Super 25 selection breakdown: Go big and win

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Through 2014, the Casper Star-Tribune’s Super 25 squads have had 600 total selections.

As the Super 25 closes in on its 25th anniversary in 2015, and the 25th anniversary team set to be released next week after the state championship games, I figured now would be a good time to break down the player selection and see how often players from each classification are chosen.

When I worked at the Star-Tribune — and was the director of Super 25 selections — for the 2005-08 football seasons, we did not have specific quotas. But at the same time, we worked hard to have a team that represented the totality of the state and its best players.

I looked at schools’ current classifications, not historical classification, and found the Super 25 squad definitely leans heavy to big schools — but not as heavily as you might think.

Current 4A schools: 257 selections, 42.8%
Current 3A schools: 153 selections, 25.5%
Current 2A schools: 115 selections, 19.2%
Current 1A 11-man schools: 65 selections, 10.8%
Current 1A six-man schools: 10 selections, 1.7%

Annually, this means that 4A schools average 10.7 of the 25 selections; 3A gets 6.4; 2A gets 4.8; 1A 11-man gets 2.7 and 1A six-man gets 0.4.

That said, the numbers to show a clear tilt to 4A schools. And that makes sense — the biggest schools, with the most available players, should produce the most Super 25 players.

However, if we add up all the ADMs (enrollment numbers used for classification) and look at each football classification, we can see a different picture emerge:

4A: 14,463 (10 schools) (54.4 percent of total enrollment)
3A: 6805.5 (12 schools) (25.6 percent)
2A: 2935.75 (14 schools) (11 percent)
1A 11-man: 1720.35 (16 schools, including opt-ups and co-ops) (6.5 percent)
1A six-man: 679.5 (13 schools) (2.6 percent)
Total, all football-sponsoring schools: 26,604.1

The easy way to look at this is if the percent of Super 25 selections is lower than the total percent of ADM, that means it’s tougher to be selected from that classification. Reverse it, and it’s easier.

Toughest classifications to gain Super 25 recognition: 4A (54.4 percent of ADM but only 42.8 percent of Super 25 selections); 1A six-man (2.6 percent of ADM but only 1.7 percent of Super 25 selections).

Representative classifications for Super 25 recognition: 3A (25.6 percent of ADM and 25.5 percent of Super 25 players).

Easiest classifications to gain Super 25 recognition: 2A (only 11 percent of ADM but 19.2 percent of Super 25 players); 1A 11-man (only 6.5 percent of ADM but 10.8 percent of Super 25 selections).

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Another way to look at Super 25 selections is via the success of the team for which that player plays. It makes sense that teams playing for winning teams are more likely to be recognized as Super 25 players — the best players, the logic goes, play on the best teams.

But being picked Super 25 from a losing team has proven more and more difficult to achieve. Here’s a list of Super 25 players chosen from teams with records below .500; it’s gotten tougher to do over the years:

1991: Three. Pat Fackrell, Evanston (3-5); John Hardee, Douglas (3-5); George Reddicks, Wheatland (3-4).
1992: Three. Eric Baker, Lander (3-5); K.C. Lehr, Big Piney (3-4); Monte Murdock, Natrona (1-7).
1993: Four. Wes Davis, Evanston (4-6); Mike Fackrell, Evanston (4-6); Anthony Gipson, Green River (4-5); David Lundberg, Cheyenne Central (3-5).
1994: One. Shawn Kelley, Cody (3-5).
1995: Three. Mark Curry, Kelly Walsh (3-5); Aaron Milnes, Wheatland (3-5); Dan Olind, Wheatland (3-5).
1996: Six. Joel Christensen, Pinedale (3-5); Quincy Douglass, Cheyenne Central (3-5); Justin Graham, Gillette (4-5); Garth Hamblin, Rock Springs (3-5); Rocky Kirk, Kelly Walsh (2-6); Jason McAfee, Rock Springs (3-5).
1997: Four. Fred Capshaw, Rock Springs (4-5); Jon Dawson, Cheyenne Central (2-6); Kasey Jones, Thermopolis (4-6); Luke Klemke, Douglas (3-5).
1998: Five. Grant Curry, Lingle (3-5); Shane Farella, Sheridan (3-6); Clint Franklin, Powell (3-5); Cody Hostetter, Newcastle (2-5); Craig Suter, Rock Springs (4-5).
1999: Two. Mike Crosland, Kemmerer (1-7); Jeff Martini, Sheridan (4-5).
2000: One. Junior Simpson, Cheyenne Central (4-5).
2001: Two. Craig Despain, Kelly Walsh (3-6); Brady Hollaway, Douglas (3-7).
2002: Two. Joe Killpack, Green River (4-5); Bryce Scanlon, Evanston (0-9).
2003: One. Alex Obrecht, Cheyenne Central (3-6).
2004: Three. Chris Moberly, Kelly Walsh (3-6); Julius Rios, Torrington (3-6); Wes Scanlon, Evanston (2-7).
2005: Two. Dan Bather, Wheatland (3-6); Reece Hall, Sheridan (2-7).
2006: One. Bryan Guthrie, Cheyenne East (5-6).
2007: Three. Braden Benson, Gillette (5-6); Zach Booth, Star Valley (4-7); Drew Rollin, Rock Springs (4-7).
2008: Four. Matt Baker, Lander (4-5); Matt Craft, Riverside (4-5); Grant Geiser, Lovell (4-5); Brad Ramsey, Cheyenne Central (3-6).
2009: None.
2010: One. Ward Anderson, Wheatland (4-5).
2011: One. Terry Jackson, Kelly Walsh (2-7).
2012: None.
2013: One. Tayton Montgomery, Cheyenne Central (4-6).
2014: One. Cooper Mirich, Cheyenne Central (4-6).

In all, 54 of 600 — or 9 percent — of Super 25 selections come from losing teams. Of those, 33 came from 4A schools. Only eight came from 2A or 1A schools as classified at the time.

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I’ve been on the other side of this. I know it’s much tougher to choose a Super 25 team than it is to critique it. Really, the first 17 or 18 selections seem pretty easy, but the last seven or eight are brutal. The Super 40, or the Super 50, or the Super 10, would be no easier.

The goal of the Super 25 when I had a say in the squad was the top 25 players, full stop, regardless of the classification of the school or the success of the team.

Usually, though, the best players play for the biggest schools and play on the best teams.

The last 24 years of Super 25 selections reflects that.

–patrick

State title game matchups

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Here are the matchups for the state championship games at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie:

Friday, Nov. 13
Class 2A championship
Glenrock vs. Wheatland, noon
Class 3A championship
Green River vs. Star Valley, 3 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 14
Class 1A six-man championship
Meeteetse vs. Kaycee, 10 a.m.
Class 1A 11-man championship
Tongue River vs. Upton-Sundance, 1 p.m.
Class 4A championship
Sheridan vs. Gillette, 4 p.m.

–patrick

Semifinal playoff picks: That old, familiar feeling… except in Wheatland and Greybull

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Hey there, old friend.

Seems like we’ve met before.

The semifinal rounds of the Wyoming high school football playoffs look a lot like games we’ve already seen this season.

Remember? We’ve already seen Natrona play at Sheridan (Week 7), Green River play at Jackson (Week 5), Southeast play at Upton-Sundance (Week 8), and Hulett play at Meeteetse (Week 1) this season. They’ll play again in the same stadiums in the semis this week. And we’ve already seen Cheyenne East play Gillette, Tongue River play Lingle and Snake River play Kaycee this year, albeit in different cities than they’ll play in the semifinals.

The only matchups in the semis that we haven’t seen already played on the field this season are Star Valley-Torrington, Greybull-Wheatland and Glenrock-Lovell. Long live 2A.

Glenrock and Lovell last played each other in the 2012 quarterfinals; Star Valley and Torrington last played each other in the 2005 semifinals.

That leaves us Wheatland and Greybull, who haven’t faced each other since 1971.

Now that sounds like a playoff game.

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Speaking of familiarity: How about 4A’s big four? This group continues to control Wyoming’s big-school division.

In 4A, the four remaining teams are the same four teams that have made it this far every year since 2010: Cheyenne East, Gillette, Natrona and Sheridan. The matchups — East vs. Gillette and Natrona vs. Sheridan — are the exact same matchups as last year’s semifinals, although last year’s games were in the opposite locations of this year’s.

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Of the 20 teams remaining, nine are trying to break championship-less streaks that date back at least 19 years.

Six-man Hulett, which is chasing its first state title in 61 years of football, has longest state championship drought. Kaycee and Upton-Sundance are also trying to win the first state titles in their programs’ histories, although Upton and Sundance both won state titles in 2005 as separate programs and Kaycee’s program has only been around since 2009.

The next-longest droughts belong to Greybull (no title since 1960) and Wheatland (1984). The two programs each have one title to their names; as noted, they play each other in the 2A semifinals.

Tongue River is trying to win its first state title since 1974; Goshen County neighbors Torrington and Lingle are both trying to win their first state titles since 1990; and Star Valley is going for its first title since 1996. The remaining 11 teams in the semifinals have all won state titles this century.

However, Natrona is the only defending champion remaining in any bracket. Last year’s champions in 3A (Cody), 2A (Mountain View), 1A 11-man (Cokeville) and 1A six-man (Guernsey-Sunrise) have all been removed from contention from this year’s chase.

Looks like we might have a little bit of room for new faces in Laramie after all.

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We had some movement on the individual records single-game leaderboards, as Jackson’s Theo Dawson ran for 489 yards last week against Riverton. Yes, 489. That’s by far an unofficial single-game state record. Some single-season records will be set this year, too — Gillette’s Dalton Holst has already topped the single-season passing list, for example — but single-season records won’t be posted until the end of the season.

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Picks. Winners. Non-winners and/or spoilers:

Class 4A
(4) Cheyenne East at (1) Gillette: The Camels are undefeated. As long as they aren’t looking to Laramie already, they’ll be OK. If they are, East is good enough to come in to Campbell County and get a KO. (Rematch of a semifinal game from last year.)
(3) Natrona at (2) Sheridan: Same deal for Sheridan. The Broncs can’t get antsy just yet — and that’s easy to do against a team you’ve beaten this year by 35. Natrona has the skill and moxie, though, to make this one a LOT closer. (Rematch of a semifinal game from last year.)

Class 3A
(2W) Star Valley at (1E) Torrington: Star Valley will present Torrington’s biggest challenge to date, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Braves win. Even so, I like the Trailblazers at home in a tight and low-scoring duel. (First playoff meeting since 2005 semifinals.)
(3W) Green River at (1W) Jackson: Green River is the surprise team of the 3A semifinals. And, as Jackson is well aware, the Wolves are all too capable of pulling off another big victory. Count on the Broncs being ready. (First playoff meeting.)

Class 2A
(2W) Greybull at (1E) Wheatland: Wheatland beat Lyman by 64 points in the first round, and it felt like it could have been worse. The Bulldogs’ Week 8 loss to Big Horn is looking more and more like an aberration. (First playoff meeting.)
(2E) Glenrock at (1W) Lovell: Neither team will run away with this one. I like the Herders in a nail-biter, but I think this one could go either way pretty easily. (First playoff meeting since 2012 quarterfinals.)

Class 1A 11-man
(4E) Southeast at (2E) Upton-Sundance: The Patriots beat the Cyclones 34-0 just two weeks ago. And although the Cyclones will be riding on the momentum of their upset victory against Shoshoni, this game is the Patriots’ to lose. (First playoff meeting.)
(3E) Tongue River at (1E) Lingle: Can Tongue River pull off an unlikely duo of double-dips? Can they go on the road and get another playoff victory like they did in the first round against Cokeville? AND can they beat top-seeded Lingle twice in the same season? The emotional pick is the Eagles. I think the Doggers learned some lessons from that Week 7 loss, though, and I think they win the rematch. (First playoff meeting.)

Class 1A six-man
(2W) Snake River at (1E) Kaycee: The Buckaroos won the regular-season matchup by 38. This time around, Kaycee’s at home. And while it might be closer than 38, Kaycee is still the clear favorite. (First playoff meeting since 2011 semifinals.)
(2E) Hulett at (1W) Meeteetse: Believe it or not, Hulett might have given Meeteetse its toughest test of the regular season. Meeteetse still won by 34. The Longhorns look unstoppable. (First playoff meeting since 1994 nine-man semifinals.)

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Resident low-key big shots Tad and Homer have their picks, too, made while commiserating over Excel spreadsheets, Goldfish crackers and Sprite:

The picks
Tad: Natrona over Sheridan; Snake River over Kaycee.
Homer: Sheridan over Natrona; Kaycee over Snake River.
Both: Gillette over Cheyenne East; Star Valley over Torrington; Green River over Jackson; Wheatland over Greybull; Glenrock over Lovell; Upton-Sundance over Southeast; Lingle over Tongue River; Meeteetse over Hulett.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Gillette (Gillette 26-17 overall, Gillette 16-6 at this location)
Natrona at Sheridan (Natrona 56-42-6 overall, Sheridan 27-20-3 at this location)
Class 3A
Star Valley at Torrington (Star Valley 8-2 overall, Star Valley 3-2 at this location)
Green River at Jackson (Green River 28-11-2 overall, Green River 13-6-2 at this location)
Class 2A
Greybull at Wheatland (tied 1-1 overall, Wheatland 1-0 at this location)
Glenrock at Lovell (Glenrock 13-6 overall, Glenrock 5-4 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Southeast at Upton-Sundance (tied 2-2 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Tongue River at Lingle (tied 1-1 overall, Lingle 1-0 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Snake River at Kaycee (Snake River 6-2 overall, tied 1-1 at this location)
Hulett at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 6-4 overall, Meeteetse 4-0 at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 16-4 (80 percent); Tad, 11-9 (55 percent); Homer, 11-9 (55 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 222-59 (79 percent); Tad, 176-105 (63 percent); Homer, 158-123 (56 percent).

So who do you have making it to Laramie after this week? Post your thoughts and we can talk semifinal football!

(Updated 8:59 a.m. Nov. 5 to correct last year’s 2A champ.)

–patrick

Semifinal playoff pairings

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Semifinal playoff pairings. Game times and dates to be set by WHSAA and participating schools. Games hosted by higher seed.

Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Gillette
Natrona at Sheridan

Class 3A
Star Valley at Torrington
Green River at Jackson

Class 2A
Greybull at Wheatland
Glenrock at Lovell

Class 1A 11-man
Southeast at Upton-Sundance
Tongue River at Lingle

Class 1A six-man
Snake River at Kaycee
Hulett at Meeteetse

–patrick

Quarterfinal playoff picks: The same, but different

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What’s unique about this year’s Wyoming high school football playoff brackets isn’t who’s new. It’s who’s out.

Three schools — Cheyenne Central, Cody and Lusk — broke long strings of playoff qualifications. Central’s out for the first time after 11 consecutive qualifications, while Cody and Lusk are out after nine consecutive years of postseason berths.

And while most of the usual suspects still qualified for the playoffs (Gillette qualified for the 26th year in a row, Natrona the 24th and Cokeville the 23rd), seeing brackets without Central, Cody or Lusk feels a bit weird.

Even so, the loss of some venerable programs doesn’t necessarily mean the brackets had a lot of room for playoff neophytes.

Of the seven qualifiers this year that didn’t qualify last year — Buffalo, Glenrock, Green River, Hulett, NSI, Rock Springs and Southeast — six have reached the playoffs at least once in the past three seasons. Only six-man NSI, who is in the playoffs for the first time in six years, can truly be called a playoff newcomer. The Wolves were the only one of Wyoming’s 11 programs with playoff droughts of four years or longer who broke through to qualify for the postseason in 2015.

The repetition breeds familiarity: Five games (Laramie/Gillette, Douglas/Star Valley, Lyman/Wheatland, Rocky Mountain/Upton-Sundance and Tongue River/Cokeville) are rematches of quarterfinal games from last year.

What is a little bit different about the 20 quarterfinal games is who gets to host them. Seven of the 20 hosts this week are hosting their first playoff games in at least four years.

Torrington will break the longest home postseason drought, as it will host its first playoff game since 1996. Shoshoni will host its first since 2001; Wheatland its first since 2005; Hulett its first since 2008; Buffalo and Greybull their first since 2010; and Glenrock its first since 2011. And Upton-Sundance will host a playoff game for the first time in the co-op’s four-year history.

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Coaching milestones

How about this? Cokeville coach Todd Dayton will go for career win No. 300 this week. I outlined Dayton’s storied coaching career prior to this season. …

Also, Gillette coach Vic Wilkerson will go for win No. 100 on Friday. Wilkerson started as the Camels’ head coach in 2004 and enters Friday’s game against Laramie with a career record of 99-32. …

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Here’s some picks. Bold teams are the ones I think will one; non-bold ones will just need to be bold in person rather than on this blog:

Class 4A
(8) Laramie at (1) Gillette: The Camels have just been doing Camel-like things all season long. That should keep right on happening. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(5) Rock Springs at (4) Cheyenne East: These two teams met to start the regular season, so it only seems right that they meet to start the postseason, too. The Tigers have to be eager for revenge after falling 13-7 in the season opener. This might be THE best game of the quarterfinals. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals).
(7) Evanston at (2) Sheridan: One: It’s a long ways from Evanston to Sheridan. Two: Sheridan’s really, really good. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals.)
(6) Kelly Walsh at (3) Natrona: I’m always weary when rivalry games happen again in the postseason. The emotions stir for a week — and that either leads to amazing results or to fantastic frustration. And remember: This was a 20-14 game in the regular season. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
Class 3A
(4W) Powell at (1E) Torrington: I’ve got no reason to think the Trailblazers won’t keep rolling along. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
(3E) Douglas at (2W) Star Valley: The Braves already beat the Bearcats once this year, and it wasn’t pretty. It’ll be closer this time, but still, Star Valley’s the favorite. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4E) Riverton at (1W) Jackson: The Broncs need to be careful. The emotional high of beating Star Valley last week could lead to a lull this week. If that’s there, the Wolverines have the ability to win this one. (First playoff meeting.)
(3W) Green River at (2E) Buffalo: OK, really now, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. I’ll give the Bison the nod, just because they’re at home, but this one should be a great game. (First playoff meeting since 1976 Class A championship game.)
Class 2A
(4W) Lyman at (1E) Wheatland: Bulldogs 47, Eagles 0 in Week 1. Two months probably can’t cover that gap. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(3E) Big Horn at (2W) Greybull: Big Horn just won the biggest game of its season. Greybull just lost its biggest. The emotional reaction to those games more than anything will determine which way this one goes. And it could go to the final seconds. (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(4E) Thermopolis at (1W) Lovell: The Thermopolis we saw last week was the Thermopolis I thought we’d see all season. They will give the Bulldogs some trouble in the opening round… (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(3W) Mountain View at (2E) Glenrock: The Buffalos will be game. But the Herders have the clear advantage in this one. (First playoff meeting since 2006 quarterfinals.)
Class 1A 11-man
(4E) Southeast at (1W) Shoshoni: The Cyclones’ first trip to Fremont County won’t be a fun one; the Wranglers have been a buzzsaw all season, especially on defense. (First playoff meeting since 2012 quarterfinals.)
(3W) Rocky Mountain at (2E) Upton-Sundance: The Grizzlies’ run game has been on fire lately, and that might cause the Patriots some problems. Probably not enough problems, though. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4W) Riverside at (1E) Lingle: The Rebels are plucky, but they’ve also suffered two consecutive confidence-crushing defeats. Lingle, meanwhile, bounced back big time last week. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(3E) Tongue River at (2W) Cokeville: OK, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. The honest truth is that I have no clue who to pick. What I do know, though, is that John Scott is building a program in Dayton that’ll rival any in 1A. This game could prove that to the rest of the state. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
Class 1A six-man
(4W) Dubois at (1E) Kaycee: I think the Buckaroos are just thankful that Guernsey’s on the other side of the bracket — because Kaycee’s been destroying everyone else. (First playoff meeting.)
(3E) NSI at (2W) Snake River: Wait, wait, wait. THIS ONE REALLY could be the best game of the quarterfinals. The Wolves’ high-scoring offense is fun to watch, but so is Snake River’s, and the Rattlers get to play at home. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(4E) Guernsey-Sunrise at (1W) Meeteetse: A rematch of a Week 8 game in which neither team wanted to give away too much because they knew they’d probably be playing each other again… but the score will probably be about the same as last week’s. (First playoff meeting since 2013 semifinals).
(3W) Farson at (2E) Hulett: Now I’m super serious. This will be the best game of the quarterfinals, NO DOUBT! I think Farson has the on-paper advantage, but dang: 405 miles is a long way. (First playoff meeting.)

