If one word describes Week 3, it’s intrigue.
When I looked at the schedule for the week, I just kept trying to choose one game to highlight for this week’s picks. Which one to choose? East-Gillette? Natrona-Kelly Walsh? Cody-Torrington? Douglas-Star Valley? Riverton-Lander? Lovell-Lyman? Thermopolis-Glenrock? Dubois-Wind River? Southeast-Lusk? Sundance-Pine Bluffs? Hanna-Kaycee? Ten Sleep-Midwest?
It’s sort of like Lays — you can’t have just one.
Any one of those games, and several others listed below, are intriguing for reasons beyond face value. Some are critical conference games; others are possible state title game previews; yet others are rivalry showdowns that carry the baggage that go with them.
You can’t overlook the Thermopolis-Glenrock showdown. After all, that’s a rematch of last year’s 2A title game. And it’s going to go a long way in deciding this year’s 2A East champion (although Big Horn and the five other teams in the conference still have plenty to say about that).
And how about the two big rivalry games: the Oil Bowl between Natrona and Kelly Walsh and the Fremont County rivalry (little “r” in grammar only) between Riverton and Lander? If nothing else, the history in these two rivalries should catch your attention.
On the flipside is Cody and Torrington, who have only played each other seven times, yet they played each other twice last year. Go figure. Nevertheless, it’s just the third regular-season game between these two teams, yet both teams have proven they are both capable of giving 3A’s big boys (read: Douglas and Buffalo) a run for the top spot come November.
The 1A 11-man division is brimming with big games — the type you want to see in November. Who knows? The way a few teams have busted out of the gates this year, maybe we WILL see these matchups in November again. Both divisions are shaping up to be quite interesting, especially when you talk playoff seeding, and simply making it to the postseason will be a difficult task. Hence why these conference games now mean so much.
And the six-man division continues to gain some focus after a couple weeks of wide-open play. The leaders and the followers are a little bit better defined now, but that can all change over the course of one afternoon, and this week’s slate is loaded with games that could turn the conference into a free-for-all.
Now that I’ve said all that, avoiding the whole time selecting one game as my pick of the week, I think I’ll make the Sundance-Pine Bluffs affair, which kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday in Pine, my official wyoming-football.com game of the week (lowercase, let’s not get carried away here) for two reasons: (1) I want to see if Sundance is for real; (2) I want to see if Pine Bluffs is for real. Oh, and I guess (3), because I’m driving over the hill to watch this one. My pick is the Hornets, but very tentatively because of how well Sundance played last week and how much confidence those Bulldogs will have.
But don’t misunderstand me: This week, there are a ton of — say it with me now — intriguing games. I kind of wish I could go to about 15 of them this week, just because the schedule is so loaded. Alas, the Bulldogs and Hornets will curb that appetite, if only for a couple hours.
The rest of this week’s picks, with my favorites in bold and the top teams in my heart in regular type:
Thursday
Interclass
Lingle at Natrona sophs: As per usual, I go with the varsity team. This is a late add to the schedule, but should be good for the Doggers nonetheless, win or lose. 6 p.m.
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Laramie: Laramie is in a pretty clear rebuilding mode. Central, not yet a year removed from the title game, is in reloading mode. 7 p.m.
Cheyenne East at Gillette: If I had a private plane and loads of money, I’d fly up to Camel-land and check this one out. Both teams have super-high aspirations, and neither one can really afford another loss if they want to keep pace with Sheridan and Natrona. 7 p.m.
Evanston at Green River: Green River can give any team in 4A a run for its money. The only problem is that while the Wolves are still running hard, the other teams are spending the money. 7 p.m.
Natrona at Kelly Walsh: I think the Trojans used up all their Oil Bowl miracle karma last year. That, and NC, in case you haven’t heard, is quite good. 7 p.m.
Rock Springs at Sheridan: The Broncs got a “good” scare last week. They still won, but their focus shouldn’t be a problem this week. Best of both worlds. 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Cody at Torrington: As I mentioned before, I love this matchup. Both teams have shown great potential. Once again, when it’s too close to call, I will go with the home team. 7 p.m.
Douglas vs. Star Valley, at Riverton: Hello, Douglas? Yeah, this is the rest of 3A. When are you gonna let us have a turn? Oh. OK. We’ll try again next year. Thanks. 7 p.m.
Jackson at Rawlins: Both teams need a victory here to keep their seasons on track. A loss for either leaves an 0-8 season as a distinct possibility. 7 p.m.
Powell at Buffalo: Hello, Buffalo? Yeah, this is the rest of 3A. When are you gonna go take care of Douglas for us? Oh. OK. Beat Powell first, and we’ll talk next week. Thanks. 7 p.m.
Riverton at Lander: The old rivals face off for the 114th time since 1922. It’s one of the most played series in Wyoming history (I’m having a tough time coming up with one that has been played more often…) and also one of the most even (Riverton leads the all-time series 58-47-7). OK, history lesson over. 7 p.m.
Worland at Wheatland: If not for turnovers, Wheatland could have beaten Powell last week. I think the Bulldogs will take out that frustration on the Warriors this week. 6 p.m.
Class 2A
Big Horn at Wright: The Rams just keep proving again and again that they’re legit title contenders in 2A this year. These next three weeks (Wright, Glenrock and Thermopolis) will either confirm or re-adjust those hunches. I’ll say confirm. 7 p.m.
Kemmerer at Pinedale: Tough pick to make, because I don’t think either team has lived up to its potential. Whichever team does that on Friday will be the one that wins, but we could be in for a heck of a game if both teams (or neither team) do. 7 p.m.
Lovell at Lyman: I’ve been back and forth on this pick all week and finally looked to Thermopolis — with the Bobcats as the measuring stick, the Eagles stack up the best. But we’ll see how this one shakes out…. 4 p.m.
Mountain View at Big Piney: The Punchers meet another Bridger Valley foe, Lyman, next week. That one will mean much, much less, though, if the Buffalos catch the Punchers looking ahead — and I think Mountain View has the ability to do that. 4 p.m.
Newcastle at Burns: The big victory for Newcastle last week was a bit of a surprise to me. So was Burns’ big loss. My head says Newcastle even though my gut says Burns. In between is my heart, and one of these teams will steal it with a victory in this one. I pick the Dogies with a flip of the coin and nothing more…. 7 p.m.
Thermopolis at Glenrock: Oh, so many subplots. Don’t forget the main plot, though — Thermopolis is the defending state champ. Glenrock is the team the Bobcats had to go through to get that trophy. Should be fun. 7 p.m.
Tongue River at Moorcroft: The more I look at the Eagles, the more I think they are a team that has real potential. Potential is a dangerous word, though. It doesn’t mean much unless you do something with it. TR does that in this one. 1 p.m.
Wyoming Indian at Greybull: The Buffaloes have plenty of time to set the pace in the West. But there’s a big difference between winning this one and winning in the second half of the regular season. 7 p.m.
Class 1A 11-man
Dubois at Wind River: It’s been a long time since the Rams have beaten the Cougars — six years, actually. However, the Rams have proven that they are a force out West, and I’ll call for the minor upset over the Cougs in Pavillion as another opportunity to make room on the Dubois bandwagon. 7 p.m.
Normative Services at Upton: Hey, at least someone will score. 7 p.m.
Riverside at Rocky Mountain: Think the Grizzlies aren’t fired up to prove last week was a fluke? 4 p.m.
Saratoga at Cokeville: The big orange machine continues to gain momentum. Destination Laramie, ETA not quite two months. 2 p.m.
Shoshoni at Burlington: Shoshoni has proven that it is a better team than it was last year, and brighter days are definitely ahead for the Wranglers. The Huskies just don’t want that day to be Friday. 3 p.m.
Southeast at Lusk: Technically, neither one of these teams won last week. How weird is that? I wonder when the last time that happened was…. OK, BRB, gotta go look it up…. OK, I’m back, it was Sept. 22, 2006, the last time that neither one of these teams won a played game in the same week. Weird. Whatevs. I’m just skirting the fact that I like the Tigers, even though the Cyclones will be plenty fired up for this one. 7:30 p.m.
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Snake River: Through two games, the Rattlers have proven they have the best team in the classification. Now, can they keep that pace up to November? We’ll see, come November. Imagine that. 2 p.m.
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Guernsey-Sunrise at Meeteetse: Both teams are rebuilding a bit this year, but neither one wants to be the team that a rebuilding team gains confidence by beating. It’s a long trip, but I’ll take the Vikings. 1 p.m.
Hanna at Kaycee: This is a game that I’ve been waiting all week to see. Again, if I had that private plane, I’d fly it right over to Kaycee and check this one out. I’ll go with the unbeaten Miners, but I think it may take a score late in the fourth quarter to salt this one away. 1 p.m.
Ten Sleep at Midwest: The Oilers and the Pioneers are both in that weird spot, trying to chase down Snake River and Hanna, trying to crawl back into that race for home field throughout the playoffs. Saturday’s loser may all but be eliminated from that race. This is a big one — and, again, don’t be surprised to see the margin of victory in the neighborhood of three or four points. 3 p.m.
Schedule TBD: Hulett.
If this week was covered by ESPN, they’d give it some cool name like “Figure-out Friday” or something cutesy like that. As it is, it’s just a fantastic lineup of games that, no matter your rooting interest, is sure to pique your curiousity. So what game on this list are you keeping an eye on? Any games this week mean something extra to you? Post a comment below.
–patrick