WHSAA will vote on return to Laramie (Casper Star-Tribune).
–patrick
WHSAA delays vote on return to Laramie (Casper Star-Tribune).
Laramie’s first chance at hosting all five state football championship games went about as well as it could have.
Except for the weather.
There wasn’t much the University of Wyoming or the Wyoming High School Activities Association could do about the weather, which, right on cue, struck a mid-November tone. Snow covered the field, and it was deep. Really deep. Remnants from that snow are still hanging around War Memorial Stadium more than a week after the first kickoff.
Given the conditions, the two groups with the most influence (UW and the WHSAA) put on a pretty good show.
Although I haven’t heard a final count on the attendance, crowds were pretty good all weekend. Even if 4,000 or 5,000 people doesn’t look like many in a 30,000-seat stadium, it’s still a good crowd for a high school game. In fact, after the 1A 11-man championship — where the crowd was not very large considering the size of the stadium but huge considering it was a Class 1A game — Southeast coach Mark Bullington said he and his coaches weren’t ready for the noise in the stadium. Never mind what the crowd looked liked and accept it for what it was in all five cases: really good for a neutral-site high school game.
Across the board, players and coaches enjoyed the experience. I covered all five championship games and didn’t hear a single complaint from anyone on the field, even despite the weather. Players and coaches understood that there was only so much that could be done with the weather. It was unrealistic to expect those fields to be clear on Friday, not with how fast the snow was falling.
Of course, home-field advantage was one of the most cited reasons for not moving the games to Laramie. And since last Saturday, the most vocal complaints about the weekend came in two forms — about the weather and about the idea in and of itself.
Weather? OK, I understand the complaint. Laramie in November ain’t Honolulu. Nowhere in Wyoming is. Any of the games in the southeastern corner would have been struck with the same problems that Laramie was last week. Look at today’s weather: low 30s, clouds, but no snow. If you can predict the weather, go work for DayWeather and put your skills to better use.
As for the idea itself… I think it proved itself on Friday and Saturday. This is a good idea. There were no complaints — at least no public complaints — from any of the participants. The only complaints came from people on the fringes of this event, from people that don’t like driving, from people that don’t like brushing the snow off their own seats in the stadium, from people who don’t understand how cool it is for those players to step on the turf at War Memorial Stadium for a surreal experience.
Those who are still against it are nostalgic. And I understand that. I even empathize with it. State football championships are a special event, and it’s hard to let go of that.
The championships at the War do take away the opportunity for a special event at five other Wyoming towns. But those towns’ losses will be the state’s gain. Rather than being five small and separate events for those towns, the War provides a chance for one large event for the entire state.
Wyoming has been described as one small town with long streets. Let’s give the town of Wyoming something to make its own. In time, it will be more special than anything any one community could do.
–patrick
Southeast is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s team of the decade. … Douglas-Cody (Douglas Budget). … Douglas-Cody (Cody Enterprise). … Southeast-Lingle (Torrington Telegram). … Guernsey-Kaycee (Buffalo Bulletin). … Title week in review (Lusk Herald).
–patrick
Despite snow, title games called success (Laramie Boomerang).
Laramie makes best of chance (Casper Star-Tribune). … Douglas-Cody (Douglas Budget). … Thermopolis-Glenrock (Northern Wyo Daily News, click today).
–patrick
Sheridan hadn’t been to the top of the pile since 1995.
But the celebration 14 years in the making was worth the wait.
Playing in an atmosphere best suited for a snow globe — or some kind of awesome, dramatic, snowy Hollywood set — the Broncs won the 4A championship by routing Cheyenne Central 40-15.
The game was Sheridan’s from the start. Kody Williams ran the opening kickoff back 99 yards for a touchdown, Austin Woodward ran for three touchdowns and the Broncs’ speed overwhelmed an Indians defense that had no answer.
Since winning five championships in six years from 1990-95, Sheridan had struggled to reach the top again. The Broncs lost title games in 1996 and 1997, then suffered through nine consecutive losing seasons.
Don Julian took the reins of the program three years ago and immediately made positive strides. Sheridan went 5-4 in 2007 and were 8-2 last year.
Saturday’s snowy victory was the culmination of that effort. And the way the Sheridan fans lingered on the field afterward, it’ll be a victory the community savors for a long time.
Second mad props to the Thermopolis Bobcats, who built a big lead then held off Glenrock to win 22-20 and win their first title since 1992. The Bobcats, led by quarterback Mitch Syverson’s big day (155 rushing yards, 107 passing), led 22-8 heading into the fourth quarter, then survived as Glernock scored a pair of touchdowns but came up short on both two-point conversion attempts.
Glenrock’s conversions were a little weird, too. The first never really had a chance to get started — a fumbled snap turned into trouble right away. The second from the run-first, run-second, run-third Herders was, of all things, a pass. Both came up short — and that was all the room the Bobcats had, and all they needed.
Now, onto the other three, which I picked right — and actually had the chance to watch, because of the Laramie trial championship weekend:
Southeast beat Lingle in the 1A 11-man title game 27-20 in a game that had no completed passes from either team. That stat says something about both the conditions (snowy and cold) and the teams (smashmouth running squads). Southeast benefited from an early lead and some late precision; Lingle played well and had some big plays but not quite enough to overcome the Cyclones, who won their fourth consecutive championship.
Douglas, meanwhile, jumped all over Douglas 44-14. The Bearcats finished with 508-217 yardage advantage and won their 19th consecutive game. Those numbers speak volumes about the type of dynasty coach Jay Rhoades is building in Converse County.
Guernsey won as expected, a 76-16 romp over football newbie Kaycee. The game was never really close — the Vikings scored on their first two plays from scrimmage and rolled up a big lead — 42-0 — by the end of the first quarter. It was 63-8 at halftime. And, really, that’s about all you need to know.
And now for something completely different, some awards for the weekend:
Best run: Sheridan coach Don Julian trying to avoid the ice water bath his team wanted to give him after the Broncs’ 40-15 victory over Cheyenne Central. He did pretty well, actually, avoiding the brunt of the icy bath, but didn’t escape totally….
Best hit(s): Guernsey’s Kevin Boomhower earns this award for back-to-back wind-taking hits on successive plays in the first quarter against Kaycee. Both times, the Buckaroo victims had to be helped from the field.
Best individual game: It’s hard to overlook what Thermopolis’ Mitch Syverson did on Friday. Seventeen carries for 155 yards and two scores; 10-of-18 passing for 107 yards and a score (and no interceptions). Not bad — and he’s only a junior.
Best individual game from the losing side: Even though Kaycee got swamped by Guernsey, Buckaroo sophomore Jordan Largent was in on basically every big play for Kaycee. He scored Kaycee’s first touchdown on a 51-yard pass reception after breaking behind the Guernsey defense and finished with a team-high three catches for 87 yards. He also recovered two fumbles and got credit for the team’s only tackle for loss on the day.
Oddest stat: 0. As in number of passes completed, combined, by Southeast and Lingle. That stat just astounds me — even though it shouldn’t. Both teams love running the ball, and the conditions basically stripped away the effectiveness of both teams’ passing games.
Oddest sequence of plays: Douglas’ first scoring drive. The Bearcats went 44 yards, but needed 13 plays and 5 minutes, 56 seconds to do so. That’s because there were seven penalties in the drive — four on Douglas, three on Cody. It set a trend that lasted all game: Douglas finished with 13 penalties for 118 yards, Cody had 11 for 96. (Runner-up goes to Lingle’s first four offensive plays, on which there were three fumbles. The Doggers recovered them all…)
Best player: Sheridan’s Austin Woodward. The Broncs had a pretty simple game plan, and big No. 4 came through — 23 carries, 152 yards, three touchdowns. He didn’t have as good a day through the air, but the Broncs didn’t need that as much on Saturday night because of what he did with his legs.
Biggest mad props: That goes to the grounds crew at UW. The guys with the shovels and behind the wheels of the vehicles did a commendable job of keeping the playing field as playable as possible — which, especially on Friday, was a tough task. Those crews worked hard into the night on Friday, too, and on Saturday morning the field looked spotless for the 3A title game. Nice work.
I’ll post some more thoughts about the weekend later this week, after I at least START my term papers that will be due all too soon… but don’t wait for me. What did you think of the first football championship extravaganza? Post your thoughts and I’ll chip in, eventually…
This week: 3-2 (60 percent). This season: 237-60 (80 percent — my best in five years!). Overall five-year record: 1,101-344 (76 percent).
–patrick
Douglas-Cody gamer and sidebar; Guernsey-Kaycee gamer and sidebar; Sheridan-Cheyenne Central gamer and sidebar; and weekend notebook (Casper Star-Tribune). … Sheridan-Cheyenne Central (Wyoming Tribune Eagle). … Douglas-Cody and Guernsey-Kaycee (Laramie Boomerang). … Guernsey-Kaycee (Scottsbluff Star-Herald).
–patrick
We’re about five minutes from kickoff in the 3A championship game here in Laramie…. and the weather is just as cold, but a heck of a lot more sunny here at the War. It’d almost be pleasant if it wasn’t 15 degrees.
Anyway, Day 1 was full of some interesting highlights. Southeast beat Lingle 27-20 in a game where neither team completed a pass; Thermopolis built a big lead, then held on to beat Glenrock 22-20. Good stuff all around.
More later. Pose questions throughout the day here if you have them….
–patrick
Cody preview, Douglas preview; Kaycee preview, Guernsey preview; Central-Sheridan rivalry and x-factor; Southeast-Lingle gamer and sidebar; and Thermopolis-Glenrock gamer and sidebar (Casper Star-Tribune). … Central-Sheridan preview (Wyoming Tribune Eagle). … Thermopolis-Glenrock and Southeast-Lingle (Laramie Boomerang). … Southeast-Lingle and Guernsey-Kaycee preview (Scottsbluff Star-Herald).
–patrick