School: Powell
Nickname: Panthers
Colors: black and orange
Stadium: Panther Stadium
State championships: 1957, 1987 and 2006
Times worth remembering: The Panthers have consistently been one of the top teams in the Bighorn Basin, and that was made particularly clear in a pair of three-year spans — the three years from 1955-57 and the three years from 1965-67. The Panthers went 28-2 from 1955-57; both losses were to Worland, and both losses kept Powell from playing in the Class A championship. Finally, in 1957, the Panthers beat the Warriors and went on to win the title with an 11-0 season. And from 1965-67, Powell went 25-3-1, including 8-1-1 in 1966 and 9-0 in 1967, each good enough to win a mythical Class AA-A state championship.
Times worth forgetting: Powell’s toughest times came in back-to-back winless seasons in 1992-93. The Panthers went 0-8 each season and were outscored by an average of 30-5 in the two seasons; only two of the losses were by single digits.
Best team: It’s basically a toss-up between Powell’s two undefeated teams — the 11-0 team from 1957 and the 9-0 team from 1967. The slight nod goes to the ’57 team, which won the Class A title but was probably the best team in the state regardless of class. One of Powell’s 11 victories was 13-6 over Sheridan, which finished 7-1-1 and tied Natrona for the mythical Class AA championship. And few teams controlled a championship game the way the Panthers did in ’57, in which they destroyed Torrington 40-6 on the Trailblazers’ home field to win the title.
Biggest win: The 1966 season finale was set up perfectly for the Panthers — a chance to prove themselves against the top-ranked team in the state, Cody, on the Broncs’ home field. And the Panthers never hesitated. Powell controlled the game from start to finish, winning 32-13 in an “upset” that vaulted the Panthers into first place in the final statewide poll despite an early-season loss to Worland and a tie with Riverton. The 1967 finale set up similarly, but in that game top-ranked Powell justified its ranking by smacking Cody 20-7.
Heartbreaker: Powell had all the momentum going its way heading into the second-to-last game of the 1978 regular season against Rock Springs — the Panthers had won six in a row, four by shutout, and were seemingly in perfect shape for the Tigers. But the Tigers didn’t get the message from Powell and beat the Panthers 15-7. Rock Springs went on to win the state championship, beating Laramie 7-6 two weeks later; Powell beat Cody the next week to finish at 7-1 but never again reached the same level of success in Class AA ball.
Check out the top left corner of the home page. There’s something there you might want to check out from time to time….
–patrick
Somehow, Montana’s recent changes to its football makeup slipped past me, and I only recently found out that the Montana six-man league is going back to “just” a Montana league.
If you remember, the Montana league was the home for Wyoming squads Meeteetse and Ten Sleep for several years before those two programs came back to the Equality State when the WHSAA formed the state’s new six-man division that started play last year.
However, the Montana league also included a pair of Idaho teams — Clark County and Leadore — in its league in recent years. But with the Wyoming teams heading out, and with an eight-man option available in Idaho, the Montana High School Association didn’t include the Idaho schools in its recent reclassification work.
Neither Leadore nor Clark County had programs as of 2006, so both programs were relying on a long-term stay in Montana to survive. As it is, both programs are going to be forced to transition to eight-man… or find another place to play.
For now, both squads will be playing in Idaho’s eight-man Sawtooth Conference. You can read about Leadore and Clark County getting boot from Montana league, or more on the Sawtooth Conference reformation.
For those of you thinking Wyoming might open its arms to the two Idaho schools, think again. Travel concerns will likely squash those ideas right away. Consider this: It’s about 300 miles from Guernsey to Meeteetse… but another 250 from Meeteetse to Clark County (in Dubois, Idaho) and about 340 from Meeteetse “through the Park” to Leadore. Oof.
One other quick note comes from Montana, where the Big Sky staters made changes to their mercy rules. …
–patrick
School: Kelly Walsh
Nickname: Trojans
Colors: green and yellow
Stadium: Harry Geldien Stadium
State championships: 1972, 1980 and 1981
Times worth remembering: KW had 10 consecutive winning seasons from 1975-84, and back-to-back championships in 1980 and 1981 were the Trojans’ crowning achievement in that span. The 1980-81 teams were a combined 19-1; the 1982 and 1983 teams followed up with consecutive 7-2 seasons, although neither team reached the state title game.
Times worth forgetting: Back-to-back 0-8 seasons, an overall 16-game losing streak, from 1997-98 was by far KW’s toughest stretch. Only three of those 16 games were decided by fewer than 10 points. The 1997-98 seasons were part of larger difficulties for the Trojans, who played in the “Toilet Bowl,” reserved for the last-place teams in the two 4A conferences, five consecutive times from 1996-2000.
