been won by six different schools. Gillette is the only school to win the title twice in the past seven years, winning it all in 2006 and 2008, but Cheyenne East, Green River, Cheyenne Central, Natrona and Sheridan have all won titles since 2004 in Wyoming’s big-school classification, too. Will we see a school that hasn’t won a title in that span (Rock Springs, Laramie, Evanston, Kelly Walsh or South) continue this run of juggling at the top at the end of this season?

What do you think will be some things to watch in 2011? Post your thoughts below and we can start talking about what should be an exciting year….

–patrick

A glance at new coaches

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Here is a quick glance at which coaches are taking over programs in the fall of 2011 and which coaches are stepping down:

Burns: Out, Bill Fullmer. In, Marv Mirich.
Cheyenne South: Out, Scott Noble. In, Tracy Pugh.
Green River: Out, Darren Howard. In, Don Maggi.
Greybull: Out, John Cundall. In, Josh Heinemeyer.
Kelly Walsh: Out, Jim Horne. In, Jon Vance.
Pine Bluffs: Out, Dale Gilbert. In, Will Gray.
Pinedale: Out, Michael Gregory. In, Allen Johnson.
Rock Springs: Out, Tony Yerkovich. In, Tom Jassman.
Torrington: Out, Brian Harms. In, Mark Lenhardt.

If you know of any other changes to head coaches statewide, let me know by emailing me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com or by posting a comment below….

–patrick

St. Stephens adds football for 2011

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For the first time since 1965, St. Stephens will sponsor a high school football team.

The Eagles will play a six-game six-man schedule mostly against junior varsity teams in 2011, St. Stephens AD William Benn said in an email.

WHSAA Associate Commissioner Trevor Wilson said the association has allowed St. Stephens to play a junior varsity schedule, but said he wants to make sure the Eagles can establish a program on a consistent basis before including the school at the varsity level.

Once that happens, Wilson said, “We would love to have them.”

The Eagles are not eligible for the postseason this fall.

St. Stephens’ schedule this year includes:

Aug. 27 at Hanna (Zero Week)

Sept. 10 Kaycee JV

Sept. 15 Dubois JV

Sept. 20 at Farson JV

Sept. 27 Farson JV

Oct. 13 at Kaycee JV

Benn said the school is trying to schedule more games.

St. Stephens fielded football teams from 1957 to 1965 and were highly successful, compiling a record of 41-24 over those nine seasons, including a state runner-up finish in 1961 and a mythical Class B state championship in 1962.

–patrick

Pinedale names new coach

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Pinedale assistant coach Allen Johnson will take over as head coach for the Wranglers this fall.

Johnson, a math teacher at Pinedale and an assistant with the Wranglers last year, takes over for Michael Gregory. Gregory went 13-21 in four years as head coach, including Pinedale’s only trip to the playoffs since 2000 — a run to the Class 3A semifinals in 2008.

The Sublette Examiner reported the hiring Monday.

If you are aware of any other coaching changes in Wyoming, please comment below or email me directly at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

1971 Class A all-state

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The 1971 Class A all-state team I had posted on the all-state listings has been updated with what I think is a more accurate and comprehensive team. The team I used to have posted was selected by an AP panel; the team posted now is the team chosen by the Wyoming Coaches Association.

I try to post the WCA teams over any other teams when available, but I did not find a WCA team for this class and year until a former Torrington Trailblazer, Mike Mitchell, emailed me one a while back. Torrington was one of the best Class A teams in the state in 1971, going 9-0, but had no players chosen for first-team honors on the AP all-state team and only three second-team players. The WCA list is definitely more representative and more inclusive.

Thanks to Mike for his help on this!

–patrick

Burns names Marv Mirich head coach

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Marv Mirich will be Burns’ head football coach this fall.

Mirich was previously an assistant coach with the Broncs and has also coached basketball teams at Burns and Albin.

Mirich takes over for longtime coach Bill Fullmer, who retired from coaching this spring after leading Burns’ football team for the past 17 years.

Burns won four of its final five games of the regular season to qualify for the playoffs in 2010, but lost in the first round to Lovell. The Broncs won the Class 2A state championship in 2008.

An NAIA all-America wide receiver in 1990 at Black Hills State, Mirich was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2002.

This was the last known open head football coaching position in the state. If you know of any other coaching changes, comment below or email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick