What if: 1985 enrollments, modern alignment rules for Wyoming high school football

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Last week, we looked at how the conferences would have formed in 1976 if we used the 2014 conference structure. Today, we’ll jump ahead to 1985.

By 1985, Wyoming had expanded from three football classifications (AA, A and B) to four (4A, 3A, 2A and 1A). At that time, all four were 11-man classifications; the nine-man designation didn’t come along until 1989, and it broke off into its own class in 1990, which gave the state the five football classifications it has had ever since.

Applying this year’s conference alignments to the 1985 enrollment figures, here are the conferences we would have had back then:

Class 4A
1. Natrona, 2,054
2. Cheyenne East, 1,856
3. Cheyenne Central, 1,774
4. Kelly Walsh, 1,587
5. Gillette, 1,579
6. Laramie, 1,246
7. Sheridan, 1,156
8. Rock Springs, 1,101
9. Riverton, 981
10. Green River, 866

Class 3A East
11. Lander, 727
12. Rawlins, 693
15. Douglas, 578
20. Torrington, 469
21. Wheatland, 423
22. Buffalo, 368
Class 3A West
13. Cody, 690
14. Evanston, 670
16. Powell, 518
17. Star Valley, 513
18. Worland, 508
19. Jackson, 507

Class 2A East
23. Newcastle, 336
24. Glenrock, 321
25. Thermopolis, 304
31. Wind River, 187
34. Hanna, 168
35. Lusk, 165
36. Saratoga, 152
Class 2A West
26. Kemmerer, 248
27. Lyman, 237
28. Mountain View, 236
29. Lovell, 228
30. Greybull, 192
32. Pinedale, 185
33. Big Piney, 182

Class 1A 11-man East
38t. Seton, 138
41. Sundance, 129
42. Lingle, 123
44. Guernsey, 114
45. Upton, 109
49. Pine Bluffs, 99
50. Burns, 95
52. Southeast, 87
Class 1A 11-man West
37. Tongue River, 145
38t. Wyoming Indian, 138
40. Moorcroft, 131
43. Rocky Mountain, 118
46. Dubois, 107
47t. Basin, 106
47t. Shoshoni, 106
51. Big Horn, 94

Class 1A six-man East
53. Wright, 82
55. Midwest, 78
56. Hulett, 75
Class 1A six-man West
54. Cokeville, 79
57. Burlington, 67
58. Meeteetse, 64
63. Ten Sleep, 57

This actually shapes up pretty close to the state’s first attempt at a five-class structure in 1990. It’s here where we can see the rise of the western middle-sized town (the likes of Evanston, Kemmerer and others growing and Lander shrinking) forcing some uncomfortable alignments in 3A and 2A, where Lander and Wind River are forced into makeshift “East” conferences.

But that’s nothing compared to 1A, where the consolidation out west and the sheer number of smaller schools in the southeast corner has severely reduced the available schools for a “West” conference. Consequently, to get balanced eight-team conferences, we REALLY have to stretch, as Moorcroft heads west to keep things even.

And those six-man conferences look suspiciously like the nine-man conferences of the early 1990s….

Here are the retroactive five-class champions from 1985:

Class 4A: Natrona over Sheridan. Natrona actually beat Cody in the 1985 4A title game, but with Cody in 4A, the Broncs would have been replaced with… well, the Broncs. NC beat Sheridan 17-13 in the regular season in 1985 in Sheridan.
Class 3A: Cody over Evanston. Cody was the 4A runner-up in 1985; Evanston was the 3A champ over Torrington. In this matchup, the Broncs had the advantage; in five games against common opponents in 1985, Cody was 5-0, while Evanston was 3-2.
Class 2A: Lovell over Glenrock. Glenrock’s only losses were to Rawlins and Torrington, making them the top team in the East, while Lovell only lost to state champ Shoshoni. The nod goes to the Bulldogs, because coin flip.
Class 1A 11-man: Shoshoni over Seton. These two actually met in the 2A title game in 1985, and the Wranglers came out on top. Convenient.
Class 1A six-man: Wright over Cokeville. With real 1A champ Big Horn in a different conference, the real runner-up (Wright) would have met semifinalist Cokeville for the state title — and Wright actually would have had the edge in this one.

In both 1976 and 1985, we’ve had to fudge the geographic limits of the state to come up with equitable conference alignments. In 2014, we’ve had to do the same, but the alignments we’ve got in 2014 are actually pretty well suited for the enrollment splits the state has now. I think the biggest failure would be if, in 20 years from now, Wyoming high schools are using the same conference structure they’re using now. Reclassification is an endless process; just about the time we think we have a handle on it, enrollments will change and the process starts again.

–patrick

Week 5 picks: Pride and tradition run deep in Energy Bowl

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Sheridan’s gridiron success is documented well.

From the beginning of the Broncs’ program more than 100 years ago, the blue and yellow have always been among the state’s best programs.

As one of the first, Sheridan had a head start: the first six schools in Wyoming to consistently sponsor football, along with Sheridan, were Cheyenne (later Central), Laramie, Natrona, Buffalo and University Prep.

In those early days, Sheridan was consistently the at the top. In the first 22 years of organized play in the state, from 1921-42, Sheridan won or shared the state championship nine times, nearly twice as often as any other program. Since then, Sheridan has won 14 more state titles, most recently in 2011.

While its status the past few years as one of Class 4A’s “Big Four” is unquestioned, the Broncs have also been pushed by programs whose football lineage is not nearly as glamorous.

Namely, Gillette.

The Camels’ football history isn’t nearly as prestigious as their northeastern Wyoming neighbors. While the Broncs were winning games and stacking up state championships like firewood, the Camels were plodding along as consistent underachievers. In fact, Sheridan had won 21 state championships by the time Gillette won its first in 1998.

Unsurprisingly, the series between the two was as uneven as a poorly installed teeter-totter. Sheridan did not lose to Gillette the first 17 times they played each other.

Then the Camels changed.

Consider this: In their first 40 years of football, the Camels won less than 44 percent of their games. In their past 45, the Camels have won more than 60 percent.

Since that turnaround, the rivalry between Sheridan and Gillette has been one of the state’s best, and most even. Since restarting their rivalry in 1970, Gillette is 28-25 against Sheridan, including a 16-4 run in the past 20.

They’ll play again on Friday.

Like usual, the game is critical. At 5-0, Sheridan is one of two remaining undefeated teams in Class 4A (Natrona’s the other), while Gillette is right behind at 4-1.

Homer Scott Field will be hopping on Friday, for reasons well beyond those apparent on the field for those 48 minutes.

We’d expect nothing less between two programs with as much pride and tradition as these two — even if one of them started faster.

What else I’m watching closely this week:

The 50th Oil Bowl will be played Friday when Natrona and Kelly Walsh renew their intra-city rivalry in Casper. Although Natrona has had a big advantage in this series dating back to 1965, this game is always a big one in the Oil City. …

Central and East also renew their Capital Bowl rivalry this week. In case you’re not noticing the pattern, the WHSAA did a nice job of setting up the biggest of the 4A rivalries into one week in this schedule. …

Under new coach Corey Wheeler, Rawlins is 3-1 and has already secured its best season since its 9-0 championship season in 2000. The Outlaws get one of their toughest tests of the season with No. 1 Riverton coming to Outlaw Stadium. Riverton’s the clear favorite, but there’s always something scary about an upstart with confidence…

In the weird 2A nonconference game of the week, Big Piney travels to Wheatland for the first meeting between the two schools in football. …

The only two undefeated teams in 1A six-man East Conference games are Guernsey and Hanna. They’ll play each other on Friday in Carbon County. …

The chase for the final three playoff spots in the 1A 11-man West is getting really interesting. Don’t be too surprised if we have to have a tiebreaker playoff in that conference again this year. This week’s key game pits resurgent Wind River up against Rocky Mountain in Byron Cowley. …

I’ve been touting since the preseason that the 1A six-man West might be the most even, competitive conference in the state this year. Will that continue when Dubois travels to Meeteetse? Probably. And the Rams can throw a wrench into the conference standings if they can knock off the Longhorns. …

The biggest upset of the week last week may have been Moorcroft’s shutout victory against Upton-Sundance. I’m curious to see if the Wolves can keep that momentum going against Southeast in Yoder. …

On to the picks. Projected winners in bold, as per usual. Because that’s how we do it, and to change it now would only cause confusion.

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

Last week: 27-4 (87 percent). This season: 109-36 (75 percent).

For a full season schedule, including kickoff times for this week’s games, click here.

And that’s Week 5 in a nutshell. But that’s not all we could talk about. What game is drawing your attention this week? Leave a comment to let me know what you’re watching, or what game I mis-picked, or whatever else strikes your fancy about Wyoming high school football.

–patrick

What if: 1976 enrollments, modern alignment rules for Wyoming high school football

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Several years ago, my dad gave me a stash of old material that he figured I could use more than he could. In that pile was a 1976-77 WHSAA directory, which — much like today’s directory — included the coaches for each sport, phone numbers, addresses and mascots for every school.

But the old WHSAA directories also included enrollment figures alongside each school’s listing, providing a nice glimpse into the makeup of Wyoming’s classification structure for that era.

In 1976, of course, Wyoming had only three classifications of football — Class AA, Class A and Class B. For football, the largest 14 schools were Class AA, the next 15 were Class A and the rest (33 schools in 1976, including 29 11-man schools and four eight-man schools) were Class B. (See the 1976 classifications and conferences here.)

But what if we retroactively applied the 2014 classification structure, with five classifications and the six-man option, to the state with its 1976 enrollments? What would the conferences have looked like back then with today’s conference structures? And if we squint really hard, can we gain some insights into the state’s current classification structure?

Well, first things first: Since 1976, we’ve lost some schools and we’ve gained some schools. In all, 11 high schools that were open in 1976 are no longer open (St. Mary’s, Medicine Bow, Byron, Goshen Hole, Jeffrey City, Cowley, Deaver-Frannie, Albin, La Grange, Huntley, Manderson). They’re included here. On the flipside, since 1976, Wyoming has had six schools opened or renamed due to consolidation (Cheyenne South, NSI, Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Southeast, Wright). They’re not included here.

Here’s how the conferences would have looked in 1976 if we had used the 2014 conference structure:

Class 4A
1. Natrona, 2,126
2. Cheyenne East, 1,577
3. Cheyenne Central, 1,309
4. Kelly Walsh, 1,301
5. Laramie, 1,196
6. Rock Springs, 1,152
7. Sheridan, 1,112
8. Riverton, 970
9. Gillette, 923
10. Lander, 854

Class 3A East
12. Rawlins, 696
16. Torrington, 554
19. Newcastle, 414
20. Thermopolis, 390
21. Buffalo, 388
22. Douglas, 360
Class 3A West
11. Cody, 733
13. Powell, 645
14. Worland, 582
15. Green River, 556
17. Star Valley, 486
18. Jackson, 434

Class 2A East
24. Wheatland, 322
28. Glenrock, 217
29. Lusk, 203
30. St. Mary’s, 190
31. Sundance, 181
35. Pine Bluffs, 150
36. Tongue River, 146
Class 2A West
23. Evanston, 355
25. Lovell, 266
26. Kemmerer, 262
27. Greybull, 227
32. Pinedale, 178
33. Big Piney, 177
34. Saratoga, 157

Class 1A 11-man East
37t. Upton, 145
41. Lingle, 129
44. Guernsey, 121
45. Moorcroft, 111
47. Big Horn, 104
48. Burns, 102
50. Midwest, 93
51. Medicine Bow, 90
Class 1A 11-man West
37t. Lyman, 145
39. Wind River, 144
40. Wyoming Indian, 138
42t. Basin, 126
42t. Mountain View, 126
46. Hanna, 109
49. Dubois, 97
52. Meeteetse, 84

Class 1A six-man East(ish)
53. Shoshoni, 83
54. Hulett, 80
57. Cokeville, 68
59. Goshen Hole, 62
65. Glendo, 55
Class 1A six-man West (but really Northwest)
56. Burlington, 70
58. Byron, 66
62. Ten Sleep, 56
63. Cowley, 55
64. Deaver-Frannie, 55

Other schools without football programs, with their 1976 enrollments, included Snake River (72), Encampment (59), Jeffrey City (58), Albin (50), Kaycee (48), La Grange (48), Huntley (46), Arvada-Clearmont (45), Manderson (39), Rock River (36), Chugwater (35) and Farson (29). St. Stephens was not a WHSAA member in 1976.

In this scenario, the conference alignments actually line up pretty well. The only place where it gets messy is in six-man, where a predominance of Bighorn Basin teams makes up half the teams in the classification. Splitting those up into two even conferences would be an exercise in futility — so we end up with a “conference” that has Goshen Hole, Cokeville and Hulett all under one umbrella.

We’re stretching it a bit in Class 2A; we’ve got Evanston and Saratoga — two schools that have never played each other in football — in the same conference. And we’ve had to split up some natural geographic rivals to fit them into classifications and conferences. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?)

That 3A West sure looks familiar, though.

If we retroactively did some playoff brackets in 1976 with these alignments, we’d likely get championship games that look like this:

Class 4A: Laramie over Cheyenne Central. Without pesky Cody there to ruin it, Laramie coach John Deti Sr. finishes his career with a state title. Laramie beat Central 16-9 in the regular season.
Class 3A: Cody over Green River. Cody was the Class AA champ in 1976, while Green River won the Class A crown. Cody had the edge, thanks to a 2-0 record against common opponents (Green River was 1-1).
Class 2A: Glenrock over Kemmerer. Glenrock didn’t lose to any of the schools classified in this scenario as “2A” schools, while Kemmerer only lost to Evanston and had avenged that loss with a victory earlier in the season. They only had one common opponent, Thermopolis — a team Glenrock beat but Kemmerer didn’t.
Class 1A 11-man: Lyman over Guernsey-Sunrise. This was actually the Class B title game. It’s so nice when we have actual playoff brackets to reference….
Class 1A six-man: Byron over Cokeville. Byron was the Northwest’s representative in the Class B playoffs in 1976 but would have gotten a big challenge from Cokeville, which nearly knocked eventual Class B state champ Lyman from the playoffs.

Next week: 1985 in five classes.

–patrick

2014 Shrine Bowl raises $30,000 for Shrine Hospitals

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The 2014 Shrine Bowl all-star football game raised $30,000 for the Shrine Hospitals, executive director John Cundall said via email Monday.

The game, played in June in Casper, helped raise money for 22 hospitals in the Shrine Hospital system. Shrine Hospitals focus on care for children.

The 2015 game will be June 15 in Casper. The North squad won this year’s game 41-13.

–patrick

Week 4 picks: The downside of consistency

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We all consistently do something we know will fail. Yet we do it anyway.

We should back up the files on our computer before the computer crashes. But we don’t. And then we accidentally open that email attachment from the deposed Nigerian prince…

We should get the flu shot before flu season. But we don’t. And then we eat at that restaurant that doesn’t give its employees sick days…

We should go to the bathroom before the road trip. But we don’t. And we buy a 44-ounce fountain drink on our way out…

For 18 years, Lingle’s football team faced a similar problem.

Lingle shouldn’t play Southeast. But they do. And they hold out that sliver of hope that they just might win…

Don’t get this twisted. I’m not actually saying the Lingle-Southeast football game shouldn’t be played. It should. Lingle and Southeast are natural rivals. They’re similarly sized, and they’re barely more than a half hour apart. The roots of their rivalry trace back to Southeast’s consolidation in the 1970s and the old SEWAC football days, and beyond that back to Lingle’s games against Huntley in the 1950s and 1960s.

No, I’m not talking about getting rid of this series. That’s silly talk.

But the results in this series suggest otherwise.

The Doggers have had absolutely no success in this series for almost a generation. In 16 games against the Cyclones since 1997 (they didn’t play each other in 2007 and 2008 but played twice in 2009), the Doggers are 0-16. The last time Lingle won against Southeast was in 1996 — a game that if any current Lingle or Southeast players attended, they were likely still in diapers.

This streak of struggle is one of the longest active streaks in the state; Rocky Mountain’s 17-game winning streak against Wyoming Indian is the only current series winning streak longer than the one the Cyclones have run off against the Doggers, and it’s tied with Cokeville’s 16-game winning streak against Shoshoni and Buffalo’s 16 straight victories against Rawlins. (By the way, Rawlins and Buffalo play each other this week, too.)

This anomaly is not because Lingle is a poor football program. In fact, the Doggers have been consistently competitive since this streak against the Cyclones began — they’ve made the playoffs 13 times in the past 17 seasons, and even reached the state title game in 2009.

Of course, the one time they reached the title game, the Doggers played the Cyclones. OF COURSE they did. And the Doggers lost. That’s just how Lingle’s luck has run in this series.

Actually, the anomaly of a streak is more attributable to Southeast, which has had a sublimely successful run since the last time it lost to Lingle — eight state championships, a home playoff game in the first round of the playoffs every single season, never a year worse than .500.

The last year Southeast didn’t host a playoff game, or finish above .500, was 1996. Not coincidentally, the Cyclones finished that season with a 41-12 loss to the Doggers in Yoder, Southeast’s last loss to Lingle to date.

This year might be the year, though, the Doggers break this streak.

Lingle enters Friday’s game with Southeast undefeated (3-0); the Cyclones, meanwhile, come in at 2-2. They’ve had one common opponent so far, Pine Bluffs, and in the ever-misleading land of score comparison, Lingle had the better-looking victory over the Hornets (44-16) than Southeast (36-22).

After 18 years of consistent shortcomings against their Goshen County neighbors, maybe this is the year Lingle finally turns this rivalry into a two-sided one.

What else I’m watching closely this week:

I don’t know what to make of the race for the final four playoff spots in Class 4A. It’s a mess. But I do know that the showdown between Cheyenne Central and Laramie will be key. Does anyone else see a big mishmash of 3-6 teams sitting in the bottom half of 4A at the end of the regular season? …

Worland keeps on chugging along. So does Jackson. And they’re playing each other this week. Even though Powell and Cody are still the favorites, I think there might be more parity in the 3A West than I believed there was at the beginning of the season. …

Lovell’s loss to Big Piney two weeks ago took some of the shine off this week’s Lovell-Mountain View showdown. Nevertheless, this game is still key in the 2A West standings, and Lovell could make a real mess of things — and stay in contention for a conference championship — if it can take down the Buffalos. …

Farson knew at the beginning of the season that the two-week stretch of Week 3 (Dubois) and Week 4 (Meeteetse) would be huge. The Pronghorns took care of the Rams 36-34 last week. Now the defending champion Longhorns make their way to Sweetwater County in a game that could eventually decide hosting duties in the first round of the playoffs. Along with the 3A West, the 1A six-man West could be the most interesting conference in the state. …

Unbeaten Sheridan will likely continue its fast start to the 2014 season when it plays winless Rock Springs tonight in Sweetwater County. No surprise. The Tigers have been on the schneid against the Broncs for a long time: The last time Rock Springs beat Sheridan was in 1959.

On to the picks, where I have listed my projected winning squads in the boldface type.

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

Last week: 24-10 (71 percent). This season: 82-32 (72 percent).

Thoughts? Ideas? Complaints? Compliments? Rants? Post them in a comment.

–patrick

Lights go in at Tongue River

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Lights are being put up at the football field at Tongue River. So far, just one light standard has been put up, and no game times have been changed.

Photo courtesy Deb Reed.

Tongue River football field. Photo courtesy Deb Reed.

Tongue River football field. Photo courtesy Deb Reed.

Week 3 picks: The Class 4A week we’ve been waiting for — and won’t see again

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This is the week we want.

This is the week we won’t see again this year.

This is the week we finally find some separation in Class 4A.

Class 4A’s hierarchy the past few years has been as simple as it’s been clear: Natrona, Gillette, Cheyenne East and Sheridan play at a level that’s different from everyone else. For Week 3, the schedule says it all: Natrona at Gillette; Sheridan at Cheyenne East. This is the only time this season when the “Big Four” teams are all playing each other in the same week.

These four programs have dominated Class 4A football for almost half a decade. They were 104-8 against the other six the past four years entering the season; they’re now 114-8, as the top four are 10-0 against those other six so far this season. Every season since 2010, the final four teams in the 4A playoffs have been the same.

So, yeah, this week is big — a critical separation point in the season.

For Gillette and Sheridan, this week presents their first chances to test themselves against another top-tier team.

For Natrona, this week is a chance to take a commanding lead in the classification standings, thanks in part to a 14-7 victory against Cheyenne East two weeks ago.

And for Cheyenne East, this week represents what may be the team’s last chance to secure a home playoff game, a goal that became much more difficult to obtain after that loss to Natrona.

Both games represent continuations of competitive, repetitive showdowns. Both the Gillette-Natrona and Sheridan-East games have been played seven times in the past four years.

Of the seven Natrona-Gillette games, five have been played in Casper. This week’s game is in Gillette, but that’s little consolation to the Camels — Natrona has won both games it has played in Gillette the past four years, and the Camels haven’t beaten the Mustangs at home since 2009.

Sheridan and Cheyenne East, too, have played each other seven times the past four years. Oddly enough, only one of those games has been played in Cheyenne; five were in Sheridan and one in Laramie for a state championship. This week’s game, though, is in Cheyenne. However, Sheridan, like Natrona, doesn’t fear a road trip trip: Sheridan won its only game the past four years that it played against East in Cheyenne. Beyond that, Cheyenne East hasn’t beaten Sheridan in Cheyenne since 2002.

For several years now, we’ve known the Big Four control Class 4A. But they only play against each other six times during the regular season.

We’re lucky enough in Week 3 to have two of those games happening on the same day.

This is, after all, what we’ve been waiting to see.

Here’s a quick glance at some of the other things I’m keeping a close eye on this week:

Buffalo had a strong showing in a loss last week, falling 19-9 to Powell. I’m curious to see how the Bison play against an improved Worland squad. …

Wheatland and Newcastle will meet each other in a big 2A East game. Big Horn is clearly the pacesetter in the conference this year, but the Bulldogs and Dogies will need to win this one to keep pace with the Rams and stay in contention for a home playoff game. …

Wind River’s 74-0 victory over Wyoming Indian last week set a school record for both biggest victory and most points in a game. It also was the Cougars’ first road victory since Sept. 9, 2010, breaking the state’s longest active road losing streak at 15. Can the Cougs keep it going against Riverside? …

The most interesting six-man game on the schedule could be the one between Farson and Dubois. The Pronghorns are much better equipped to play with the Rams than they’ve ever been. …

The Saturday slate is pretty thin, but it will be interesting to see if NSI can get its second victory in a row. The Wolves earned their first victory against a varsity team since 2009 last week and could win two in a row for the first time since 2007 if they can beat Hulett on the road. …

The best game of the week could be between Riverton and Powell. Yeah, I picked Powell, but don’t be surprised if Riverton sneaks this one out. …

There’s a lot of hype for the Rawlins-Jackson game. Ignore it. Jackson is rolling. …

For the record, in the “Big Four” 4A games this week, I went with the home teams. Switch the venues, and I’d switch my picks. Both games should be great. …

I devoted a lot of time this week to the top of 4A, but for the other six teams in the classification, these are critical games, too. Playoff seeding and qualification could be on the line in a couple of those games. …

On to the picks. The projected winners, like always, are in bold type. The teams in regular type, though, are no less deserving of your admiration:

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

Last week: 27-6 (82 percent). This season: 58-22 (73 percent).

For a full season schedule, including kickoff times for this week’s games, click here.

What are YOU watching this week? What game on this week’s schedule draws your interest? Which picks do you think I got wrong? Post a comment and we can talk about it, because that’s half the fun.

–patrick

1967 Class A all-state team

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Wyoming’s Class A all-state team for 1967 has been added to the all-state listings.

Kevan Kennington provided the help for listing this missing team. Thanks a bunch to Kevan for his assistance!

The mid- to late 1960s are kind of a black hole for my all-state listings. If you can help me with some missing teams, let me know — post a comment here or email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Week 2 picks: Why Kaycee vs. Guernsey is the lamest six-man rivalry in Wyoming (and why that should change this week)

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Of all the new rivalries six-man football has given Wyoming, the rivalry between Guernsey-Sunrise and Kaycee may just be the lamest of them all.

And this is the fault of neither school. It’s just that when they get together, their games have been, well, pretty bad.

In four meetings, Guernsey-Sunrise and Kaycee have never had a close game. In two meetings in the initial six-man season in 2009, Guernsey-Sunrise beat Kaycee 67-0 and and then again 76-16 in the state title game. The Vikings again won big last season, beating the Buckaroos 52-14.

Kaycee’s lone victory in the series was also an easy one; the Buckaroos beat the Vikings 87-18 in 2010.

This year’s meeting might change that pattern.

Guernsey-Sunrise was this site’s Class 1A six-man preseason No. 1 team. Kaycee was No. 2.

In Week 1, both teams proved they deserved those preseason accolades. The Vikings destroyed traditionally tough Dubois 60-12, while Kaycee shut out Ten Sleep 45-0 — and a shutout is never a small accomplishment in six-man.

Now, in a weird twist of the 2014 schedule, they open East Conference play by facing each other. Kaycee, for the second year in the row, gets to host.

Chances are good that this game will be much better, and much closer, than the schools’ previous four meetings. Just one game into 2014, both squads have proven they know how to score, and how to stop someone else from scoring. They’ve both got the talent and the experience to make serious challenges for a state championship.

Top-ranked Guernsey has maybe the classification’s most explosive player in running back Brady Esquibel. Kaycee counters with a three-headed monster of a junior class led by returning all-stater Taylor Rouse.

Of course, both participating schools don’t mind keeping this series “lame” — as long as they’re on the winning side.

For everyone else’s sake, though, a little drama in the fourth quarter wouldn’t be a bad thing to see between two of six-man’s best teams.

What else I’m watching this week: Every week is a big week in 3A, and this week it’s nonconference games between Douglas and Cody and between Riverton and Star Valley that catch my eye. I’m also watching the Worland-Torrington game to see which one earns 3A’s “most improved” award two weeks into the season. I’ve picked against Worland two weeks in a row they’ve proved me wrong both times. Although Zero Week against Riverton was not exactly representative, Worland’s victory last week against Lander was an eye-opener for me. …

Conference play starts for most teams in 2A and 1A this week. The playoff chase starts now; the biggest games to me are the ones between Thermopolis and Wheatland (2A) and between Riverside and Burlington and between Lusk and Upton-Sundance (1A 11-man). …

I realized earlier this week that the 1A 11-man East Conference went 5-0 against the West Conference in interconference games last week. Anomaly? I don’t think so. …

Meeteetse and Snake River also play what might be a key 1A six-man West Conference game — I had the Longhorns ranked third and Rattlers fourth in my six-man rankings this week. …

Jackson has a really good chance to start 6-0. The Broncs are already 2-0 and play Lander, Rawlins, Worland and Green River the next four weeks. Of those, aforementioned Worland could pose the biggest challenge. …

Can Cheyenne South pull off the Cheyenne sweep? The Bison knocked off Cheyenne Central last week, but Cheyenne East figures to put up a stiffer test this week, especially since the game is scheduled to be the first at the new Okie Blanchard Stadium, East’s home stadium. The T-Birds will want to kick off the era of the new stadium in style. …

Rock River, which won its first varsity game last week, could start its first varsity season 2-0 if it beats NSI on Saturday in Sheridan. NSI is the only program in the state that doesn’t have a game under its belt yet; the Wolves didn’t play during Zero Week and had a bye last week. …

My picks, with projected winners in bold (and projected spoilers in regular type):

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

Last week: 22-11 (67 percent). This season: 31-16 (66 percent).

For a full season schedule, including kickoff times for this week’s games, click here.

In case you missed it, I had an awful first week of picks. 67 percent right is, well, not good. Really, though, I love it when teams prove my picks wrong. A season is so much more interesting when it’s unpredictable. So, to all you non-bolded teams: Spoil away!

There’s Week 2. What do you think? What will be the best game this week? Who’s poised to pull an upset? Share your thoughts with a comment and let’s, like, talk about it. Because that’s why this blog is here….

–patrick