Best team: You want flash and dash? Try the KW team from 1980, which featured future UW Cowboy Allyn Griffin and future MLB star Mike Devereaux and outscored opponents, on average, 33-8. You want consistency? Go for the 1981 squad, which shut out six of its final seven opponents and finished on the right side of an average score of 25-3. The slight nod goes to the ’81 team, which is KW’s only undefeated team in school history.
Biggest win: There aren’t too many big-game wins for KW — only five playoff wins in 46 years — but the Trojans are 3-0 in title games. The biggest of those came in 1980, the first year KW won an Oil Bowl and a state championship in the same season. The Trojans beat Rock Springs 20-7 in Rock Springs for the state championship a week after beating Natrona 28-13 in the Oil Bowl to secure the spot in the title game.
Heartbreaker: How about the first Oil Bowl in 1965? Playing without any seniors, the Trojans stuck right with Natrona for nearly four quarters and appeared to take the lead after a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown by Frank Wojtech. But officials ruled Wojtech stepped out of bounds at midfield, KW couldn’t score, and thus began a series of Oil Bowl heartaches.
Since the 1A-2A state basketball tournaments are this week, and the 3A-4A tournaments are next week, I figured it was about time to do some updates to the state basketball tournament research I’ve been doing in between the football work that takes up the bulk of this site (and my time).
So, if you want to see the state basketball tournament scores from 1932 to the present, as well as a few tournaments prior to then, click here. It’s not really pretty, but the scores are all there, and for me, for now, that’s good enough.
Every score from every tournament, boys and girls, from 1932 forward, is posted there — with one exception. I still can’t find a score for a consolation semifinal game from the 1953 Class A tournament between Rawlins and Reliance. But other than that, every other score is there. Check it out.
By the way, as a Midwest High School alumnus, I’ve got to give mad props real quick to the Oilers, who won the 1A East Regional championship on Saturday. Midwest hasn’t been to the state semis since 1953, and if the Oilers can beat Ten Sleep on Thursday, they’ll end that way-too-long dry spell.
–patrick
In between teaching classes, taking classes, making a trip to Fort Collins and squeezing in quality time with the wife, I really hit the missing games list and the Byes Project hard this week. The Byes Project is an effort to account for all “Open” weeks in which schools have no games listed. I’ve also tossed in a couple Coaches Project updates, too…
In all, 11 games were added to the database (four of those are now “missing games”) and 14 games were removed from the missing games list.
New additions:
Added Cowley’s 28-20 victory over Bridger, Mont., on Oct. 18, 1975
Added the Pinedale-Reliance game scheduled for Oct. 9, 1956 (and added it to the missing games list because I couldn’t find a result)
Added Pinedale’s 36-18 victory over Lyman on Oct. 27, 1956
Added the Saratoga-Kremmling, Colo., game scheduled for Oct. 14, 1949 (and added it to the missing games list because I couldn’t find a result)
Added Saratoga’s loss to the Rawlins JV in October 1955 (and added it to the missing games list because I couldn’t find a score, a date or a location)
Added Saratoga’s loss to the Laramie JV on Oct. 13, 1955 (and added it to the missing games list because I couldn’t find a score)
Added Saratoga’s 32-26 loss to the Laramie JV on Oct. 12, 1956
Added Lingle’s 45-20 victory over Guernsey on Oct. 15, 1954
Added Guernsey’s 51-19 victory over Chugwater on Oct. 6, 1954
Added Sunrise’s two victories over Guernsey in 1953, a 55-19 victory on Sept. 18 and a 63-6 victory on Oct. 23
Missing games:
Found the location for Pine Bluffs’ 65-6 victory over Huntley on Nov. 8, 1957 (it was in Pine Bluffs)
Found the score for Upton’s 12-7 loss to Edgemont, S.D., on Sept. 21, 1956
Found the location for Saratoga’s 36-0 victory over the Rawlins JV on Oct. 9, 1956 (it was in Saratoga)
Deleted an entry for Newcastle’s 7-0 victory over Edgemont, S.D., on either Sept. 9 or 10, 1955; Newcastle actually beat Belle Fourche, S.D., 7-0 on Sept. 9, and that game was already part of the database
Found the score for Big Piney’s 50-12 victory over Baggs (Snake River) on Sept. 23, 1955
Found the date and location for Lingle’s 39-0 victory over Sunrise on Sept. 30, 1955 (it was in Sunrise)
Found the score and location for Lingle’s 42-13 victory over Albin on Oct. 28, 1955 (it was in Albin)
Found the location for Lingle’s 34-12 victory over Huntley on Sept. 17, 154 (it was in Lingle)
Found the location for Sunrise’s 45-0 victory over Guernsey on Sept. 17, 1954 (it was in Sunrise)
Found the score and changed the date for Lingle’s 46-8 victory over Harrison, Neb., on Oct. 6, 1954 (had originally listed Oct. 8)
Found the date and location for Morton’s 0-0 tie with the Lander JV on Oct. 6, 1954 (it was in Lander)
Found the score for Morton’s 6-6 tie with the Lander JV on Sept. 24, 1953
Found the score for Sunrise’s 19-19 tie with Albin on Sept. 25, 1953
Found the score for Sunrise’s 32-20 victory over Lingle on Oct. 30, 1953
Coaches Project:
Added coaches to the team pages for Sundance, Ten Sleep, Deaver-Frannie, Pinedale, Gillette, Saratoga, Lingle, Guernsey, Morton and Lander. Check out those teams’ pages to see the updates. Still could use some help for Cokeville….
As always, if you see an error or an omission in the game-by-game result listings or in the listing of the coaches, feel free to let me know. My e-mail address is pschmiedt@yahoo.com.
–patrick
Lyman:
Once again, Lyman coach Ted Holmstrom has come through in a big way in providing help regarding his school’s football history. He recently sent me updates for 11 seasons — 11 new games and 10 missing games:
1947: Corrected the date of the Oct. 24 game between Lyman and Big Piney (had originally listed Oct. 17)
1952: Added three games, Lyman’s 51-0 victory over Big Piney on Oct. 10; Lyman’s 18-18 tie with Cokeville on Oct. 17; and Lyman’s 37-6 victory over Big Piney on Oct. 24. Found the score for Lyman’s 42-18 victory over Cokeville on Oct. 3. Also removed a missing game scheduled Oct. 24 with Baggs-Snake River.
1953: Added two games, Lyman’s 38-14 loss to Cokeville on Oct. 1 and Lyman’s 61-61 tie with Big Piney on Oct. 16. (That 61-61 tie also set a new state record for the highest-scoring tie game — and by a wide margin, too.)
1954: Added one game, Lyman’s 48-33 victory over North Rich, Utah, on Oct. 21. Also found scores for two games, Lyman’s 38-21 loss to Cokeville on Sept. 24 and Lyman’s 54-13 victory over Baggs-Snake River on Oct. 11.
1957: Found scores for two missing games, Lyman’s 34-12 loss to Cokeville on Oct. 11 and Lyman’s 34-30 victory over Mountain View on Oct. 18.
1958: Added two games, Lyman’s 39-12 victory over Mountain View on Sept. 26 and Lyman’s 12-7 loss to Hanna on Oct. 17.
1959: Found scores for two missing games, Lyman’s 28-19 loss to Superior on Sept. 11 and Lyman’s 21-0 victory over Mountain View on Sept. 18.
1966: Added Lyman’s 18-0 loss to Provo, Utah, on Oct. 7.
1967: Added Lyman’s 46-33 victory over Ogden Deaf School, Utah, on Oct. 6
1968: Found a score for Lyman’s 36-6 victory over Ogden Deaf School, Utah, on Oct. 18.
1969: Added Lyman’s 7-6 victory over Park City, Utah, on Oct. 24.
Coach Holmstrom also hooked me up with all the missing coaches I had for Lyman on the Coaches Project. Thanks, coach!
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Glendo:
Glendo native and current Greybull coach John Cundall hooked me up with a list of Glendo’s coaches for the Coaches Project. Every year but 1952 has been accounted for in regards to the Eagles’ history. Glendo coaches were notoriously tough for me to find, so coach Cundall’s list was a huge, huge help to me. Thanks a ton, coach!
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Coaches Project:
In between receiving awesome e-mails from coaches, I’ve been chipping away at the Coaches Project on my own. The following schools have received updates in the past couple weeks, mostly in the 1960s or early 1970s: Arvada-Clearmont, Basin, Bow-Basin, Byron, Cowley, Deaver-Frannie, Goshen Hole, Guernsey, Hanna, Huntley, Jackson, Lander, Lingle, Manderson, Pavillion, Saratoga, St. Mary’s, Sunrise, Ten Sleep, Tongue River, Torrington. Check out those teams’ individual pages to see the updates.
The coaching list for Bow-Basin is now complete, which is pretty sweet.
I’ve got nearly every coach from 1964 to the present, with the exception of Huntley in the four seasons from 1965-68, Deaver-Frannie and Manderson in 1970, Pinedale in 1964 and Goshen Hole in 1966…. as well as Cokeville for pretty much every year prior to 1976. Cokeville is the only school where I’m still getting hung up, so if anyone knows who Cokeville’s coaches were back in the day, shoot me an e-mail to pschmiedt@yahoo.com and fill me in on who’s missing from the list. Cokeville’s team page is here.
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That’s it for now. Obviously it’s been a fun week!
–patrick
School: Morton
Nickname: Broncs
Colors: Unknown
Stadium: Unknown
State championships: None
Times worth remembering: Only one thing stood in the way of a Morton dynasty in the mid-1950s — Byron. The Broncs were a combined 22-4 in three seasons from 1956-58; three of those losses came against Byron, and all three helped keep Morton out of the playoffs. Even so, the Broncs were consistent winners with a penchant for winning close, competitive, hard-fought defensive games (nine of Morton’s 22 wins in those years were by 10 points or less).
Times worth forgetting: In three seasons from 1960-62, the Broncs were the conference doormat. Those three seasons, Morton finished a combined 3-17-1, only posting victories over the Riverton JV team, Manderson and the Worland Institute (boys’ school) team.
Best team: A team has never done more with less than the Morton Broncs did in 1965. That season, Morton posted a 5-1-1 record and finished third in the final statewide poll for the mythical title, but what was impressive about the Broncs was how they won. The scores from Morton’s victories that year? 13-6, 6-0, 6-0, 12-8 and 19-14. The lone loss was a 13-6 nail-biter to eventual mythical champ Byron; the lone tie was a 0-0 draw with Big Piney. Two other games were canceled.
Biggest win: For a school with no playoff appearances, big victories are hard to find. But imagine the thrill the Broncs felt on Oct. 18, 1957. That day, Morton beat Shoshoni in classic Morton style — a hard-fought, close, thrilling 13-6 contest — for its 15th consecutive victory. It set up a dream matchup with Byron the next week on Morton’s home field — a game that has no drama to it whatsoever if the Broncs don’t beat Shoshoni in the previous week.
Heartbreaker: The mythical Class B title was Morton’s to claim in 1964. All they had to do was beat Byron in the season finale. But Byron was ready for the challenge and swamped Morton 34-12 in the capper. As it was, Morton finished fourth in the final statewide poll; Byron, even with one loss, won the mythical title. It wasn’t the first time Byron thwarted Morton (see 1956-58), and it wasn’t the last — a similar scenario unfolded in 1965, and Byron again got the best of Morton to wrap up the mythical state title.
WHSAA delays vote on return to Laramie (Casper Star-Tribune).
The Wyoming Chapter of the National Football Foundation today released the list of its scholar-athlete award finalists and its special award winners.
To see full bios on the award winners, click here (Microsoft Word .doc format).
The winners and finalists will be recognized at a banquet March 20 in Laramie. Tickets are $30 apiece and open to the public; for ticket info, call Kermit or Wendy Sweeny in Worland at (307) 347-2979.
Finalists
Kyle Redding, Midwest (1A-6 lineman)
Jon Borah, Hanna (1A-6 back)
Jordan Sparks, Cokeville (1A-11 lineman)
Tanner May, Southeast (1A-11 back)
Leland Pfeifer, Hulett (1A-11 back)
Eric Robinson, Kemmerer (2A lineman)
Colin Herold, Thermopolis (2A back)
Quentin Kane, Douglas (3A lineman)
Pierre Etchemendy, Douglas (3A back)
Chris Andrews, Green River (4A lineman)
Levi Henrie, Cheyenne Central (4A lineman)
Austin Woodward, Sheridan (4A back)
University of Wyoming: Weston Johnson, linebacker; Russ Arnold, center.
Special award winners
Keith & Joyce Bloom Scholar-Athlete Courage Award: Bobby Anderson, Riverside.
Scholar-Athlete Perseverance Award: Chuck Maike II, Wheatland.
Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football: Dave Rangitsch, Saratoga; Natrona County football crew (Bob Matson, Dennis Rate, Ed Rate, David Shutts, Bruce Heberlein, Matt Johnson)
Greatest UW Football Fan: Sue Nelson, Laramie; Carrol Orrison, Casper.
Greatest High School Football Fan: Lester Fatheree, Jr., Kemmerer.
Ox Zellner Football Official Career Achievement: Mike Harris, Riverton.
Football Coach Career Achievement: Carl Mirich, Moorcroft.