Pinedale promotes assistant Cundall to head coach

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Clay Cundall, an assistant coach for Pinedale, has been promoted to the program’s top spot.

The Casper Star-Tribune reported on Friday of Cundall’s hiring.

A 2011 graduate of Greybull High School, Cundall played linebacker at Chadron State.

Cundall is the son of former Gillette and Greybull coach John Cundall. In addition to coaching, he also teaches language arts at Pinedale Middle School. He replaces Mitch Espeland, who resigned in March.

The Wranglers finished 3-5 last season and failed to reach the Class 2A playoffs. Pinedale has had just two winning seasons since 2000.

Other Wyoming high schools with new head coaches for 2019 include Kelly Walsh, Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Torrington, Glenrock, Lovell and Big Piney. Other schools looking for new head coaches include Wyoming Indian and Meeteetse. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Big Piney hires Visser to be new head football coach

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Ryan Visser has been chosen to be the new head football coach at Big Piney.

Big Piney activities director Scott Carpenter verified Visser’s hire by the Sublette County School District No. 9 board, which approved Visser in its meeting Tuesday night.

Visser, a native of Preston, Idaho, who graduated from Preston High School in 2011, was an assistant coach for the Preston football team for six years. He coached freshman, JV and varsity levels, working with offense, defense and special teams.

“In that time I worked for three head coaches and I feel like the differences in coaching staffs and philosophy has helped me form my own coaching philosophy and style,” Visser said in an email to wyoming-football.com on Wednesday.

He teaches criminal justice and weightlifting courses at Preston High and will teach social studies at Big Piney.

“My wife and I were impressed with the school, the administration and the impression the town left on us,” Visser said. “We decided heading three hours east would be a great opportunity and adventure.”

Visser will replace Aaron Makelky, who was hired to be the new head coach at Kelly Walsh in March.

Big Piney is coming off back-to-back playoff berths and winning seasons; the Punchers reached the Class 2A semifinals in 2017.

Other Wyoming high schools with new head coaches for 2019 include Kelly Walsh, Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Torrington, Glenrock and Lovell. Other schools looking for new head coaches include Pinedale, Wyoming Indian and Meeteetse. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updated at 7:27 p.m. Wednesday, May 22 with comments from Visser.

Meeteetse coach becomes principal at Riverside

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Matt Jensen, the football coach at Meeteetse the past six seasons, has resigned to become the principal at Riverside Middle/High School in Basin.

Jensen’s hiring at Riverside was reported earlier this month by the Basin Republican-Rustler. He was also the activities director at Meeteetse and taught social studies.

In Jensen’s six years at Meeteetse, the Longhorns never had a losing season. Combined, his teams went 48-16. He led the program to state championship games in 2013 and 2015, winning the title in 2013. The team advanced past the first round of the playoffs in five of Jensen’s six years.

Meeteetse went 7-3 last year and reached the semifinals of the Class 1A six-man playoffs before losing to Burlington.

In an email sent Saturday to wyoming-football.com, Jensen said he appreciated the opportunities coaching at Meeteetse gave him.

“By far, the most rewarding part has been the young men that I was able to coach and those who I was able coach with,” Jensen wrote. “These young men and coaches worked their tails off everyday and believed whole hearted in our overall goal of becoming better men.”

Other schools looking for new head coaches include Big Piney, Pinedale and Wyoming Indian. Meanwhile, Wyoming high schools with new head coaches for 2019 include Kelly Walsh, Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Torrington, Glenrock and Lovell. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Torrington promotes Stienmetz to head coach’s spot

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Russell Stienmetz will be the new head football coach at Torrington, the Torrington Telegram reported Friday.

BREAKING: Torrington High School has a new football coach. 12-year Blazer assistant Russell Stienmetz officially takes over the helm of the Blazer football team. #wyovaristy #wyosports— Andrew Towne (@TTSports_Andrew) April 26, 2019

Stienmetz has been with the Torrington program for 12 years, the Telegram reported.

In an interview with the Casper Star-Tribune, Stienmetz said he called Torrington’s defensive signals for the past nine seasons.

Stienmetz also teaches math at Torrington High School.

