The Wyoming Shrine Bowl raised $35,000 this year to donate to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Salt Lake City, Utah, executive director John Cundall said via email.
The annual all-star football game was played in June. The 2016 game will be played June 11 in Casper.
–patrick
A new or rebuilt football field can be a uniting point for a community.
Repeat that effort over and over and over, at least 18 times, in a rural, spread-out state like Wyoming, and we not only have uniting points for communities but a trend that shows no signs of slowing.
Since 2007, 18 of Wyoming’s 65 high school football programs (64 plus one co-op) have had new or rebuilt facilities constructed. Nine stadiums have had lights added since 2009. And 21 programs statewide now have artificial turf.
Some are obvious: New six-man programs at Kaycee, Snake River and Farson (all 2009), St. Stephens (2011) and Rock River (2014, field built in 2012) all necessitated new facilities, as did the starting of Class 4A program Cheyenne South (2011).
But several other longstanding programs opened new facilities in new locations in the past 10 years: Cheyenne East and Kemmerer in 2014; Powell in 2012; Riverton in 2011; Rocky Mountain in 2010; Torrington and Upton in 2009; Buffalo and Saratoga in 2007.
In addition, several programs built basically new stadiums on top of their old facilities. Burns opened its new facility in 2015. Prior to that, Big Piney did so in 2014 and Big Horn in 2011.
Also, a handful of schools have added lights in the past 10 years. Moorcroft and Tongue River added lights for the 2015 season; prior to that, Big Horn and Kemmerer added lights in 2014 with their new facilities; Saratoga in 2012; Rocky Mountain in 2011; Upton and Pinedale in 2009; and Wind River in 2006 (damaged by wind but rebuilt for 2009).
With all these changes, only 15 Wyoming high school football fields are without lights in 2015. Nine of those 15 programs are in the six-man classification; the six 11-man programs without lights are Big Piney, Burlington, Cokeville, Lyman, Mountain View and Sundance. (Burlington will move to six-man in 2016.)
And, of course, let’s not forget that 21 schools now have an artificial surface, the bulk of those installed in the past decade. Southeast, which added a turf surface this summer, was Wyoming’s No. 21. Many of those updates, too, came with other cosmetic updates at several locations — things like new track surfaces, new jumping pits, new lights, new bleachers or new walkways were also a part of several of those projects.
For the future? Well, Laramie is building a new high school with a new stadium, set to open in the fall of 2016. Sundance is building a new elementary school on top of its current football field, which means that program, too, will need a new stadium at some point. Dubois, too, is set to open a new stadium next fall near its new school.
The list of stadiums that haven’t seen been moved, rebuilt or overhauled (artificial turf or light installation) in the past decade is pretty short: Evanston, Gillette and Kelly Walsh in 4A; Lander, Rawlins and Worland in 3A; Newcastle, Thermopolis, Wheatland, Wright, Greybull, Lovell, Lyman and Mountain View in 2A; Lingle, Pine Bluffs, Burlington, Cokeville, Riverside, Shoshoni and Wyoming Indian in 1A 11-man; and Guernsey, Hanna, Hulett, Midwest, NSI, Meeteetse and Ten Sleep in 1A six-man. That’s 28 of 65 — less than half. And many of these stadiums have had new grass, new bleachers or other new facilities added in the past decade without the work being a complete refurbishment of the entire stadium. (Although, admittedly, at some of these places, new bleachers alone is a refurbishment of the entire stadium.)
In short: Not many football fields in the state look like they did 10 years ago.
What changes have you seen in your community’s high school football stadium the past 10 years? Post a comment below if I’m missing something!
–patrick
Since Wyoming went back to conference play for its schools in 2005, the state has had 97 conference champions.
Of those 97, the winners of only 10 survived a conference loss to win a conference championship.
With the notable exception of Class 4A’s “conference” regular-season championship, those titles have always been shared. The conference champions since 2005 who won the league title with a conference loss were:
2006 2A Southeast: Burns, Southeast share at 2-1
2007 5A South: Cheyenne East, Cheyenne Central share at 4-1
2007 2A East: Sundance, Saratoga, Lusk share at 4-1
2009 4A: Sheridan 8-1
2009 3A West: Cody, Star Valley, Worland share at 4-1
2009 1A 11-man East: Southeast, Lingle share at 6-1
2010 4A: Natrona 8-1
2010 2A West: Lovell, Greybull, Lyman share at 6-1
2011 2A East: Glenrock, Newcastle share at 5-1
2014 1A six-man West: Dubois, Snake River share at 4-1
As you can see, only once in the past three seasons has a conference champion not gone undefeated in conference play. However, already this year, we know at least one conference champ will hoist a crown with at least one conference loss.
That champion will come from the Class 1A six-man East Conference. Each one of the seven schools in that conference already has a conference loss. Four of those schools — Guernsey-Sunrise, Kaycee, Hulett and NSI — start the week with one conference loss apiece.
The rotation works like this: Guernsey beat Kaycee; Kaycee beat Hulett; Hulett beat NSI; NSI beat Guernsey.
One way or another, the top of the 1A six-man East will sort itself out this week as Kaycee travels to NSI and Guernsey-Sunrise goes to Hulett.
Adding to the urgency this week: None of the top four teams in the conference will play each other after this week.
With the road teams at 3-1 in league play and the home teams at 2-1, some sense has to rise out of the confusion.
Either way, the team(s) that win the conference will be able to claim something that roughly only 10 percent of Wyoming conference champs can claim the past decade: They survived a conference loss to win their conference title.
+++
Meanwhile, no team in the state in any conference can win its conference with a victory this week. Gillette is the only team in Wyoming that could wrap up a regular-season title this week, but the Camels would need to beat Rock Springs and both Sheridan (playing at Cheyenne Central) and Natrona (hosting Cheyenne South) would have to lose for that to happen.
However, Meeteetse in the 1A six-man West Conference has already wrapped up the conference championship with three weeks left in the regular season. The undefeated Longhorns end conference play this week against winless St. Stephens, and then finish the regular season with a date against the Worland JV in Week 7 and a nonconference showdown against Guernsey-Sunrise in Week 8. The Longhorns own tiebreakers over any teams they might tie with in the unlikely event that St. Stephens pulls the biggest upset in Wyoming football history this week, making the final three weeks of the regular season one long postseason preparation party for the top-ranked Longhorns.
Conversely, some teams may be eliminated from postseason contention with losses today. That makes pretty much every game a big game this week. However, some are bigger than others:
Worland-Powell might be the most intriguing matchup of the week. Was Worland’s 10-7 victory against Cody last week a harbinger or an aberration? Either way, Todd Weber’s squad notched an important victory against Cody, one of those on which a coach can build a program. …
It’s hard to imagine a team with more confidence than Rock Springs. The Tigers have proven they can play with 4A’s best teams (hanging tough two weeks ago vs. Sheridan) and can win games even when they’re struggling (last week vs. Evanston). Tiger Stadium will be nuts on Friday when No. 1 Gillette makes its visit. …
Two weeks ago, who would have pictured that Jackson would be 2-0 in 3A West Conference play — and defending state champion Cody would be 0-2? They’ll face each other Friday in Park County. …
The last (and only) time Riverside beat Cokeville was 1992. Since joining the same conference in 2009, the Panthers have beaten the Rebels 49-6, 61-6, 48-0, 55-7, 54-8 and by forfeit. But on Friday, Riverside starts the game with a conference record of 4-0, while Cokeville is 3-1. The Rebels could push aside several years’ worth of frustration if they can somehow keep the momentum going in Lincoln County. …
I don’t know why I keep thinking about the only 2A nonconference game this week, Thermopolis playing at Lovell. I’ve been waiting for Thermop to bust through all season, and even though the Bobcats lost last week, the second half of that loss — where Thermopolis came back from down 26-0 only to lose 26-24 — might be a jumpstart to their season. The Bulldogs better be careful. …
The two most difficult games of the week to pick? Southeast-Tongue River and Lyman-Big Piney. And when it’s all said and done, both these games might be for playoff spots. …
On to this week’s picks. I’ve noted my selections below by denoting the team I think will win the game in bold type. Even if I didn’t tell you, I think you’d be able to figure that out:
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Laramie
Cheyenne South at Natrona
Gillette at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Evanston
Sheridan at Cheyenne Central
Class 3A
Douglas at Rawlins
Jackson at Cody
Lander at Torrington
Riverton at Buffalo
Star Valley at Green River
Worland at Powell
Class 2A
Big Horn at Burns
Glenrock at Newcastle
Greybull at Pinedale
Lyman at Big Piney
Mountain View at Kemmerer
Thermopolis at Lovell
Wright at Wheatland
Class 1A 11-man
Lusk at Lingle
Riverside at Cokeville
Tongue River at Southeast
Upton-Sundance at Pine Bluffs
Wind River at Shoshoni
Class 1A six-man
Kaycee at NSI
St. Stephens at Meeteetse
Ten Sleep at Farson
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Snake River
Guernsey-Sunrise at Hulett
Midwest at Hanna
Interclass
Gillette JV at Moorcroft
Open: Saratoga, Rock River, Burlington, Wyoming Indian, Rocky Mountain. Saratoga won by forfeit over Burlington, while Rocky Mountain notches a victory against Wyoming Indian via forfeit, as well.
For a full schedule including start times, click here.
+++
Ya boys Tad and Homer have their picks this week, too. And I better watch out. Tad actually won the weekly picks last week, topping both his brother Homer AND me:
The picks
Tad: Sheridan over Cheyenne Central; Riverton over Buffalo; Star Valley over Green River; Worland over Powell; Big Horn over Burns; Greybull over Pinedale; Wind River over Shoshoni; Guernsey-Sunrise over Hulett; Kaycee over Normative Services; Meeteetse over St. Stephens; Ten Sleep over Farson.
Homer: Cheyenne Central over Sheridan; Buffalo over Riverton; Green River over Star Valley; Powell over Worland; Burns over Big Horn; Pinedale over Greybull; Shoshoni over Wind River; Hulett over Guernsey-Sunrise; Normative Services over Kaycee; St. Stephens over Meeteetse; Farson over Ten Sleep.
Both: Laramie over Cheyenne East; Natrona over Cheyenne South; Gillette over Rock Springs; Evanston over Kelly Walsh; Douglas over Rawlins; Cody over Jackson; Lander over Torrington; Glenrock over Newcastle; Big Piney over Lyman; Mountain View over Kemmerer; Thermopolis over Lovell; Wheatland over Wright; Lusk over Lingle; Cokeville over Riverside; Southeast over Tongue River; Upton-Sundance over Pine Bluffs; Dubois over Snake River; Hanna over Midwest.
The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Laramie (Laramie 33-25 overall, Laramie 17-11 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Natrona (Natrona 4-0 overall, Natrona 2-0 at this location)
Gillette at Rock Springs (Gillette 15-5 overall, Gillette 6-4 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Evanston (Evanston 11-7 overall, tie 3-3 at this location)
Sheridan at Cheyenne Central (Sheridan 39-27-1 overall, Central 16-14 at this location)
Class 3A
Douglas at Rawlins (Douglas 23-9 overall, Douglas 11-4 at this location)
Jackson at Cody (Cody 17-6 overall, Cody 9-1 at this location)
Lander at Torrington (Lander 4-1 overall, Lander 2-0 at this location)
Riverton at Buffalo (Riverton 8-7 overall, tie 4-4 at this location)
Star Valley at Green River (Star Valley 35-31-5 overall, Green River 18-13-3 at this location)
Worland at Powell (Worland 39-33 overall, tie 19-19 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Burns (Big Horn 6-3 overall, Burns 3-2 at this location)
Glenrock at Newcastle (Glenrock 23-18 overall, Glenrock 10-9 at this location)
Greybull at Pinedale (Greybull 5-3 overall, Pinedale 3-1 at this location)
Lyman at Big Piney (Big Piney 45-34-1 overall, Big Piney 25-15 at this location)
Mountain View at Kemmerer (Mountain View 20-16 overall, Mountain View 14-5 at this location)
Thermopolis at Lovell (Thermopolis 42-34 overall, Thermopolis 19-17 at this location)
Wright at Wheatland (Wheatland 4-0 overall, Wheatland 2-0 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Saratoga (Burlington 5-0 overall, Burlington 2-0 at this location) (Burlington has forfeited this game, but it’s still fun to look at the records)
Lusk at Lingle (Lusk 43-10-3 overall, Lusk 19-5 at this location)
Riverside at Cokeville (Cokeville 11-1 overall, Cokeville 5-0 at this location)
Tongue River at Southeast (tie 1-1 overall, Southeast 1-0 at this location)
Upton-Sundance at Pine Bluffs (Upton-Sundance 3-0 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Wind River at Shoshoni (Wind River 27-22 overall, tie 12-12 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain 19-2 overall, Rocky Mountain 9-1 at this location) (again, Wyoming Indian has already forfeited this game, but records are fun to look at anyway)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Snake River (Dubois 4-2 overall, Dubois 2-0 at this location)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Hulett (Guernsey-Sunrise 5-4 overall, Hulett 3-1 at this location)
Kaycee at NSI (Kaycee 2-0 overall, first at this location)
Midwest at Hanna (Hanna 9-6 overall, Hanna 4-3 at this location)
St. Stephens at Meeteetse (tie 4-4 overall, St. Stephens 3-1 at this location)
Ten Sleep at Farson (Ten Sleep 5-4 overall, tie 2-2 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, 24-8 (75 percent); Tad, 27-5 (84 percent); Homer, 22-10 (69 percent).
Season records: Patrick, 134-34 (80 percent); Tad, 112-56 (67 percent); Homer, 93-75 (55 percent).
For about 90 percent of teams, Week 6 represents either a time to survive, a time to maintain or a time to rise. So who’s set to do that? Leave a comment and let me know where my picks went awry, or what picks you think I got right!
–patrick
This might be the biggest week in the four years of Upton-Sundance football.
Not because of who the Patriots face on the field this week — although, admittedly, their game against Lingle is huge. The Patriots and the Doggers are the only two teams left unbeaten in Class 1A 11-man East Conference play.
Instead, the Upton-Sundance co-op agreement faced some scrutiny in a Casper board room this week.
When the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s board of directors met on Tuesday for the first of its four quarterly meetings in Casper, it encountered two letters of complaint about U-S from other schools. Both letters expressed their frustration with the classification of the U-S co-op, which is for now scheduled to stay in Class 1A 11-man in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
Why does that matter? Well, together, Upton and Sundance have a combined enrollment of about 205 students. The school slated to be the biggest in 1A 11-man next season is Tongue River at about 150.
That disparity has some schools upset. So they started a little letter-writing campaign to the WHSAA.
The issue comes in how the WHSAA counts students for a co-op. The host school — in this case, Upton — has all of its students counted. The school joining the co-op — in this case, Sundance — only has students in the gender of the sport counted.
Roughly, this gives the U-S co-op a count of 146 students, with Upton’s 87 and half of Sundance’s 118. That is smaller than Tongue River’s 150 and enough to keep the Patriots eligible for the playoffs in 1A 11-man. However, the actual student counts next summer — not ADMs right now — will determine the Patriots’ ultimate playoff eligibility fate.
So are the Patriots a 1A 11-man co-op or a 2A co-op?
That’s a question for 2016, and the WHSAA.
For what it’s worth, the WHSAA barely broached the Upton-Sundance topic on Tuesday. Barring some sort of change in the district meetings in late October or a new proposal addressing enrollment and classification of all co-ops in all sports, the Patriots will probably be in 1A 11-man if the schools’ enrollments hold steady.
This season, Upton-Sundance is definitely a Class 1A 11-man program. One of the best, at that. The Patriots are unbeaten; Shoshoni is the only other 1A 11-man school that can say that. With a victory against Lingle on Friday, the Patriots will move into sole possession of first place in the East Conference and into position to host games in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The Patriots have a huge opportunity this week on the field, no matter what happens off the field.
+++
Other awesome Week 5 games (not that the others aren’t, but these ones have some extra tangy zip on them this week):
Yeah, the Energy Bowl is Friday night in Gillette. And I was going to write about it. Then I realized the Energy Bowl was my game of the week in 2014. And 2013. You have plenty of opportunities to read up on the history of Camels vs. Broncs. That said, these teams are both 5-0 and this is the biggest 4A game of the regular season, full stop. This one deserves your attention. Just like it does every year. …
The Oil Bowl (Kelly Walsh-Natrona) and Capital Bowl (Cheyenne Central-Cheyenne East) are tonight, too. Big games in Wyoming’s big cities, and clear favorites in each. …
Yes, really: Green River actually has a chance to knock off Jackson in Jackson. The Wolves have been easy to overlook but could improve to 2-0 in the 3A West if they can pull the surprise. Jackson is the favorite, but Green River won’t be as easy a W as the Broncs might have anticipated in August. …
Hulett — which missed the playoffs last year — controls its own destiny in the 1A six-man East Conference as the only team left without a conference loss. This week, the Red Devils face Kaycee in Kaycee in what might be a make-or-break game for both teams. …
The last time Torrington beat Douglas in Douglas was 2002. The Bearcats won’t let that streak end easily. …
Most underrated game of the week might be Lovell-Lyman. The Bulldogs were impressive in beating Mountain View 33-0 last week, but Lyman has notched solid conference victories of its own in back-to-back weeks. …
Picks. Bold=projected winner. Of course. (Updated 12:25 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 to reflect new Tongue River game.)
Thursday
Interclass
Evanston JV at Cokeville
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Cheyenne East
Evanston at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Natrona
Laramie at Cheyenne South
Sheridan at Gillette
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander
Cody at Worland
Green River at Jackson
Powell at Star Valley
Rawlins at Riverton
Torrington at Douglas
Class 2A
Big Horn at Thermopolis
Burns at Glenrock
Kemmerer at Greybull
Lovell at Lyman
Newcastle at Wright
Pinedale at Mountain View
Class 1A 11-man
Lingle at Upton-Sundance
Pine Bluffs at Lusk
Rocky Mountain at Wind River
Saratoga at Riverside
Shoshoni at Wyoming Indian
Southeast at Moorcroft
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Guernsey-Sunrise
Hulett at Kaycee
Meeteetse at Dubois
Midwest at Rock River
Saturday
Class 2A
Wheatland at Big Piney
Class 1A six-man
NSI at Farson
Snake River at St. Stephens
Interclass
Natrona JV at Tongue River
Open: Ten Sleep.
For a full schedule including start times, click here.
+++
For the first time all season, Homer beat Tad in the weekly round of picks. Tad has vowed his revenge, though. And there’s a lot of disagreement in their picks this week.
The picks
Tad: Sheridan over Gillette; Cody over Worland; Lovell over Lyman; Wheatland over Big Piney; Rocky Mountain over Wind River; Southeast over Moorcroft; Meeteetse over Dubois; Midwest over Rock River; Snake River over St. Stephens.
Homer: Gillette over Sheridan; Worland over Cody; Lyman over Lovell; Big Piney over Wheatland; Wind River over Rocky Mountain; Moorcroft over Southeast; Dubois over Meeteetse; Rock River over Midwest; St. Stephens over Snake River.
Both: Cokeville over Evanston JV; Cheyenne Central over Cheyenne East; Rock Springs over Evanston; Natrona over Kelly Walsh; Laramie over Cheyenne South; Buffalo over Lander; Green River over Jackson; Star Valley over Powell; Riverton over Rawlins; Torrington over Douglas; Thermopolis over Big Horn; Glenrock over Burns; Greybull over Kemmerer; Newcastle over Wright; Mountain View over Pinedale; Lingle over Upton-Sundance; Lusk over Pine Bluffs; Riverside over Saratoga; Shoshoni over Wyoming Indian; Guernsey-Sunrise over Hanna; Kaycee over Hulett; Farson over Normative Services; Tongue River over Natrona JV.
The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Cheyenne East (Central 42-23 overall, Central 20-13 at this location)
Evanston at Rock Springs (Rock Springs 44-29-5 overall, Rock Springs 23-11-3 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona (Natrona 41-12 overall, Natrona 19-7 at this location)
Laramie at Cheyenne South (Laramie 3-1 overall, Laramie 2-0 at this location)
Sheridan at Gillette (Sheridan 41-29-1 overall, Gillette 17-14 at this location)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander (Buffalo 11-3 overall, Buffalo 4-2 at this location)
Cody at Worland (Cody 42-32-1 overall, Worland 19-17-1 at this location)
Green River at Jackson (Green River 28-10-2 overall, Green River 13-5-2 at this location)
Powell at Star Valley (Star Valley 24-12 overall, Star Valley 15-3 at this location)
Rawlins at Riverton (Riverton 31-19-1 overall, Riverton 14-9 at this location)
Torrington at Douglas (Torrington 54-31-2 overall, Torrington 26-16-1 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Thermopolis (tie 3-3 overall, Thermopolis 2-0 at this location)
Burns at Glenrock (Glenrock 6-3 overall, Glenrock 3-1 at this location)
Kemmerer at Greybull (Greybull 8-7 overall, Greybull 4-2 at this location)
Lovell at Lyman (Lovell 8-6 overall, Lyman 3-1 at this location)
Newcastle at Wright (Newcastle 6-4 overall, Newcastle 3-2 at this location)
Pinedale at Mountain View (Mountain View 38-27-2 overall, Mountain View 18-13-1 at this location)
Wheatland at Big Piney (Wheatland 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Cokeville at Burlington (Cokeville 14-1 overall, Cokeville 3-1 at this location) (Cokeville will win this game this week by forfeit)
Lingle at Upton-Sundance (Lingle 2-1 overall, Lingle 1-0 at this location)
Pine Bluffs at Lusk (Lusk 29-6 overall, Lusk 13-4 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Wind River (Rocky Mountain 19-7 overall, Wind River 6-5 at this location)
Saratoga at Riverside (Riverside 4-2 overall, Riverside 2-0 at this location)
Shoshoni at Wyoming Indian (Shoshoni 25-6-1 overall, Shoshoni 10-3-1 at this location)
Southeast at Moorcroft (Southeast 2-0 overall, first at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 25-10-1 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 14-5-1 at this location)
Hulett at Kaycee (Kaycee 3-1 overall, tie 1-1 at this location)
Meeteetse at Dubois (Meeteetse 12-10 overall, Dubois 6-5 at this location)
Midwest at Rock River (Midwest 1-0 overall, first at this location)
NSI at Farson (Farson 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Snake River at St. Stephens (Snake River 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, 25-5 (83 percent); Tad, 16-14 (53 percent); Homer, 17-13 (57 percent).
Season records: Patrick, 110-26 (81 percent); Tad, 85-51 (63 percent); Homer, 71-65 (52 percent).
The Week 5 schedule is chock full of big games. So which is the biggest of the big? Post your comment and let’s talk week 5, high school football, co-ops, October weather, tailgates full of bratwurst and popcorn….
–patrick
The news that Burlington is all but abandoning its 11-man schedule for a series of six-man games this year isn’t all that surprising. The Huskies struggled with participation numbers both last year and this year and are scheduled to move to six-man officially in 2016.
However, Burlington’s move appears to be the first time in at least 50 years that a team has started a season, canceled it, and scheduled what amounts to an entirely new series of games in its place.
Canceling a season once it has started? That’s not new. I found seven instances in the past 50 years in Wyoming where a team canceled or forfeited at least two games at the end of its season:
Other programs have scheduled sub-varsity seasons — for example, Hulett in 2010, Midwest in 2008 and 2002, Ten Sleep in 2008 and 2007, Meeteetse in 2002 and Dubois in 1998 — against either sub-varsity teams or generous-feeling varsity squads. However, those plans came together before the start of a season.
Meanwhile, some teams have scheduled a season only to have it end before the first snap: Tongue River in 2011, for example. (I outlined canceled seasons and sub-varsity seasons on this blog in 2011.)
And, meanwhile, some teams have successfully petitioned the WHSAA to “play down” and play teams in a different classification, but with the loss of playoff opportunities as a consequence (like Wyoming Indian did in 2007-08, or Lusk in 1990-92).
But a team has never had the chance to do what Burlington is doing this season — start a season with the intention of finishing it, but then cancel the season in time to build what basically amounts to a new schedule.
Good for Burlington. Playing is better than not playing. And I’m glad to see that Burlington’s future opponents now have chances to schedule new games in place of the Burlington game. Three already have.
The mess for wyoming-football.com is figuring out how to record something unprecedented.
+++
Here’s where the record-keeper in me gets into this.
As the unelected, self-appointed documenter of Wyoming high school football history (a title that carries as much weight as the pope of Chilitown), I have to decide what counts here and what doesn’t. I feel a responsibility to fully reflect a season in its entirety. That’s why I fight back so hard during Zero Week, when I say if it looks like a game and gets timed like a game and gets played like a game and gets officiated like a game, it’s a game, regardless of what the WHSAA says.
As noted, Burlington’s case is unique. Its forfeit losses will count — after all, it started the season and then, unlike mass cancellations of seasons past, played it week by week.
Usually, occasional weekly forfeits are just recorded as a loss; everyone plays again next week and we move on. It happens. But when a team forfeits, and then forfeits again, and then forfeits again, and THEN decides to schedule a bunch of new games, that makes things a bit trickier.
In situations where teams have canceled seasons or moved to JV schedules prior to the start of a season, I’ve simply wiped the slate clean. For example, the 2011 Tongue River season isn’t a bunch of forfeit losses. It just doesn’t exist. I feel that’s a more accurate reflection of Tongue River’s 2011 season than to have the Eagles listed at 0-8 that season, which is what the Wyoming High School Activities Association did that season.
And in situations where a team cancels or forfeits to end a year, I just note that. Generally, when that’s been done, any scheduled games other teams play to take the place of those missed games are tallied, as well, and counted toward that team’s final record — but, generally, teams haven’t scheduled new games to make up for the ones they miss via forfeit.
This situation is unique both for Burlington and for its opponents who were fortunate enough to schedule new games in place of playing the Huskies. That’s what Cokeville, Shoshoni and Rocky Mountain have already done. My conundrum: Count ONLY the forfeited game? Or count BOTH the forfeited game AND the new game?
Like I said, I feel part of my responsibility, not only to this season but to every season, is to record and reflect the season as a whole. That’s why the first option — counting only the forfeited game but not the game played in its stead — feels fraudulent. In doing so, I’d be counting something that didn’t happen on the field (a forfeit) but not counting something that did (the make-up game). That just doesn’t feel right.
And that says nothing about the six-man games Burlington will play. Do I count those alongside the forfeits in Burlington’s season record? Ignore the nomenclature for a second, that Burlington itself is calling these games “exhibitions,” and look at the reality: Best players on the field. Score kept. Feels like a game; should be counted like one, right?
What do you think? Let me know what you think would be most appropriate. Leave me a comment and help me reason this through.
Just don’t bring up Zero Week. 🙂
–patrick
Burlington has forfeited all but one of its 11-man football games in 2015 and has added four six-man games to close out the season.
Burlington is scheduled to move to Class 1A six-man officially in 2016. The Huskies are a part of the Class 1A 11-man West Conference this season but have failed to play a single conference game due to a lack of players.
Burlington AD Mike Aagard said via email the program was down to nine players, but a few more have joined the team. He said the program is taking a “week by week” approach.
However, three of Burlington’s upcoming opponents — Cokeville (Oct. 2), Shoshoni (Oct. 16) and Rocky Mountain (Oct. 23) — have all scheduled games to take Burlington’s place. Burlington will forfeit those games.
For now, Burlington’s game with Saratoga on Oct. 9 is still scheduled, Aagard said.
The Huskies previously forfeited games to Riverside, Wyoming Indian and Wind River. The only 11-man game Burlington played this season was in Week 1, a 52-0 loss to Lusk.
The Burlington school website calendar says the Huskies have scheduled the following six-man games:
Saturday, Sept. 26 at Custer, Mont., 1 p.m. (Burlington lost this game 60-37.)
Monday, Oct. 12 at Meeteetse, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 17 at Midwest, TBA
Saturday, Oct. 24 at Kaycee, TBA
Replacement games have been set by Cokeville, Shoshoni and Rocky Mountain.
The Cokeville school calendar indicates a game with the Evanston JV at 4 p.m. Thursday in Cokeville.
Shoshoni AD Max Mills said via email the Wranglers will host the Natrona sophomores at 6 p.m. Oct. 15.
The Rocky Mountain school calendar indicates a game with the Gillette JV at 5 p.m. Oct. 22 in Sheridan.
Meanwhile, Saratoga’s school calendar indicates a game with the Wheatland JV at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 12 in Saratoga as a potential replacement if the Burlington game falls through.
–patrick
A couple small updates this week, most of them for Meeteetse.
The big update is the Meeteetse 1982 season. That year, the Longhorns canceled their varsity season but added a JV season midway through they year. I had no idea about the JV season, and so I added all the games from that season. As is standard on this site, if a team plays only a JV schedule during a season, I count that as a season and add the games to my database. Meeteetse played six games in the span of 18 days:
Beat Byron JV 26-0 on Oct. 2 in Byron
Beat North Big Horn JV 20-6 on Oct. 4 in Meeteetse
Lost to Worland JV 27-8 on Oct. 9 in Worland
Beat Wyoming Indian JV 20-6 on Oct. 11 in Ethete
Beat Shoshoni JV 34-6 on Oct. 13 in Shoshoni
Beat Thermopolis JV 18-12 on Oct. 20 in Thermopolis
I also updated Meeteetse’s 27-6 victory against the Cody JV on Sept. 12, 1988. I had originally listed the game as canceled; it was actually postponed and rescheduled for the following Monday.
I also added Meeteetse’s 36-6 loss to the Cody JV on Oct. 8, 1995. The game was added to the missing games list because I couldn’t determine its location.
I also updated Meeteetse’s head coach for 1986; it was Neil Cox, not Hunter Short.
Other updates:
Found the score for Laramie’s 25-0 loss to the University of Wyoming on Oct. 12, 1909.
Corrected the spelling of longtime Douglas coach Pete Petranovich’s last name. Thanks to Carson Rowley, Pete’s grandson, for helping me with that fix!
All the updates have been made on all the relevant pages.
–patrick
The process of building a football program in Farson took time.
The Pronghorns’ program resurfaced for the first time in two decades in 2009 with the introduction of six-man football. Farson struggled its first four years; from 2009-12, the Pronghorns won just three games.
Farson’s first big breakthrough didn’t come until its third season, when the Pronghorns beat Meeteetse in the season opener for their first victory against another six-man varsity opponent.
Two years later, Farson started to find itself, winning three games and picking up a fourth victory by forfeit. And then in 2014, Farson had its best season yet, finishing 6-3 — its first winning record since coming back.
The 2015 season might be Farson’s best yet.
Farson is 3-0 for just the second time in school history. They’ve won games by 14, 33 and 68 points. They tied a school record last week with 70 points in a victory against Dubois.
The success, though, is balanced out by trepidation.
Farson won its first three games last year, too. Everything was going well. And then Meeteetse got in the way.
Remember that game? Folks in Farson — and Meeteetse — sure do. Meeteetse led 30-0 in the second quarter and 46-13 at halftime. Then Farson rallied. And rallied. And rallied. And lost, 62-61. (Video of that game is below, as produced by Wyopreps.)
The loss ended up costing Farson a shot at home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Pronghorns eventually fell to the Class 1A six-man West Conference’s No. 4 seed and had to travel across the state to play undefeated — and eventual state champion — Guernsey in the first round. The Pronghorns got thumped.
Meeteetse, meanwhile, finished as the conference’s No. 3 seed and drew a road date with Kaycee, a game the Longhorns won with surprising ease.
While the 2011 game may have shown Farson its worst days were behind it, the 2014 game against Meeteetse taught Farson it still had work to do.
Meeteetse has unintentionally become Farson’s measuring stick.
This year’s game, with both Farson and Meeteetse coming in undefeated, could loom even larger, especially as a gauge for Farson. Farson and Meeteetse are the only two teams remaining in the West Conference without a conference loss. And while Farson might be proud of its school-record 70 from last week, Meeteetse has been putting up points like crazy, scoring 81, 81 and 73 in three outings so far. This game — as it was last year — will be crucial in deciding the conference champion and the home-field playoff advantage that brings with it.
When the Pronghorns and Longhorns meet Friday night in Meeteetse, the final score will represent more than just who won and who lost. It will also measure how far a slowly building upstart program has come in seven years.
+++
Other games that I’m keeping my eye on, because Week 4 is bae:
Glenrock’s victory against Big Horn turned conventional wisdom about the 2A East on its head. The Herders’ game against Wheatland has a new dimension to it now, doesn’t it? The Herders have home-field advantage; the Bulldogs have a target. …
I’m curious to see how Burlington does after two weeks of forfeit losses. …
Apologies to Star Valley-Cody, but Rawlins-Buffalo might be the most intriguing 3A game this week. Buffalo appears to be much better than I originally thought. And Rawlins has had back-to-back tough losses. In a 3A East that looks as wide open as it’s been in years, this game is critical. …
And, yes, Star Valley-Cody. The Braves have been one of 3A’s most improved teams thus far, but defending champ Cody will present a stout challenge, especially in Cody. This one might be for a home playoff game when it’s all said and done.
With the news breaking last week about Lingle’s petition to move to six-man in 2016 and 2017, this week’s rivalry game between the Doggers and Southeast takes on special significance. This might be the last time these two squads meet, at least for the foreseeable future. …
The 2A West has a huge make-or-break this week with Lyman playing at Pinedale and Mountain View traveling to Lovell. All four teams have shown flashes of potential, but all four have also shown they have weak spots. This might be the week we see a couple of these teams patch up those weak spots and stay in the race for a home playoff game. …
Here, finally, are the picks for the week, with projected winners in the non-narrow typeface:
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh
Cheyenne South at Gillette
Laramie at Cheyenne Central
Natrona at Evanston
Rock Springs at Sheridan
Class 3A
Green River at Powell
Lander at Douglas
Rawlins at Buffalo
Riverton at Torrington
Star Valley at Cody
Worland at Jackson
Class 2A
Big Piney at Kemmerer
Greybull at Newcastle
Lyman at Pinedale
Mountain View at Lovell
Thermopolis at Burns
Wheatland at Glenrock
Wright at Big Horn
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Upton-Sundance
Rocky Mountain at Cokeville
Shoshoni at Saratoga
Southeast at Lingle
Tongue River at Lusk
Wind River at Burlington
Wyoming Indian at Riverside
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Meeteetse
Kaycee at Midwest
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise
Rock River at Hanna
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hulett
Ten Sleep at Snake River
Open: Pine Bluffs, St. Stephens.
For a full schedule including start times, click here.
+++
In making their picks this week, Tad and Homer actually came to a lot of agreement. They only disagree on four games. How cute!
The picks
Tad: Kelly Walsh over Cheyenne East; Worland over Jackson; Wheatland over Glenrock; Wind River over Burlington.
Homer: Cheyenne East over Kelly Walsh; Jackson over Worland; Glenrock over Wheatland; Burlington over Wind River.
Both: Gillette over Cheyenne South; Cheyenne Central over Laramie; Natrona over Evanston; Sheridan over Rock Springs; Powell over Green River; Douglas over Lander; Buffalo over Rawlins; Riverton over Torrington; Star Valley over Cody; Kemmerer over Big Piney; Newcastle over Greybull; Pinedale over Lyman; Mountain View over Lovell; Thermopolis over Burns; Big Horn over Wright; Upton-Sundance over Moorcroft; Cokeville over Rocky Mountain; Saratoga over Shoshoni; Southeast over Lingle; Lusk over Tongue River; Riverside over Wyoming Indian; Dubois over Hulett; Meeteetse over Farson; Midwest over Kaycee; Guernsey-Sunrise over Normative Services; Hanna over Rock River; Snake River over Ten Sleep.
The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh (tie 24-24 overall, East 12-10 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Gillette (Gillette 4-0 overall, Gillette 2-0 at this location)
Laramie at Cheyenne Central (Central 66-58-6 overall, Central 41-20-2 at this location)
Natrona at Evanston (Natrona 14-4 overall, Natrona 6-1 at this location)
Rock Springs at Sheridan (Sheridan 17-4-2 overall, Sheridan 10-2-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Green River at Powell (Powell 10-5 overall, Powell 5-2 at this location)
Lander at Douglas (Douglas 9-6 overall, Douglas 5-4 at this location)
Rawlins at Buffalo (Buffalo 18-3-1 overall, Buffalo 10-1 at this location)
Riverton at Torrington (Riverton 11-6 overall, Riverton 4-3 at this location)
Star Valley at Cody (Star Valley 18-9 overall, Star Valley 10-3 at this location)
Worland at Jackson (Worland 19-13 overall, Jackson 8-5 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Kemmerer (Kemmerer 23-19-1 overall, Kemmerer 14-7 at this location)
Greybull at Newcastle (Newcastle 5-2 overall, Newcastle 2-1 at this location)
Lyman at Pinedale (Pinedale 38-32 overall, Pinedale 21-16 at this location)
Mountain View at Lovell (Mountain View 9-6 overall, Mountain View 3-2 at this location)
Thermopolis at Burns (Thermopolis 4-0 overall, Thermopolis 2-0 at this location)
Wheatland at Glenrock (Wheatland 14-13 overall, Glenrock 8-6 at this location)
Wright at Big Horn (Big Horn 11-4 overall, Big Horn 4-2 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Upton-Sundance (tie 1-1 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Cokeville (Cokeville 10-0 overall, Cokeville 5-0 at this location)
Shoshoni at Saratoga (Saratoga 8-6 overall, Saratoga 5-2 at this location)
Southeast at Lingle (Southeast 25-11 overall, Southeast 14-4 at this location)
Tongue River at Lusk (Lusk 5-2 overall, Lusk 3-0 at this location)
Wind River at Burlington (Wind River 11-8 overall, Burlington 4-3 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Riverside (Riverside 11-1 overall, Riverside 4-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hulett (Dubois 5-2 overall, Dubois 3-0 at this location)
Farson at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 6-1 overall, Meeteetse 3-0 at this location)
Kaycee at Midwest (Midwest 5-4 overall, Midwest 3-2 at this location)
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 6-0 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 5-0 at this location)
Rock River at Hanna (Hanna 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Ten Sleep at Snake River (Snake River 5-1 overall, Snake River 2-0 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, 26-6 (81 percent); Tad, 20-12 (63 percent); Homer, 14-18 (44 percent).
Season records: Patrick, 85-21 (80 percent); Tad, 69-39 (64 percent); Homer, 54-52 (51 percent).
Like I said, Week 4 is bae. I had trouble making about a dozen picks this week. The schedule is full of what should be some great, close, competitive games. Which one stands out to you? Where did I go wrong with my picks? Post your thoughts and let’s talk Week 4!
–patrick
In advance of the first quarterly meeting of the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s Board of Directors on Sept. 29-30 in Casper, the WHSAA has released the enrollment numbers it will use to classify schools for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 sports seasons to the state’s high schools.
And the potential changes are numerous.
Although larger changes could be made to the classification structures of various sports — such as changing the number of schools in each classification — the following changes are on tap if no such changes are made:
Football
Class 4A and Class 3A will remain the same.
Class 2A will see Moorcroft jump back into the classification after two years in Class 1A 11-man. WHSAA Commissioner Ron Laird said via email to wyoming-football.com that Moorcroft has filed a petition to stay in Class 1A 11-man. Even if it’s approved, such a move might make the Wolves ineligible for the postseason.
Class 1A 11-man will see Wright come down from Class 2A to take Moorcroft’s prior place in 1A.
Riverside will be the 11th-largest Class 1A 11-man school but has asked to play six-man. Lingle, meanwhile, is the 14th-largest 11-man school but has also asked to play down in six-man. Class 1A 11-man’s size is designated as 14 schools.
Previously, when schools have asked to opt down a classification, if the WHSAA approved the option, those schools have been ineligible for the playoffs.
Cokeville, which came in 51st place — just below the cutoff for 11-man football — opted up to Class 1A 11-man again, Laird said.
Burlington, meanwhile, will be below the six-man/11-man cutoff and will move to six-man, coach Aaron Papich said via email Thursday.
Upton and Sundance are slated to continue their co-op for football, Laird said. Laird also said the Patriots’ playoff eligibility for the 2016 season won’t be determined until hard enrollment figures come in prior to that school year. Their decision to join football programs will not affect the classification of any other schools.
Other sports
Other sports will see significant shifts, too.
Jackson has supplanted Riverton as the state’s 12th-largest school and, because of that, will be scheduled to enter Class 4A for all sports except football in the fall of 2016. The difference between Jackson (742.26) and Riverton (741.70) ended up being less than one student.
Thermopolis and Lyman are scheduled to move from Class 2A to Class 3A, while Glenrock and Lovell are scheduled to move from Class 3A to Class 2A.
Upton is scheduled to move from Class 1A to Class 2A, while Saratoga is scheduled to move from Class 2A to Class 1A.
Gillette’s new school
The ADM figures do not account for the proposed second high school in Gillette, which is tentatively scheduled to open in the fall of 2017.
Districts
Tentative district alignments set by the WHSAA are as follows, as noted in information provided to the schools:
Football
4A and 3A: Unchanged
2A East: Wheatland, Newcastle, Thermopolis, Moorcroft, Glenrock, Big Horn, Burns.
2A West: Pinedale, Mountain View, Lyman, Lovell, Big Piney, Kemmerer, Greybull.
1A 11-man East: Tongue River, Wright, Upton/Sundance, Pine Bluffs, Southeast, Lusk.
1A 11-man West: Wyoming Indian, Rocky Mountain, Wind River, Shoshoni, Saratoga, Cokeville.
1A six-man East: Lingle, Guernsey, NSI, Midwest, Hanna, Hulett, Kaycee, Rock River.
1A six-man West: Riverside, Burlington, Dubois, Snake River, Farson, St. Stephens, Meeteetse, Ten Sleep.
Non-football
4A East: Gillette, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne South, Laramie, Sheridan.
4A West: Kelly Walsh, Natrona, Rock Springs, Evanston, Green River, Jackson.
3A East: Douglas, Rawlins, Worland, Torrington, Buffalo, Wheatland, Newcastle, Thermopolis.
3A West: Riverton, Star Valley, Cody, Lander, Powell, Pinedale, Mountain View, Lyman.
2A East: Moorcroft, Glenrock, Burns, Big Horn, Tongue River, Wright, Sundance, Pine Bluffs, Southeast, Lusk, Upton.
2A West: Lovell, Big Piney, Kemmerer, Greybull, Wyoming Indian, Rocky Mountain, Wind River, Shoshoni, Riverside.
1A East: Lingle, Guernsey, NSI, Midwest, Hanna, Hulett, Kaycee, Rock River, Arvada-Clearmont, Glendo, Chugwater.
1A West: Saratoga, Cokeville, Burlington, Dubois, Snake River, Farson, St. Stephens, Encampment, Meeteetse, Ten Sleep.
(North and South conferences for non-football sports will be set by participating schools in 3A, 2A and 1A.)
+++
The “Average Daily Membership” enrollment numbers for grades 9-12, rounded to the nearest full number:
–patrick
Edited 8:10 a.m. Sept. 18 to fix a typo in Burns’ ADM.
Riverside will petition the WHSAA to play in the six-man football division of Class 1A in 2016 and 2017.
Rebels coach Sam Buck and activities director Shane Schaffner verified the decision via an email to Wyoming-football.com Thursday.
“We were looking at having 13-15 players over the next couple of years and after dealing with low numbers the last couple of years I think it’s only fair for the players,” Buck wrote. “I think safety is the top priority. Having to play younger players who are not physically ready to compete against 17-18 year olds isn’t safe. Over the next couple of years the number of young players we will have to depend on will only increase.”
Buck and Schaffner also noted that Riverside’s current problems in fulfilling its schedule played a hand in the decision. The Rebels forfeited its Week 1 game to Greybull and won last week after Burlington forfeited to Riverside.
Buck said the move may be temporary.
“While I love the 11-man game and hope Riverside will be able to get our numbers back to the numbers to field an 11-man team, we’re going to embrace the opportunity positively and work like crazy to learn the 6-man game so we can compete,” he said.
Schaffner said it was important for Riverside to maintain football at the school, as it is the only fall sports option for boys at the school.
Riverside may not be eligible for the six-man playoffs; in the enrollment numbers used by the WHSAA to determine classification for the next two seasons, Riverside is still classified as an 11-man school. Lingle, which made a similar decision last week, is in the same position with its enrollment, as well; the Doggers will be classified as an 11-man school and may not be eligible for the playoffs.
–patrick