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Brothers Tad and Homer must have had some bonding over the end of the regular season. They only disagree on two of their picks for the quarterfinals.

The picks
Tad: Douglas over Star Valley; Southeast over Shoshoni.
Homer: Star Valley over Douglas; Shoshoni over Southeast.
Both: Gillette over Laramie; Cheyenne East over Rock Springs; Sheridan over Evanston; Natrona over Kelly Walsh; Powell over Torrington; Riverton over Jackson; Green River over Buffalo; Wheatland over Lyman; Big Horn over Greybull; Thermopolis over Lovell; Mountain View over Glenrock; Upton-Sundance over Rocky Mountain; Lingle over Riverside; Cokeville over Tongue River; Dubois over Kaycee; Snake River over NSI; Meeteetse over Guernsey-Sunrise; Farson over Hulett.

The records
Class 4A
Laramie at Gillette (Gillette 19-18 overall, Gillette 11-8 at this location)
Rock Springs at Cheyenne East (East 24-18 overall, East 17-7 at this location)
Evanston at Sheridan (Sheridan 14-2 overall, Sheridan 7-1 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona (Natrona 42-12 overall, Natrona 20-7 at this location)
Class 3A
Powell at Torrington (Powell 6-0 overall, Powell 4-0 at this location)
Douglas at Star Valley (Douglas 9-3 overall, Star Valley 3-1 at this location)
Riverton at Jackson (Riverton 2-0 overall, Riverton 1-0 at this location)
Green River at Buffalo (Green River 3-1 overall, Green River 2-0 at this location)
Class 2A
Lyman at Wheatland (Wheatland 4-1 overall, Wheatland 2-0 at this location)
Big Horn at Greybull (Big Horn 14-4 overall, Big Horn 6-1 at this location)
Thermopolis at Lovell (Thermopolis 42-35 overall, Thermopolis 19-18 at this location)
Mountain View at Glenrock (Mountain View 8-4, Mountain View 3-1 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Southeast at Shoshoni (Southeast 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Upton-Sundance (Upton-Sundance 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Riverside at Lingle (first meeting)
Tongue River at Cokeville (tied 1-1 overall, tied 1-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Kaycee (Dubois 2-0 overall, Dubois 1-0 at this location)
NSI at Snake River (first meeting)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 5-2 overall, Meeteetse 3-2 at this location)
Farson at Hulett (Farson 2-0 overall, Farson 1-0 at this location)

Last week’s records: Patrick, 23-9 (72 percent); Tad, 24-8 (75 percent); Homer, 23-9 (72 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 206-55 (79 percent); Tad, 165-96 (63 percent); Homer, 147-114 (56 percent).

With that… let’s play some games! I’m ready for the postseason, especially this quarterfinal round. This might have been my most difficult quarterfinal round to pick since I started making weekly picks 11 years ago. What matchups are YOU most excited to see? Post a comment and let me know how you see the first round shaking out.

–patrick

Wyoming high school football projected playoff pairings

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Class 4A
(8) Laramie at (1) Gillette
(5) Rock Springs at (4) Cheyenne East
(7) Evanston at (2) Sheridan
(6) Kelly Walsh at (3) Natrona
Updated Saturday to reflect results of coin flip.

Class 3A
(4W) Powell at (1E) Torrington
(3E) Douglas at (2W) Star Valley
(4E) Riverton at (1W) Jackson
(3W) Green River at (2E) Buffalo
Coin flip will decide 2-3-4 seeds from the East.
Updated Saturday to reflect results of the coin flip.

Class 2A
(4W) Lyman at (1E) Wheatland
(3E) Big Horn at (2W) Greybull
(4E) Thermopolis at (1W) Lovell
(3W) Mountain View at (2E) Glenrock
Updated Friday to reflect results of East coin flip.

Class 1A 11-man
(4E) Southeast at (1W) Shoshoni
(3W) Rocky Mountain at (2E) Upton-Sundance
(4W) Riverside at (1E) Lingle
(3E) Tongue River at (2W) Cokeville
Updated Saturday to reflect results of West coin flip.

Class 1A six-man
(4W) Dubois at (1E) Kaycee
(3E) NSI at (2W) Snake River
(4E) Guernsey-Sunrise at (1W) Meeteetse
(3W) Farson at (2E) Hulett

–patrick

Week 8 picks: NSI on record-setting pace, both good and bad

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The most exciting team in Wyoming this season enters the final week of the season at .500, struggling for a playoff spot.

One thing is for sure: When the Normative Services Wolves take the field, points will be scored.

Through six games (bye in Week 1), NSI has scored 389 points (average of 64.8 per game) and given up 362 (average 60.3). Both marks are on pace to be among the top 10 all-time in state history.

Yes — the Wolves have a historically high-scoring offense AND a historically leaky defense.

The top of the state’s season scoring leaders list is littered with state champions; the top of the list showing the most points allowed in a season is similarly littered with winless or near-winless teams. Historically, there hasn’t been much room on either list for .500 teams.

Until this season. Until the Wolves. Until the six-man team from Sheridan played in games this season with final scores of 69-19, 67-61, 65-45, 82-66, 90-38 and 90-59. The Wolves have one more game left in the regular season; they need to beat Midwest on Friday to secure a playoff berth from the 1A six-man East Conference. (Expect some scoring. Midwest is giving up about 51.4 points per game so far this year. When these two teams played each other last year, Midwest won 78-64.)

No team in state history has ever both scored and allowed 60 points per game in any single season. Heck, no team has done that with 50 points per game. And only a couple teams have both scored and allowed at least 40 points per game in a season.

What the Wolves are doing this season is unprecedented.

And, if you like seeing touchdowns, it’s pretty exciting, too.

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NSI isn’t the only team scoring points at a record pace. Meeteetse has scored 518 points, or an average of 74 per game, through its seven games. If the Longhorns can keep up this pace, they’ll obliterate the records for most points in a season (803, set by Meeteetse in 2013) and most average points per game (68.22 ppg, set by Guernsey-Sunrise in 2009).

Dubois, meanwhile, scored 102 points in its 102-6o victory against Ten Sleep last week. The 162 combined points were the most in any single game in state history, and the 102 points represented the first time any Wyoming high school team had cracked the century mark in a game since 1930. See the other single-game scoring records here.

+++

On to Week 8, the last week of the regular season. In all, 23 games this week will have an impact one way or another on playoff seeding. Five teams (Cheyenne Central, Newcastle, Thermopolis, NSI and Midwest) are in true win-and-you’re-in, lose-and-you’re-out situations. For them, the playoffs may as well start this week. Newcastle plays Thermopolis and Midwest plays NSI for the final playoff spot from their respective conferences, while Central plays Evanston in what was probably the hardest game of the week for me to pick.

Home-field advantage is also up for grabs in three specific games: Star Valley and Jackson face off for the top seed from the 3A West; Lovell and Greybull meet for the 2A West title; and the Shoshoni-Riverside winner wins the No. 1 seed from the 1A 11-man West. Additionally, Wheatland faces Big Horn for the conference title in the 2A East — Wheatland wins it outright with a victory, while Big Horn can cause a three-way tie for first by beating the Bulldogs.

The 1A 11-man East and the 1A six-man East top seeds won’t be as easy to figure out. Here’s a guide.

And here’s your guide to projected winners for the week, who I’ve noted with boldness:

Thursday
Interclass
Gillette JV vs. Rocky Mountain
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Evanston
Cheyenne South at Sheridan
Gillette at Cheyenne East
Kelly Walsh at Laramie
Rock Springs at Natrona
Class 3A
Douglas at Buffalo
Green River at Worland
Jackson at Star Valley
Lander at Riverton
Powell at Cody
Torrington at Rawlins
Class 2A
Big Horn at Wheatland
Burns at Wright
Kemmerer at Glenrock
Lovell at Greybull
Lyman at Mountain View
Pinedale at Big Piney
Thermopolis at Newcastle
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Lingle
Shoshoni at Riverside
Southeast at Upton-Sundance
Tongue River at Pine Bluffs
Wind River at Cokeville
Wyoming Indian at Saratoga
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Kaycee
Meeteetse at Guernsey-Sunrise
Midwest at NSI
Snake River at Farson
Ten Sleep at St. Stephens
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Rock River at Hulett
Interclass
Dubois at Natrona sophs
Open: Lusk.

Rocky Mountain already picked up a forfeit victory against Burlington this week.

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

The resident curmudgeons Tad and Homer have their picks this week, too. They’re not discouraged by their recent rough showings; picks they miss are simply more data for them to mull over.

The picks
Tad: Cheyenne Central over Evanston; Gillette over Cheyenne East; Thermopolis over Newcastle; Southeast over Upton-Sundance; Tongue River over Pine Bluffs.
Homer: Evanston over Cheyenne Central; Cheyenne East over Gillette; Newcastle over Thermopolis; Upton-Sundance over Southeast; Pine Bluffs over Tongue River.
Both: Sheridan over Cheyenne South; Laramie over Kelly Walsh; Natrona over Rock Springs; Buffalo over Douglas; Green River over Worland; Star Valley over Jackson; Riverton over Lander; Cody over Powell; Torrington over Rawlins; Big Horn over Wheatland; Wright over Burns; Glenrock over Kemmerer; Lovell over Greybull; Mountain View over Lyman; Big Piney over Pinedale; Moorcroft over Lingle; Riverside over Shoshoni; Cokeville over Wind River; Saratoga over Wyoming Indian; Kaycee over Hanna; Meeteetse over Guernsey-Sunrise; Normative Services over Midwest; Hulett over Rock River; Snake River over Farson; St. Stephens over Ten Sleep; Rocky Mountain over Gillette JV; Dubois over Natrona sophs.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Evanston (Central 9-5 overall, tie 4-4 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Sheridan (Sheridan 4-0 overall, Sheridan 2-0 at this location)
Gillette at Cheyenne East (Gillette 25-17 overall, East 11-9 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Laramie (Laramie 22-17 overall, Laramie 15-6 at this location)
Rock Springs at Natrona (Natrona 48-19-3 overall, Natrona 32-7-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Douglas at Buffalo (Buffalo 34-30-1 overall, Buffalo 21-10-1 at this location)
Green River at Worland (Green River 8-5 overall, Green River 5-3 at this location)
Jackson at Star Valley (Star Valley 63-15 overall, Star Valley 32-8 at this location)
Lander at Riverton (Riverton 60-51-7 overall, Riverton 32-24-2 at this location)
Powell at Cody (Cody 60-51-4 overall, Cody 30-22-1 at this location)
Torrington at Rawlins (Torrington 25-5-1 overall, Torrington 10-5 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Wheatland (Big Horn 5-0 overall, Big Horn 2-0 at this location)
Burns at Wright (tie 11-11 overall, Wright 6-3 at this location)
Kemmerer at Glenrock (tie 6-6 overall, Glenrock 4-2 at this location)
Lovell at Greybull (Lovell 55-28-4 overall, Lovell 28-11-2 at this location)
Lyman at Mountain View (Mountain View 44-31 overall, Mountain View 21-16 at this location)
Pinedale at Big Piney (Big Piney 55-45 overall, Big Piney 29-18 at this location)
Thermopolis at Newcastle (Thermopolis 17-8 overall, tie 5-5 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Lingle (Moorcroft 4-3 overall, Moorcroft 2-1 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Burlington (Rocky Mountain 14-5 overall, Rocky Mountain 6-3 at this location) (Rocky already picked up the W via forfeit for this game)
Shoshoni at Riverside (Riverside 13-7 overall, Riverside 5-4 at this location)
Southeast at Upton-Sundance (Southeast 2-1 overall, first at this location)
Tongue River at Pine Bluffs (Tongue River 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Wind River at Cokeville (Cokeville 18-5 overall, Cokeville 9-3 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Saratoga (Saratoga 10-2 overall, Saratoga 5-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Kaycee (Kaycee 6-1 overall, Kaycee 3-0 at this location)
Meeteetse at Guernsey-Sunrise (Meeteetse 4-2 overall, Meeteetse 1-0 at this location)
Midwest at NSI (NSI 7-2 overall, NSI 3-1 at this location)
Rock River at Hulett (Hulett 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Snake River at Farson (Snake River 8-2 overall, Snake River 3-1 at this location)
Ten Sleep at St. Stephens (St. Stephens 3-2 overall, St. Stephens 1-0 at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team. And they always pick a varsity team over a sub-varsity team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 26-5 (84 percent); Tad, 15-16 (48 percent); Homer, 20-11 (65 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 183-46 (80 percent); Tad, 141-88 (62 percent); Homer, 124-105 (54 percent).

And that’s the end of the regular season, folks. How do YOU see it all coming together? Leave a comment here and let’s discuss the last week of the regular season!

–patrick

Slots of fun: Pick the name, mascot and colors for Gillette’s new high school

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When the new Gillette high school opens in 2017, it will have a name, a mascot and school colors.

The Gillette News-Record reported last week that the options have already been narrowed down to 10 school names, 10 color combinations and 11 mascots. That leaves 1,100 potential combinations of school names, colors and mascots.

The process of choosing those three pieces of the new school has already begun in Gillette, where students will be surveyed starting Tuesday about their preferences for Wyoming’s newest high school. The final choice from the school board will be announced Dec. 8.

Really, though, there’s only one true, objective way to pick these three elements, and it’s a lot more fun, too: SLOT MACHINE!

Pull the lever on the new Gillette high school slot machine today! And leave your favorite combination in a comment here! Let us know what lucky combination you hit!

–patrick

Playoff scenarios entering Week 8

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Here are the playoff scenarios for Wyoming high school football teams entering Week 8, the final week of the regular season. A full schedule of Week 8 games is here.

Class 4A
Gillette: In. No. 1 seed.
Sheridan: In. No. 2 seed.
Natrona: In. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Gillette victory. Tie for 3-4-5 seeds (coin flip to break) with loss and Cheyenne East victory.
Cheyenne East: In. No. 4 seed with Natrona victory (no matter what East does). Tie for 3-4-5 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Rock Springs victory. No. 5 seed with loss and Rock Springs victory.
Rock Springs: In. No. 3 seed with victory and Gillette victory. Tie for 3-4-5 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Cheyenne East victory. No. 5 seed with loss.
Kelly Walsh: In. No. 6 seed with victory. No. 7 seed with loss and Central victory. Tie for 6-7-8 seeds (coin flip to break) with loss and Evanston victory.
Cheyenne Central: Neither in nor out. No. 7 seed with victory and Kelly Walsh victory. No. 8 seed with victory and Laramie victory. Out with loss.
Laramie: Neither in nor out. No. 6 seed with victory and Central victory. Tie for 6-7-8 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Evanston victory. No. 8 seed with loss and Evanston victory. Out with loss and Central victory.
Evanston: Neither in nor out. No. 7 seed with victory and Kelly Walsh victory. Tie for 6-7-8 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Laramie victory. No. 8 seed with loss and Kelly Walsh victory. Out with loss and Laramie victory.
Cheyenne South: Out.

Class 3A East
Torrington: In. No. 1 seed.
Douglas: In. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Lander victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with loss and Riverton victory.
Buffalo: In. No. 2 seed with victory and Lander victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Riverton victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Riverton: In. No. 3 seed with Douglas victory (no matter what Riverton does). Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Buffalo victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Buffalo victory.
Lander, Rawlins: Out.

Class 3A West
Star Valley: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Jackson: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Green River: Neither in nor out. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Cody victory. Tie for 3-4-5 spots (triangular playoff to break) with loss and Powell victory.
Worland: Neither in nor out. No. 3 seed with victory and Cody victory. Tie for 3-4-5 spots (triangular playoff to break) with victory and Powell victory. Tie for 4-5-6 spots (triangular playoff to break) with loss and Cody victory. Out with loss and Powell victory.
Powell: Neither in nor out. Tie for 3-4-5 spots (triangular playoff to break) with victory and Worland victory. No. 4 seed with victory and Green River victory. Tie for 4-5-6 spots (triangular playoff to break) with loss and Green River victory. Out with loss and Worland victory.
Cody: Neither in nor out. Tie for 4-5-6 spots (triangular playoff to break) with victory and Green River victory. Out with loss or Worland victory.

Class 2A East
Wheatland: In. No. 1 seed with win. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (coin flip to break) with loss.
Glenrock: In. No. 2 seed with Wheatland win. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (coin flip to break) with Big Horn win.
Big Horn: In. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (coin flip to break) with win. No. 3 seed with loss.
Newcastle: Neither in nor out. No. 4 seed with victory. Out with loss.
Thermopolis: Neither in nor out. No. 4 seed with victory. Out with loss.
Burns, Wright: Out.

Class 2A West
Lovell: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Greybull: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Lyman: In. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Mountain View: In. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Big Piney, Kemmerer, Pinedale: Out.

Class 1A 11-man East
Lingle, Upton-Sundance: In.
Pine Bluffs, Southeast, Tongue River: Neither in nor out.
Lusk, Moorcroft: Out.
The scenarios for the 1A 11-man East Conference, where the Week 8 schedule is Moorcroft vs. Lingle, Southeast vs. Upton-Sundance and Tongue River vs. Pine Bluffs:

Lingle beats Moorcroft Lin US SE TR PB
US win, PB win (See note 1) 1 2 4 3 out
SE win, PB win 1 3 2 out 4
US win, TR win 1 2 4 3 out
SE win, TR win (See note 2) 1 4 3 2 out
Moorcroft beats Lingle Lin US SE TR PB
US win, PB win (See note 1) 2 1 4 3 out
SE win, PB win 1 3 2 out 4
US win, TR win 3 1 4 2 out
SE win, TR win (See note 3) 1 3 2 4 out

Note 1: In both of these scenarios, where Tongue River, Southeast and Pine Bluffs tie at 3-3 in conference, I believe TR gets the 3 seed for its victory against Lingle, and Southeast gets the 4 for beating Pine head to head.
Note 2: In this scenario, where Upton-Sundance, Southeast and Tongue River tie at 4-2, I believe TR gets the 2 seed for beating Lingle, then Southeast gets the 3 seed for beating U-S head-to-head.
Note 3: I’m unclear on how the WHSAA would break a four-way tie in this scenario, but it looks like Tongue River’s loss to Lusk (the highest-ranking non-tied team where teams don’t have equal records) would knock it down to the 4 seed. Then it’s breaking a 3-way tie between Lingle, Upton-Sundance and Southeast, which Lingle earns due to head-to-head victories over both. Southeast is then the 3 seed due to a head-to-head victory over US.

Class 1A 11-man West
Shoshoni: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Riverside: In. No. 1 seed with victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with loss and Cokeville victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Wind River victory.
Cokeville: In. No. 3 seed with victory and Riverside victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with victory and Shoshoni victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Rocky Mountain: In. No. 2 seed with Shoshoni and Wind River victories. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (coin flip to break) with Shoshoni and Cokeville victories. No. 3 seed with Riverside and Wind River victories. No. 4 seed with Riverside and Cokeville victories.
Burlington, Saratoga, Wind River, Wyoming Indian: Out.

Class 1A six-man East
Guernsey-Sunrise, Hulett, Kaycee: In.
Midwest, Normative Services: Neither in nor out.
Hanna, Rock River: Out.
The scenarios for the 1A six-man East Conference, where the Week 8 schedule is Kaycee vs. Hanna, Midwest vs. NSI and Rock River vs. Hulett:

Kaycee beats Hanna Kay Hul Gue NSI Mid
Mid W, RR W 1 2 3 out 4
Mid W, Hul W 1 2 3 out 4
NSI W, RR W 1 2 4 3 out
NSI W, Hul W 1 2 4 3 out
Hanna beats Kaycee Kay Hul Gue NSI Mid
Mid W, RR W (See note 1) 1 2 3 out 4
Mid W, Hul W 3 1 2 out 4
NSI W, RR W (See note 2) 4 1 3 2 out
NSI W, Hul W 2 1 4 3 out

Note 1: I’m not totally sure how this tie between Kaycee, Hulett and Guernsey would be broken, but I assume Guernsey falls to the 3-seed by virtue of its loss to NSI, and Kaycee gets the 1 over Hulett due to head-to-head victory.
Note 2: Of all the scenarios, this one is the most confusing, but I think in this scenario Kaycee falls to the 4 seed due to its loss to the highest-ranked non-tied team, Hanna. That leaves a three-way tie between Hulett, Guernsey and NSI, which Hulett wins with head-to-head victories over both. NSI would get the 2 over Guernsey due to head-to-head victory.

Class 1A six-man West
Meeteetse: In. No. 1 seed.
Snake River: In. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss.
Farson: In. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss.
Dubois: In. No. 4 seed.
St. Stephens, Ten Sleep: Out.

–patrick

Week 7 picks: Torrington, conference champ? “Signs point to yes.”

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Torrington has waited a long time for this season.

Actually, 21 years.

When the Trailblazers take to Wiseman Field on Friday, they will play for their first conference title since 1996, when the Trailblazers tied with Riverton and Douglas for the 3A East title. If everything falls right, Torrington could also win its first outright conference title since winning the 3A East in 1994.

If the Blazers can get past Buffalo, struggling Rawlins awaits in Week 8. Although that game is no guarantee, a sweep of the Bison and the Outlaws will give Torrington the outright conference title and will keep the Trailblazers undefeated.

No one in the 3A East, least of all the Trailblazers, wants to crown Torrington as the conference champ just yet. If you asked a Magic 8 Ball, though, if Torrington was going to win the conference, the ball would probably respond with a “Signs point to yes.”

For the last two decades, the answer was more likely to be an “Outlook not so good.”

Lander, which last shared a conference title in 1995, is the only 3A team with a longer streak without a conference title than Torrington. Of the 12 teams in the classification, nine of them have won outright or shared a conference championship in the past seven seasons. Rawlins — which won an outright conference crown in 2000 — Torrington and Lander are the holdouts. (This always comes with the explanation that, from 2001-04, Wyoming schools below the big-school classification did not have conferences.)

But the Blazers are on track to break that streak. Fifth-year coach Mark Lenhardt has seen his team improve its record every season, from 1-8 to 1-7 to 3-6 to 7-3 to, this year so far, 6-0. Last year’s 41-14 victory against Jackson was the team’s first playoff win since 2005; Torrington’s 7-3 finish was the program’s first winning record since 1995.

Now, for the first time in two decades, Torrington’s conference championship goals are more than just dreams.

Or, as the Magic 8 Ball would say: “It is decidedly so.”

+++

Here’s a quick look at who’s playing for conference championships this week — and, consequently, teams that are playing in absolutely huge games this week:

Gillette can wrap home field and the top seed in 4A by beating Laramie.

Torrington can clinch the 3A East Conference’s top seed by beating Buffalo.

Wheatland could win the 2A East if the Bulldogs beat Burns and if Newcastle beats Big Horn.

Lingle can secure first in the 1A 11-man East by beating Tongue River.

Kaycee, despite playing a nonconference game this week, could win the 1A six-man East if Midwest and Rock River beat their respective opponents (Hulett and Guernsey-Sunrise) this week.

The other conferences — the 3A West, the 2A West and the 1A 11-man West — can’t be decided just yet. Meanwhile, Meeteetse won the 1A six-man West after Week 5.

Cheyenne South, Rawlins, Burns, Wright, Kemmerer, Burlington, Saratoga, Wyoming Indian and Rock River have already been eliminated from postseason contention.

Other games that have me looking around and wondering if anyone else realizes that, you know, week 7 is, like, a big deal:

Natrona-Sheridan. For realsies. The winner here likely gets home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. (And, maybe, gets to host the rematch in the 4A semifinals.) If you’re anywhere near Homer Scott Field on Friday, get on up to the field and watch this one. …

Yes, I played for Midwest, but I’m not just saying this as an Oiler alum: The Hulett-Midwest game might be closer than you think. …

Week 8 looms large with potential conference title games in the 3A, 2A and 1A 11-man West conferences, but only if Star Valley and Jackson (3A), Lovell and Greybull (2A) and Riverside (1A-11) win this week. That said, the biggest challenges might come to Greybull and Riverside. …

Riverside-Rocky Mountain is absolutely huge. If the Rebels win this one, they’ll notch home field for the first round of the playoffs at least; if the Grizzlies can pull the upset, they’ll set up a potential three-way tie for the second, third and fourth spots in the conference between themselves, Riverside and Cokeville — that is if they all win in Week 8, too. …

And Greybull, meanwhile, faces Lyman, a team that’s been easy to overlook this year but is all too capable of pulling off an upset of this magnitude. The Eagles are 3-1 after dropping their first two games, the only loss coming to conference co-leader Lovell. …

Hardest games to pick this week? Big Piney-Mountain View, Newcastle-Big Horn, Kaycee-Snake River, NSI-Hanna. Big Piney’s underrated; Big Horn’s unpredictable; Snake River’s untested; NSI’s uncertain. Lots of uns this week. I tried the best I could to sort through it and pick some winners, who I’ve noted here in bold:

Thursday
Class 4A
Evanston at Cheyenne East
Interclass
Cokeville at Star Valley JV
Natrona sophomores at Shoshoni
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Kelly Walsh
Laramie at Gillette
Natrona at Sheridan
Rock Springs at Cheyenne South
Class 3A
Buffalo at Torrington
Cody at Green River
Powell at Jackson
Rawlins at Lander
Riverton at Douglas
Worland at Star Valley
Class 2A
Big Piney at Mountain View
Glenrock at Thermopolis
Greybull at Lyman
Kemmerer at Lovell
Newcastle at Big Horn
Wheatland at Burns
Wright at Pinedale
Class 1A 11-man
Lingle at Tongue River
Lusk at Southeast
Pine Bluffs at Moorcroft
Riverside at Rocky Mountain
Saratoga at Wind River
Class 1A six-man
Farson at St. Stephens
Hulett at Midwest
Kaycee at Snake River
NSI at Hanna
Interstate
Upton-Sundance at Lead-Deadwood, S.D.
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Ten Sleep
Guernsey-Sunrise at Rock River
Interclass
Worland JV at Meeteetse

Shoshoni (against Burlington) and Cokeville (against Wyoming Indian) have already notched forfeit victories this week.

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

The week wouldn’t be complete without Tad and Homer, who have their picks, as well. They both had it rough last week, which led to some bickering at the dinner table, which led to some hurt feelings, which didn’t affect their picks at all this week.

The picks
Tad: Natrona over Sheridan; Rock Springs over Cheyenne South; Buffalo over Torrington; Cody over Green River; Riverton over Douglas; Big Piney over Mountain View; Lingle over Tongue River; Lusk over Southeast; Guernsey-Sunrise over Rock River.
Homer: Sheridan over Natrona; Cheyenne South over Rock Springs; Torrington over Buffalo; Green River over Cody; Douglas over Riverton; Mountain View over Big Piney; Tongue River over Lingle; Southeast over Lusk; Rock River over Guernsey-Sunrise.
Both: Cokeville over Star Valley JV; Shoshoni over Natrona JV; Cheyenne Central over Kelly Walsh; Cheyenne East over Evanston; Gillette over Laramie; Powell over Jackson; Lander over Rawlins; Star Valley over Worland; Glenrock over Thermopolis; Lyman over Greybull; Lovell over Kemmerer; Big Horn over Newcastle; Burns over Wheatland; Pinedale over Wright; Pine Bluffs over Moorcroft; Riverside over Rocky Mountain; Wind River over Saratoga; Dubois over Ten Sleep; Farson over St. Stephens; Midwest over Hulett; Snake River over Kaycee; Hanna over Normative Services; Meeteetse over Worland JV.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Kelly Walsh (Central 25-16 overall, Central 12-9 at this location)
Evanston at Cheyenne East (East 19-9 overall, East 11-4 at this location)
Laramie at Gillette (tie 18-18 overall, Gillette 10-8 at this location)
Natrona at Sheridan (Natrona 56-41-6 overall, Sheridan 26-20-3 at this location)
Rock Springs at Cheyenne South (Rock Springs 3-1 overall, tie 1-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Torrington (Buffalo 21-17 overall, tie 9-9 at this location)
Cody at Green River (Cody 14-8 overall, Green River 6-4 at this location)
Powell at Jackson (Powell 19-12 overall, Powell 8-6 at this location)
Rawlins at Lander (Lander 29-27-1 overall, Lander 16-8 at this location)
Riverton at Douglas (Riverton 21-12-1 overall, tie 7-7-1 at this location)
Worland at Star Valley (Star Valley 25-14 overall, Star Valley 13-7 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Mountain View (Big Piney 39-36 overall, Mountain View 20-17 at this location)
Glenrock at Thermopolis (Glenrock 19-13 overall, Glenrock 10-5 at this location)
Greybull at Lyman (Lyman 9-5 overall, Lyman 4-2 at this location)
Kemmerer at Lovell (Lovell 15-14 overall, Lovell 7-5 at this location)
Newcastle at Big Horn (Big Horn 5-1 overall, Big Horn 2-0 at this location)
Wheatland at Burns (tie 3-3 overall, Burns 3-0 at this location)
Wright at Pinedale (Pinedale 3-0 overall, Pinedale 2-0 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Shoshoni (Shoshoni 17-16 overall, Shoshoni 9-5 at this location) (Shoshoni has already won this by forfeit, but here’s the records because why not)
Cokeville at Wyoming Indian (Cokeville 5-0 overall, Cokeville 2-0 at this location) (again, this one has already been forfeited to Cokeville, but the records are still interesting)
Lingle at Tongue River (Lingle 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Lusk at Southeast (Lusk 24-15 overall, tie 10-10 at this location)
Pine Bluffs at Moorcroft (Pine Bluffs 3-1 overall, Pine Bluffs 3-0 at this location)
Riverside at Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain 19-5 overall, Rocky Mountain 11-1 at this location)
Saratoga at Wind River (Wind River 8-3 overall, Wind River 5-0 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Ten Sleep (Dubois 15-4 overall, Dubois 8-1 at this location)
Farson at St. Stephens (Farson 2-0 overall, Farson 1-0 at this location)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Rock River (Guernsey-Sunrise 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Hulett at Midwest (Midwest 30-18-1 overall, Midwest 14-8 at this location)
Kaycee at Snake River (Snake River 6-1 overall, Snake River 5-0 at this location)
NSI at Hanna (Hanna 2-0 overall, first at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 23-7 (77 percent); Tad, 14-16 (47 percent); Homer, 11-19 (37 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 157-41 (79 percent); Tad, 126-72 (64 percent); Homer, 104-94 (53 percent).

What strikes you as interesting as you look at the Week 7 slate? Post your thoughts and let’s talk through the fun together.

–patrick