Former Rawlins coach takes over at Moorcroft

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Former Rawlins head coach Clayton McSpadden will take over the same position at Moorcroft this fall.

Moorcroft activities director Dusty Petz verified McSpadden’s hiring via email with wyoming-football.com on Saturday. Crook County School District No. 1 board documents show McSpadden was hired to teach PE at Moorcroft’s secondary school on May 16.

McSpadden resigned as Rawlins’ head coach earlier this year after four seasons leading the Outlaws.

He will replace Travis Santistevan, who resigned to teach and coach in Baker, Montana.

Moorcroft, a Class 1A nine-man program, went 0-8 last season.

Cheyenne South, Jackson, Rawlins, Burns, Cokeville, Pinedale and Big Piney have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Glenrock, Wind River and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Linford hired as new head coach at Cokeville

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Cokeville wrestling coach Marty Linford has been hired as the new head football coach at Cokeville

Linford’s hiring was finalized at the March 6 meeting of the Lincoln County School District No. 2 board, board documentation shows.

Linford has been Cokeville’s wrestling coach for 22 years, helping the Panthers win seven state championships in that time. He was the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s national high school wrestling coach of the year in 2012.

He replaces Todd Dayton, who was Cokeville’s head coach for 42 seasons and finished his career as Wyoming’s all-time leading coach in terms of victories and championships.

Cokeville, playing a Class 2A schedule despite having the enrollment of a Class 1A six-man program, finished 5-4 and ended its season in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs last year.

Cheyenne South, Jackson, Rawlins, Burns, Pinedale and Big Piney have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Glenrock, Moorcroft, Wind River and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Wyoming six-man all-stars beat Nebraska in record-setting performance

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Wyoming tied a Six-man Shootout record with 68 points in a 68-44 victory against the Nebraska six-man all-stars during Friday’s all-star football game in Chadron, Nebraska.

Wyoming won in the series for the first time since 2019 and took a 6-5 lead in the all-time series.

Wyoming took the lead early, and despite Nebraska’s best attempts, the flatlanders could never re-take the lead.

Snake River’s Zander Risner and Meeteetse’s Dace Bennett scored touchdowns to give Wyoming a 16-8 lead early in the second quarter.

After a Nebraska score — and then a turnover — Encampment’s Koye Gilbert caught a touchdown pass to give Wyoming a 22-16 lead. On Nebraska’s subsequent possession, Gilbert scored on a pick-six, which came on the final play before halftime, and Wyoming led 30-16 at halftime.

Nebraska cut the lead to 30-28 with a pair of early third-quarter touchdowns, but Bennett scored on a scramble and Wyoming led 38-28.

Nebraska cut the lead to 38-36 but Farson’s Cree Jones’ touchdown catch from Bennett extended Wyoming’s lead to 46-36 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter.

Hulett’s Bryce Ackerman scored to extend Wyoming’s lead to 54-36 early in the fourth quarter.

Nebraska cut the lead to 54-44 but Ackerman scored again and Wyoming led 62-44; Risner caught another touchdown pass a bit later to make the score 68-44.

Nebraska threatened but didn’t score again.

Wyoming’s 68 points tied a Six-man Shootout series record set by the Wyoming team in 2014. The 112 combined points set a series record as well.

–patrick

First-time matchups in the 2022 Wyoming high school football schedule

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Nine games in 2022 will put together teams who have never faced each other.

Of those games, four will involve two in-state teams. The remaining five are games against out-of-state programs, including three new opponents for Rich County, Utah.

Here are the varsity vs. varsity matchups we will see for the first time in 2022:

Week 1: Lingle vs. St. Stephens; Wyoming Indian vs. Guernsey; Evanston vs. Jordan, Utah; Ten Sleep vs. Encampment*

Week 2: Jackson vs. Wood River, Idaho

Week 4: Rich County, Utah, vs. Thermopolis

Week 5: Encampment vs. Kaycee; Lovell vs. Rich County, Utah

Week 8: Pinedale vs. Rich County, Utah

*-signifies game that was scheduled in a previous season but was forfeited

For a full look at the 2022 schedule, go here. Bookmark it, too, because it’s the page where scores will be available all season long.

–patrick

Big Piney selects alumnus as new head football coach

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Jeromy Moffat, a graduate of Big Piney High School, will be the Punchers’ next head football coach.

Moffat was formally named the head coach for Big Piney at the Sublette County School District No. 9 meeting on May 17, the Sublette Examiner reported.

Moffat graduated from Big Piney in 1997 and played college football at Black Hills State.

He was an assistant with the Big Piney program the past few years, serving as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.

“I am very excited about this opportunity to coach my alma mater,” Moffat wrote in an email to wyoming-football.com on Tuesday. “I love Big Piney Football, the kids at Big Piney High School and the people of the community. It’s a unique situation as every member of my staff is an alum of Big Piney with multiple state championships as players.”

Big Piney will transition from Class 2A to Class 1A nine-man this year, and Moffat said he is looking forward to building a nine-man game plan “from the ground up.”

He replaces Ryan Visser, who recently took a head coaching job in Utah.

Cheyenne South, Jackson, Rawlins, Burns and Pinedale have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Wind River and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Spring sports wrap: A big track meet for first-time winners, Worland’s soccer dynasty and softball’s Razor City dominance

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The spring sports season has come to a close, and with it the 2021-22 Wyoming high school sports season.

Information from the track and field, soccer and softball championships has been put onto sister site Champlists. Check it out. Soccer and softball all-state teams are still to come, but everything else is there. If anything looks weird, wonky or wrong, let me know.

One thing that jumped out at me as I was putting together the track and field champions was just how many athletes had won their first state championship in a particular event for their school. In all, this happened 24 times this weekend, including with 12 relay teams, a number that seemed much higher than usual. They included:

BOYS
Jaycee Herbert, Wind River, 100
Isaiah Haliburton, Thunder Basin, 400
Rodee Brow, Wheatland, 400 (This is the first Wheatland champ in the 400/440 since the start of the state meet in 1922.)
Wheatland, 4×100 relay
Thunder Basin and Tongue River, 4×400 relay
Lander, Tongue River and Lingle, 1600 medley relay
Mountain View, 4×800 relay

GIRLS
Vaidyn Vanderploeg, Riverside, 100 and 200
Karcee Maya, Kaycee, 400
Emma Gonzalez, Burns, 3200
Gabby Mendoza, Thunder Basin, 300 hurdles
Glenrock, 4×100 relay
Star Valley, 4×400 relay
Jackson and Saratoga, 1600 medley relay
Mountain View, 4×800 relay
Katy Dexter, Pinedale, discus
Carly Moore, Wright, pole vault
Angie Logsdon, Southeast, pole vault
Whitney Bennett, Saratoga, triple jump

Snowy and cold weather on the first two days of the meet prevented this from being a huge record-breaking weekend, as only one overall state meet record and only six other classification records were broken, including four in Class 1A boys.

The overall record broken, though, was a big one — Kelly Walsh’s Cameron Burkett in the shot put. His mark of 65-10.25 on the throw below is both a state meet and an all-time state record.

The other classification records were:
Colby Jenks, Big Piney, 2A boys 800, 1:55.59
Southeast, 1A boys 4×100 relay, 43.35
Lingle, 1A boys 4×400 relay, 3:27.43
Ryan Clapper, Southeast, 1A boys 200, 21.79
Kyland Fuller, Lingle, 1A boys 400, 50.02
Shelby Ekwall, Southeast, 1A girls shot put, 41-8.75

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On the soccer side of things, Worland’s fourth consecutive Class 3A boys championship (2018-19 and 2021-22, with no tournament in 2020) is a new state record for consecutive championships. Previously, Jackson (2014-16) and Cheyenne East (1987-89) had won three in a row, and Jackson (2019, 2021-22) won its third straight this year.

Additionally, Worland’s 7-0 victory against Torrington in the 3A championship game represented both the most goals scored by a winning team in a state championship game and the biggest blowout in a championship game.

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Softball, meanwhile, is still in its infancy in Wyoming. Thunder Basin won the championship, giving the city of Gillette its second title in two years, following up on Campbell County’s title last season in the sport’s inaugural year.

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As noted, the records for this year’s performances are all up on Champlists. I hope to continue to add to and grow the site to incorporate more of Wyoming’s high school sports history. I’ve already heard from one of you just this week about trying to add year-by-year soccer standings, something I’m excited to get into but would also love some help on… But what else would YOU like to see researched about Wyoming’s high school sports history that isn’t already up on Champlists? Let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

–patrick

Wind River coach resigns after seven seasons

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Mykah Trujillo, Wind River’s head football coach the past seven seasons, has resigned to take a new job in Evanston and be closer to his family.

In an email Thursday to wyoming-football.com, Trujillo said he was moving to near Woodruff, Utah, to provide help for the ranch of his wife’s family. Both he and his wife will continue to work in the schools in Evanston.

Although the Cougars went a combined 20-40 the past seven seasons, they had a breakthrough season in 2021. The Cougars were 7-3 last season and were Class 1A nine-man semifinalists, losing to eventual state champion Shoshoni to end their season.

“It’s a tough year to leave,” Trujillo said. “We are coming off a great season and are returning most players and have replacements for the seniors that left.

” … Kids know the expectation, (and) equipment is completely upgraded. The weights facility was a huge push for me and has been upgraded,  is arguably the best in 1A and 2A and probably some 3A schools.”

Trujillo said he will most miss the players and helping them grow as people, and “it’s hard to walk away from.”

Trujillo said although he will not coach next year, he may eventually return to coaching in the Evanston or Rich County, Utah, area if the right opportunity comes along.

He also said Wind River has not yet hired a replacement.

Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Big Piney and Farson. Meanwhile, Cheyenne South, Jackson, Rawlins, Burns and Pinedale have hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Diverse experience leads White to head coach spot at Jackson

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A coach with diverse experience at the high school and college level will be the new head football coach at Jackson.

David White, who most recently was the head coach at Blue Springs High School in Missouri, has been selected as the new head coach of the Class 3A Broncs, Jackson activities director Mike Hansen said in an email Thursday to wyoming-football.com.

White also coached at two major colleges, working with Bob Stoops’ Oklahoma teams from 2007-10, with much of that time as the program’s recruiting coordinator. He was also the running backs coach at Nevada from 2017-19.

He was the head coach at Rigeland High School in Mississippi in 2019 and was at Blue Springs the past two years.

“We are excited to bring on Coach White and look forward to seeing the Bronc Football program continue to grow and develop into one of the best programs in Wyoming,” Hansen wrote.

White was also the head football coach at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas from 2003-06, winning three league championships and coaching future NFL players Demarco Murray and Xavier Grimble.

He was also the head coach at Socorro High in El Paso, Texas, for two years and at Lake Havasu, Arizona, for a year, and also spent several years working with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, an all-star game for high schoolers from across the country.

White played collegiately at UNLV and was a tight end for the Rebels, finishing his college playing career in 1995.

Jackson has finished as the Class 3A runner-up the past two seasons. White replaces David Joyce, who resigned after five years to become the head coach at nearby Teton, Idaho.

Cheyenne South, Rawlins, Burns and Pinedale have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Big Piney and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Weekly rankings from 1955-83 and 1952 added to Wyoming-football.com

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Weekly rankings from 1955-83 and from 1952 have been added to the annual listings on wyoming-football.com.

This all but completes a big chunk of research on weekly polls, the first part of which — from 1984 to 2021 — was posted and shared on wyoming-football.com in January.

Polls from 1955 to 1983 included two polls per week — one from the Associated Press and, usually, one from United Press International. Prior to 1960, though, the UPI poll was not yet being conducted, and a poll from the Wyoming Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters fills those years.

The top five teams in each classification have been ranked since 1972. From 1965-70, the top 10 teams in both Class AA/A and Class B were ranked in the UPI polls, while the top 10 in all classes were ranked in the single AP poll. (The exception is in 1971, when the AP ran top fives for Class AA, Class A and Class B, while UPI ran top 10s in Class AA/A and Class B.) Prior to 1965, both the AP and UPI/WASS poll had one set of all-class rankings, which ranked the top 10 teams regardless of classification.

Here’s more on how rankings have changed over time.

Once again, a huge thank you goes out to “Stat Rat” Jim Craig for his help in filling in the numerous missing pieces I had in this research. This wouldn’t have been possible without his help!

You can access the weekly polls on the results by year page.

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Here are some updated records on who’s had the most consecutive weeks ranked and most consecutive weeks at No. 1:

Consecutive weeks ranked (minimum 40 weeks)

Top 10 streaks
Cokeville: 194 weeks (1993-2015)
Sheridan: 114 weeks (2009-20)
Cokeville: 94 weeks (1982-92)
Campbell County: 87 weeks (1996-2007)
Cheyenne Central: 82 weeks (1963-70)
Buffalo: 77 weeks (2003-11)
Laramie: 76 weeks (1959-66)
Big Horn: 73 weeks (2012-20)
Lusk: 73 weeks (1994-2003)
Byron: 71 weeks (1965-72)
Next 10
Lovell: 70 weeks (1987-95)
Campbell County: 68 weeks (2010-16)
Lusk: 66 weeks (2008-15)
Meeteetse: 63 weeks (1987-94)
Natrona: 63 weeks (1959-65)
Star Valley: 63 weeks (2015-21) *active
Guernsey-Sunrise: 62 weeks (2002-08)
Douglas: 61 weeks (2008-15)
Farson: 61 weeks (2015-21)
Natrona: 61 weeks (2010-16)
Others longer than 40 weeks:
Big Horn: 59 weeks (1983-89)
Sheridan: 59 weeks (1981-87)
Big Piney: 58 weeks (1998-2005)
Cheyenne Central: 58 weeks (1976-82)
Upton-Sundance: 56 weeks (2014-20)
Kelly Walsh: 54 weeks (1979-84)
Natrona: 52 weeks (2001-07)
Sheridan: 52 weeks (1956-61)
Cheyenne East: 51 weeks (2011-16)
Cheyenne East: 50 weeks (2017-21) *active
Mountain View: 49 weeks (2016-21)
Rock Springs: 49 weeks (1986-91)
Laramie: 46 weeks (1967-71)
Kemmerer: 45 weeks (2005-10)
Rocky Mountain: 45 weeks (1994-2000)
Star Valley: 45 weeks (1990-95)
Natrona: 44 weeks (1955-59)
Cody: 43 weeks (2017-21) *active
Thunder Basin: 43 weeks (2017-21) *active
Southeast: 43 weeks (2005-10)
Laramie: 42 weeks (1994-99)
Laramie: 41 weeks (1955-59)
Midwest: 41 weeks (1983-87)
Natrona: 41 weeks (2016-20)
Star Valley: 41 weeks (1980-85)
Mountain View: 40 weeks (1993-98)
Torrington: 40 weeks (1987-92)