He replaces Mark Lenhardt, who will leave Torrington at the end of the school year to take over as the head coach at Rock Springs.

Other Wyoming high schools with new head coaches for 2019 include Kelly Walsh, Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Glenrock and Lovell. Other schools looking for new head coaches include TBig Piney, Pinedale and Wyoming Indian. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Gillette hires Rose as new head coach

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Andrew Rose will be the new head football coach at Gillette.

Rose’s hiring was made official at Tuesday’s meeting of the Campbell County School District No. 1 board.

Gillette has lost 18 consecutive games, making Rose’s job that much tougher. He said via email Wednesday with wyoming-football.com that his plans for rebuilding the Camels’ program start with high expectations, opportunities for success and an overall positive experience.

“The plan moving forward is simple but the task’s complex,” Rose wrote. “(We will) develop a new mindset based on a mixture of old traditions and new traditions. We need to re-establish what it means and what it looks like to be part of a team and have complete buy-in at all levels.”

Rose was an assistant coach for the Camels for the past eight years, working as the freshman team head coach, running backs coach and special teams coordinator. He has also been an assistant track and field coach at Gillette for several years and teaches physical education at CCHS.

A Gillette native, Rose played football and ran track for the Camels, graduating in 2007. He graduated from Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., in 2011 and was on the track and field team.

Rose will replace Micah Christensen, who resigned in January after two seasons as the Camels’ head coach.

Other Class 4A schools with new head coaches for 2019 include Kelly Walsh and Rock Springs. Statewide, Evanston, Glenrock and Lovell have also named new head coaches. Other schools looking for new head coaches include Torrington,Big Piney, Pinedale and Wyoming Indian. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updates: Shoshoni, Morton, Star Valley, Jackson, Midwest, Ten Sleep, Deaver-Frannie, Cowley, Burlington, 1944 all-state team

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Some new info has been added to the site, although some of it raises more questions than it answers:

Added four games to Shoshoni’s 1952 season, all with some missing information and added to the missing games list: Shoshoni’s 12-7 victory against the Thermopolis JV between Sept. 16 and Sept. 20 (location unknown); Shoshoni’s 53-0 victory against Morton between Sept. 30 and Oct. 4 (location unknown); Shoshoni’s 13-13 tie with the Lander JV between Oct. 8 and Oct. 18 (location unknown); and Shoshoni’s 39-0 victory against Morton between Oct. 30 and Nov. 8 in Shoshoni.

Added two games to Star Valley’s 1935 season: a 14-6 loss to Montpelier, Idaho, at Montpelier and an 18-6 victory against Paris, Idaho, at Paris. (Added to the missing games list because dates couldn’t be ascertained beyond the beginning of the season.)

Added two missing games to Cowley’s 1954 season: a game at home against Belfry, Mont., on Sept. 17 and a game at Burlington on Oct. 15. (Added to the missing games list.)

Noted that the Nov. 10, 1950, scheduled game between Star Valley and Jackson was not played.

Noted that the Sept. 8, 1995, game between Ten Sleep and Midwest went into overtime.

Added Deaver-Frannie’s coach for 1953 and 1954; it was Al Ketcham. Also fixed the spelling of Ketcham’s name for the 1952 and 1955 seasons.

Added the first name and fixed the spelling of the last name for Midwest’s coach in 1943; it was Herbert Hilgenfeld. 

Also, thanks to “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, I added the first names for the 1944 all-state team. Thanks, sir!

–patrick

Burton promoted to Evanston’s top football spot

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Jim Burton, an assistant coach for the Evanston football program, has been promoted to the program’s head coaching spot, the Uinta County Herald has reported on social media.

Burton will replace Pat Fackrell, who stepped down in March after nine seasons as the Red Devils’ head coach.

Burton has been an assistant coach with the Red Devils for the past three seasons and was a middle-school coach in Evanston the previous four years, he said via email Tuesday with wyoming-football.com. Prior to that, Burton spent three years coaching at Stansbury High in Utah and three more years coaching at Tooele High, also in Utah.

Burton teaches seventh grade science at Davis Middle School in Evanston.

Evanston activities director Bubba O’Neill said via email that Burton was hired Monday.

Evanston went 6-4 last season and reached the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.

Evanston is the fifth Wyoming school to name a new head football coach for 2019, joining Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs, Glenrock and Lovell. Other schools looking for new head coaches include Gillette, Torrington, Evanston, Big Piney, Pinedale and Wyoming Indian. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updated at 3:47 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, with comments from Burton and O’Neill.

Pinedale searches for new head coach

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Pinedale is searching for a new head coach, as Mitch Espeland resigned after three seasons as the Wranglers’ leader.

Espeland said via email to wyoming-football.com on Friday that he and his wife had accepted jobs in Cody and that he had resigned his football coaching position at the end of March.

Espeland said he is “certainly gonna miss Pinedale but this was a move that was best for the both of us.”

Pinedale activities director Jake Rich said he hoped to fill the position by the end of April. He also wished Espeland well in his transition away from Sublette County.

“He was a great asset to PHS and is going to be greatly missed,” Rich wrote.

Espeland went a combined 10-15 in his three seasons with the Wranglers. They reached the Class 2A playoffs in 2016, Espeland’s first year, to break a string of seven consecutive seasons without a playoff berth, but did not reach the postseason again in either of the next two seasons.

The position is currently open for applications.

Gillette, Torrington, Evanston, Big Piney and Wyoming Indian are also searching for new head coaches for 2019, while Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs, Glenrock and Lovell have already named new head coaches for next season. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Updated 9:32 p.m. April 12 with comments from Espeland.

Rock Springs hires Mark Lenhardt as football coach

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Rock Springs will hire Mark Lenhardt as its new head football coach, pending final approval from the Sweetwater County School District No. 1, the school announced on social media Wednesday.

Lenhardt’s move from Torrington — where he has spent the past eight years as head coach — to Rock Springs was first reported by Andrew Towne of the Torrington Telegram.

Rock Springs High School later confirmed Lenhardt’s anticipated hiring on Facebook.

Lenhardt had led Torrington since 2011, compiling an overall record of 46-31. The Trailblazers had winning seasons in each of the past five seasons and finished as Class 3A runners-up in each of the past two seasons.

The challenge of leading a Class 4A team was appealing, Lenhardt said in the Rock Springs High School Facebook post. Lenhardt played in high school at Cheyenne Central. He previously coached at the University of Mary in North Dakota as a graduate assistant from 2008-10 and at Carroll College in Montana from 2004-07, the school said.

“I am excited at the chance to lead and develop young people into great adults on the field and in the classroom,” Lenhardt also said via the Facebook post.

Rock Springs finished 3-7 last season; the Tigers have had just one winning season (2016) since 2003. Lenhardt will replace David Hastings, who in January resigned after five seasons.

Lenhardt is the second new 4A coach to be hired, joining Aaron Makelky, the new coach at Kelly Walsh. Another Class 4A program, Gillette, is also searching for a new head coach.

Glenrock and Lovell have also named new head coaches for 2019. Torrington, Evanston, Big Piney and Wyoming Indian are searching for new head coaches. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Makelky makes move from Big Piney to Kelly Walsh

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Aaron Makelky, who has been Big Piney’s head football coach for the past seven years, has taken over as head coach at Kelly Walsh.

The Casper Star-Tribune first reported Makelky’s hiring, which he later verified on Twitter:

Makelky was a combined 22-37 in his seven years with the Class 2A Punchers, but he led the team to back-to-back winning seasons and playoff berths in 2017 and 2018. Big Piney reached the 2A semifinals in 2017.

In his Twitter post, Makelky said he will miss his players in Big Piney but also spoke to his future team in Casper.

“I will pour my heart and soul into your future success,” he wrote.

He replaces Jon Vance, who was let go as head coach after eight seasons leading the Trojans. KW finished 3-7 last year and lost in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Makelky previously coached in Bozeman, Montana, and Timber Lake, South Dakota. He will be the head coach for the South squad in the 2019 Shrine Bowl, which will be played in June in Casper.

Glenrock and Lovell have also named new head coaches for 2019, while Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Big Piney and Wyoming Indian are searching for new head coaches. If you know of other head coaching changes statewide, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick