Wheatland goes on the search for new coach

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Wheatland is on the search for a new head football coach.

Cody Bohlander, the Bulldogs’ head coach the past five seasons, resigned in March to pursue a career opportunity outside teaching and coaching, he said in an email to wyoming-football.com on Wednesday.

Bohlander said the new job will afford him more time with his family and will allow him to stay in Wheatland.

“As for now, I do not intend to coach again for the time being,” he wrote. “It was a tough choice to leave football and coaching, but I will forever be grateful for all the kids, coaches, and officials I was able to work with during my time as a coach for Wheatland.”

Wheatland reached the Class 2A semifinals twice in the past five years, in 2018 and 2021. Combined, Bohlander’s Bulldog teams went 27-22.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Glenrock, Guernsey, Saratoga and Wright are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Evanston, Green River, Lander, Riverton and Rocky Mountain have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Wright head coach spot opens as Shankle takes principal’s role

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Adam Shankle, who was Wright’s head coach for the 2022 football season, has resigned to become an assistant principal in Rock Springs.

Shankle will be working with both Sage and Stagecoach elementaries in Rock Springs. His hiring was approved by the Sweetwater County School District No. 1 board on April 11.

Shankle’s Panthers went 2-6 last season and missed the Class 1A nine-man playoffs.

Wright co-activities director and former head coach Larry Yeradi said the timetable for hiring a new head coach is tentative. However, the position opened last week, Yeradi said.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Glenrock, Guernsey and Saratoga are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Evanston, Green River, Lander, Riverton and Rocky Mountain have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Burton makes move to Lander

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Former Evanston head coach Jim Burton will be the new coach in Lander.

Burton’s hiring was approved Tuesday at the Fremont County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees meeting. He will also teach science at Lander.

Burton verified his hiring via email to wyoming-football.com on Saturday.

“We are looking to build on the successes from the previous staff,” Burton said. “The school and staff have been very welcoming and my family and I are all excited to get started.”

Burton was the head coach in Evanston for four seasons and was an assistant coach and middle school coach for seven years prior to that. He also coached in Utah for six years prior to that. With Burton as head coach, the Red Devils were 8-27. In Lander, Burton takes over a program that has made the playoffs each of the past five years but has not won a playoff game since 2004.

He takes over for John Scott, who retired after last season.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Glenrock, Guernsey and Saratoga are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Evanston, Green River, Riverton and Rocky Mountain have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Assistant coach moves up at Evanston

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Steve Moore, who has been an assistant coach with the Evanston football team, will be the Red Devils’ new head coach in 2023.

The news was first shared by the Uinta County Herald on Facebook on Friday, and Moore verified the hiring via email to wyoming-football.com on Saturday.

Moore is an alumnus of Evanston High School, graduating in 1995. He said he has been an assistant coach with the Evanston football and wrestling programs at both the middle and high school levels for 20 years. He teaches social studies at Evanston High. He takes over for Jim Burton, who resigned after four seasons.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Lander, Glenrock, Guernsey and Saratoga are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Green River, Riverton and Rocky Mountain have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Wilson ascends to head coach’s spot at Rocky Mountain

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Former Rocky Mountain player and, more recently, assistant coach Jessee Wilson will take over as the Grizzlies’ head football coach this season.

The move comes as former head coach Richard Despain has resigned to take over as the activities coordinator and athletic director at Powell High School. Despain has taught and coached in the Powell schools for more than 20 years and had been the head football coach at Rocky Mountain since 2016.

Wilson’s hiring was finalized Thursday at the meeting of the Bighorn County School District No. 1 board and was announced Monday on the Rocky Mountain football Facebook page:

Wilson and Despain also confirmed the changes Tuesday via email to wyoming-football.com.

Wilson is a 2011 graduate of RMHS and played football at Dickinson State for a year and the University of Wyoming for three years, where he finished his career. He has been an assistant football coach at Rocky Mountain for seven years, the past two as defensive coordinator, and teaches middle school science at Rocky Mountain.

Under Despain, the Grizzlies went 42-23. The 2020 team picked up the program’s first playoff victory since 2000, and the 2021 team reached the Class 1A nine-man championship game. The Grizzlies were playoff semifinalists in both 2020 and 2022; the program is 23-6 the past three years.

His hiring as Powell’s activities coordinator was approved March 21 by the Park County School District No. 1 board of trustees and will begin with the 2023-24 school year.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Evanston, Lander, Glenrock, Guernsey and Saratoga are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Green River and Riverton have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Wright resigns as Saratoga’s head football coach

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Saratoga head football coach Logan Wright has resigned leading the Panthers but plans to stay in Saratoga.

Wright confirmed his resignation Monday via Twitter message to wyoming-football.com.

The Panthers went 18-20 over the past five years with Wright as head coach, including two years in six-man and three in Class 1A nine-man. Saratoga has gone 3-5 in each of the past three seasons in nine-man.

“I have so many great memories here as the football coach and am excited to see the program continue to grow and find success in the future,” Wright wrote.

Wright, a physical education and health teacher, will stay in Saratoga. Wright said he wanted to “focus on my young and growing family. Coaching is still in my future, but not at this time.”

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Evanston, Lander, Glenrock and Guernsey are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Green River and Riverton have hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Green River names alumnus as its new head coach

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Green River native Blaine Christensen will be the next head coach at his alma mater.

Christensen’s hiring was first reported Thursday by SweetwaterNow.

He comes to Green River after four years as an assistant coach at nearby Rock Springs. In a statement published on SweetwaterNow, Christensen said the opportunities provided by coaching in Green River were hard to pass up.

“As a graduate of Green River High School I know and understand the tradition and pride the community of Green River has,” he wrote. “The ultimate goal is to make sure that anyone involved with the program becomes better husbands, fathers, and employees. Along with making them better people we are also going to compete day in and day out to put a product on the field the community of Green River can be proud of.”

Christensen was an all-state choice for Green River in 2012 and later played at Black Hills State. He is the son of former Rock Springs head coach Jamie Christensen, who led the Tigers to back-to-back state championships in 2001 and 2002.

He takes over for Kevin Cuthbertson, who resigned in November. The Wolves last made the Class 3A playoffs in 2017.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Evanston, Lander, Glenrock and Guernsey are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Riverton has hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Two Wyoming schools look for new head coaches

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Both Glenrock and Guernsey-Sunrise will be in search of new head football coaches this year.

For the fourth time in four years in 2023, Glenrock’s football team will have a new head coach.

Longtime assistant Carl Federer, who took over the team as head coach in 2022, will not return to the position, co-activities director Sharon Tietema confirmed to wyoming-football.com via email Sunday.

The coaching position is listed as accepting applicants on the Converse County School District No. 2 website. Tietema said application review will begin at the end of April.

The Herders went 1-7 last year and did not make the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Previous head coaches recently for Glenrock have included Paul Downing in 2021 and Ryan Collier in 2019-20.

Meanwhile, after seven years as the head football coach at Guernsey-Sunrise, Curtis Cook has resigned.

In an email to wyoming-football.com, Cook said he will stay in Guernsey and continue to coach basketball — Cook took over as the girls head coach for the Vikings this year. Cook said he made the change to spend more time with his family.

Cook finished 24-37 with the Vikings, including five playoff appearances in seven seasons. The Vikings made the transition from Class 1A six-man to Class 1A nine-man last year but finished 0-8, being outscored 529-32.

Statewide, Campbell County, Rock Springs, Evanston, Green River and Lander are also searching for a head coach for next season. Meanwhile, Riverton has hired a new head coach for the 2023 season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Lenhardt makes jump to Riverton from Rock Springs

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Mark Lenhardt, the coach at Rock Springs for the past four seasons, has become the new head football coach at Riverton.

Lenhardt announced the decision Thursday in a letter that was subsequently reported by SweewaterNow and the Rock Springs Rocket-Miner.

In the letter, Lenhardt thanked the administration, assistant coaches, parents and players.

“I love these players, parents and coaches which have made my life so fulfilling,” Lenhardt wrote, “and hopefully they can take something from our experience together to enhance their lives and future.”

Lenhardt, a Cheyenne native, wrote that the move will help him spend more time with his children, Brandon and Bradie, and open up a career opportunity for his wife, Kim.

“For a large part of Kim’s and my marriage she has had to move where my opportunities existed,” Lenhardt said, “and it is time for her career to become more important and watch her chase her career dreams as well.”

Rock Springs went 22-20 under Lenhardt and reached the Class 4A championship game in 2021. Prior to that, Lenhardt coached at then-Class 3A Torrington, going 46-31 over eight seasons and leading the Trailblazers to two 3A title games in his final two seasons.

Riverton, a Class 3A school for football, has had seven consecutive losing seasons and has missed the playoffs the last two years, winning only one game in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Riverton is the first Wyoming program to announce a new head coach for the 2023 season. Statewide, Campbell County, Evanston, Green River and Lander are also searching for a head coach for next season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick

Campbell County seeks new head coach

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The Campbell County Camels will have a new head football coach in 2023.

The Gillette News-Record reported last week that Andrew Rose, who had been the Camels’ head coach the past four seasons, resigned in November.

The Camels had two winless seasons before Rose, a Campbell County alumnus, took over prior to the 2019 season. The program had steady improvement, going 4-6 each of the past two seasons, but did not notch a playoff victory in that time. The Camels finished a combined 11-28 under Rose the past four years.

Statewide, Evanston, Green River, Lander and Riverton are also searching for a head coach for next season. If you know of other head coaching changes in the state, please email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.

–patrick