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Consecutive weeks at No. 1 (minimum 10 weeks)

Top 10 streaks (OK, 12…)
Sheridan: 23 weeks (1991-93)
Rocky Mountain: 22 weeks (1997-99)
Cokeville: 21 weeks (2001-03)
Powell: 21 weeks (2012-14)
Meeteetse: 20 weeks (1989-91)
Natrona: 20 weeks (2011-13)
Tongue River: 20 weeks (1966-68)
Douglas: 19 weeks (2009-11)
Snake River: 19 weeks (2010-12)
Big Horn: 18 weeks (2018-19)
Glenrock: 18 weeks (2016-17)
Cheyenne Central: 18 weeks (1989-90)
Remainder of top 20…
Big Horn: 17 weeks (1985-87)
Kemmerer: 16 weeks (2007-08)
Rock Springs: 16 weeks (2001-03)
Laramie: 15 weeks (1969-70)
Riverton: 15 weeks (1998-99)
Big Horn: 14 weeks (2007-08)
Laramie: 14 weeks (1964-65)
Laramie: 14 weeks (1968-69)
Rocky Mountain: 14 weeks (1995-96)
Others with at least 10 consecutive weeks at No. 1…
Campbell County: 13 weeks (1997-99)
Lovell: 13 weeks (2011-12)
Sheridan: 13 weeks (2017-18)
Torrington: 13 weeks (1974-75)
Cheyenne Central: 12 weeks (1979-80)
Cokeville: 12 weeks (1996-97)
Cokeville: 12 weeks (2009-11)
Lovell: 12 weeks (1987-88)
Star Valley: 12 weeks (2016-17)
Star Valley: 12 weeks (2018-20)
Big Horn: 11 weeks (2003-04)
Dubois: 11 weeks (2012-13)
Laramie: 11 weeks (1960-61)
Laramie: 11 weeks (1962-63)
Midwest: 11 weeks (1979-80)
Powell: 11 weeks (2000-01)
Sheridan: 11 weeks (1986-87)
Thermopolis: 11 weeks (1992-93)
Tongue River: 11 weeks (1974-75)
Buffalo: 10 weeks (2004-05)
Cokeville: 10 weeks (1991-92)
Cokeville: 10 weeks (2014-15)
Meeteetse: 10 weeks (1987-88)
Meeteetse: 10 weeks (2015-16)
Natrona: 10 weeks (1963-64)
Natrona: 10 weeks (2010)
Rocky Mountain: 10 weeks (1992-93)
Southeast: 10 weeks (2007-08)
Southeast: 10 weeks (2020-21)

Got any questions about the polls? Leave a comment and let’s chat about it.

–patrick

Rawlins names former Rock Springs coach as new leader

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David Hastings, who was the head coach at Rock Springs from 2014-18, will be the new head football coach at Rawlins.

Rawlins activities director Kasey Garnhart shared the news of Hastings’ hiring via email on Thursday with wyoming-football.com.

Hastings will have his work cut out for him. The Class 3A Outlaws have had back-to-back winless seasons and enter 2022 on an 18-game losing streak.

Rock Springs went 21-29 with Hastings as head coach. He resigned after the 2018 season. The Tigers’ best season under Hastings came in 2016, when they finished 8-3 and reached the Class 4A semifinals.

Hastings also was the head coach at Lehi, Utah, and Sugar-Salem, Idaho, before coming to Rock Springs.

He will take over for Clayton McSpadden, who resigned in March after four seasons as head coach for the Outlaws.

Hastings did not reply to an email sent Thursday afternoon.

Cheyenne South, Burns and Pinedale have also hired new head coaches for the upcoming season. Other programs in Wyoming seeking new head coaches this year are Jackson, Cokeville, Glenrock, Moorcroft, Big Piney and Farson. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick