2024 season wrap-up: Records, streaks, champions, etc.

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Here’s to 2024…

Champions: Sheridan, Star Valley, Big Horn, Pine Bluffs, Snake River.

All-state: Four players joined Wyoming’s small club of three-time all-state selections: Burlington’s Joe Bassett; Lingle’s Louden Bremer and Kaiden Riggs (2023 with Torrington); and Upton-Sundance’s Eli Gill.

Another 42 players made first-team all-state for a second year: Big Horn’s Avon Barney and Kolby Butler; Big Piney’s Caden Clifford; Buffalo’s Hayden Jawors; Burlington’s Rykael Andrew, Jordan Casey and Weston Gotfredson; Campbell County’s Trent Rosenau; Cheyenne Central’s Brycen Bailey; Cody’s Maddax Ball, Wyatt Barton, Chase Hatch, Grady McCarten, Trey Smith and Warren Sorenson; Douglas’ Carter Archuleta; Greybull’s Lucas Bolzer; Lingle’s Anthony Arnusch, Colt Brown and Cooper Smith; Lovell’s Davin Crosby; Lusk’s Raynce Brott and Jackson Smith; Lyman’s Max Gregory; Mountain View’s Justus Platts; Pine Bluffs’ Shawn Shmidl; Powell’s Doug Bettger and Keona Wisniewski; Shoshoni’s Quinton Clark; Snake River’s Bridger Cozzens and Mason Jones; Southeast’s Ayden Desmond and TJ Moats; Star Valley’s Cooper Lawson, Smith McClure, Bryson Nield and Grant Thomson; Thunder Basin’s Cort Catlin and Logan Mendoza; Torrington’s Kaden Romig; Wheatland’s Jake Hyche; and Worland’s Brody Thiel.

Individual records: Star Valley’s Bryson Nield set the state’s 11-man single-season receiving record with 1,283 yards, breaking the old record by 20 yards. Nield also set the single-game record with his 291-yard receiving effort against Powell on Oct. 4. Star Valley’s Smith McClure finished eighth all-time for passing yards in an 11-man season with 2,726. Jackson’s Tyson Kendall finished sixth in 11-man single-game receiving yards with 248 this season against Bear Lake, Idaho.

In six-man, Hulett’s Kyle Smith shattered the single-season passing yards mark with 2,508, breaking the old record by more than 300 yards. Hulett had two receivers crack the top six all-time in six-man receiving yards with Hudson Reilly (third, 1,072 yards) and Ben Harrison (sixth, 910). Smith also finished with three of the top four passing games in six-man history, including a six-man record 519 yards through the air against Midwest. Reilly also set the single-game six-man receiving yards record in that game with 321 receiving yards. Also in six-man, Snake River’s Bridger Cozzens finished second all-time with 2,492 rushing yards this season, and his 482-yard rushing effort — in the championship game against Burlington, no less — was the third-best all-time single-game six-man rushing effort.

Scoring records: As noted a couple times, Wyoming had its combined single-game scoring record broken — destroyed, really — in Midwest’s 94-93 victory against Hulett. The 187 combined points beat the old record by 25 points. Hulett was also involved in the No. 3 all-time scoring game this season in its 85-74 victory (159 combined points) against Hanna in (get this) Midwest. Burlington’s 92-point effort in the first round of the six-man playoffs against Farson tied for second-most points ever by one team in a playoff game. Snake River’s 87 points against Burlington was the most points ever in a championship game. Oh, and Burlington and Encampment tied the state record for most overtimes in a playoff game with three, tying Laramie and Cody from their 1976 Class AA championship classic.

In 11-man, Cody’s 49-42 victory against Douglas in the 3A semifinals ranked as the ninth-highest scoring 11-man playoff game in state history at 91 points.

Streaks: We know the big ones. Sheridan has the new state winning streak record at 43 consecutive games; Cheyenne South holds the new state losing streak record at 47. However, Sheridan has also climbed into a tie for second place with a 29-game home winning streak, while South now has the state record with a 22-game home losing streak.

Snake River and Star Valley now rank second and third, respectively, in consecutive games scoring, with Snake River scoring in 155 straight games and Star Valley in 140. The record is 175.

Cokeville had its 37th consecutive winning season, as well as its 39th consecutive season at .500 or better, both by far state records. Meanwhile, Sheridan continued in second place in the consecutive winning seasons category with its 18th. Laramie also continued its state record streak with its 24th consecutive losing season and tied the state record with its 24th consecutive season at .500 or worse.

Coaching: Both Lyman’s Dale Anderson and Wright’s Larry Yeradi reached the 100-victory mark for their careers this season; they’ll enter 2025 tied for fourth among all active coaches in total victories statewide with exactly 100 apiece. Mountain View’s Brent Walk (97 victories) and Cody’s Matt McFadden (95) could reach the mark next season. Natrona’s Steve Harshman, with 241 victories as head coach at Natrona, continues to lead all active coaches in victories, with 101 more than second-place Chad Goff at Cheyenne East, who has 140. Upton-Sundance’s Andy Garland is third at 116.

Rankings: Star Valley will enter 2025 having been ranked for 93 consecutive weeks, fourth-best all-time. Snake River’s state record of 24 consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 ended this season.

Picks: Oh, yeah. Here are the results of my picks from championship week and this season:

Championship week: 4-1 (80 percent). This season: 239-59 (80 percent). Total over 20 (!) (?) (!) seasons: 4,764-1,125 (81 percent).

By the way, everything from the 2024 season should be uploaded to its respective page. If anything looks weird, wrong, misspelled, in the wrong place, or generally discombobulated, please let me know! I’m at pschmiedt@yahoo.com, or you could publicly call me out with a comment. That works, too. 🙂

–patrick

1926 Wyoming all-state football team added to site

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The 1926 all-state team, one of two missing all-state teams from Wyoming’s football history, has been located.

But the echoes of controversy still ring out on the picks, almost 100 years later.

Finding the team was a challenge in and of itself. Most all-state teams are published at the end of the season. Well, the 1926 all-state team was published significantly later than that, making its appearance in the Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader on Jan. 10, 1927 (hence my delay in finding it; I wasn’t looking in the right time frame).

The team — chosen by “five coaches and two sport writers of Wyoming who have seen all of the teams in action excepting Sheridan and Buffalo” — was heavy on players from Cheyenne and Worland, the two teams who played for the state championship that season, as well as on players from the southeastern corner of the state.

The selections quickly drew criticism from up north, including Sheridan coach Web Wright and Buffalo coach J.R. Strother, who both advocated for Gillette’s Ross, Sheridan’s Wilson and Redhair and Buffalo’s Stevenson, Watt and Burger.

“I have felt ever since coming to Buffalo that there has been a tendency to ignore this part of the state and, as I see it, this section of the state merits consideration with the best schools all over the state — not only in athletics but in other activities as well,” Strother said.

See? Regional rivalries aren’t new. Your favorite team has always been overlooked and under-rated.

The full team is below. It’s also been added to the 1920s all-state teams page and to the all-state database. I’m still trying to find first names for four players from the 1926 team — Midwest’s Curley, Green River’s Davis, Lovell’s Craft and Torrington’s Havenly. Any help on finding those gentlemen’s first names is appreciated!

The only remaining missing all-state team is that from 1932, if it was even chosen.

+++

1926 all-class, all-state football team
As chosen by the staff of the Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader
First team
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Wayne Colvin, RH; Herbert Gage, QB; William Lane, LG; Holland Lyons, LT.
DOUGLAS: Orland Blackburn, FB; Howard Dickson, LE.
MIDWEST: Curley, RE.
WORLAND: Carl Dir, LH; Walt McDonald, C; Sam McPike, RT; Wilbur Wortham, RG.
Second team
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Walter Kingham, RT; Arthur Morgan, LH.
DOUGLAS: Thurlow Peake, C.
LARAMIE: Blake Fanning, RH.
NATRONA: Verle Harlow, RG.
THERMOPOLIS: Clarence Poindexter, LE.
WHEATLAND: (Clayton?) Russell, LT.
WORLAND: Harry Barnes, FB; Alva Hamilton, RE; Jinks Hillberry, LG; Fred Werner, QB.
Honorable mention
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Tom Bradley, FB; Alfred Erickson, E; Herbert Harris, E; John Nimmo, QB.
DOUGLAS: Clarence Slonaker, T.
GREEN RIVER: Davis, QB.
LARAMIE: Don Nolan, HB.
LOVELL: Craft, FB.
NATRONA: Taft Harris, E.
RAWLINS: Bill Engstrom, FB; Michael Pappas, HB.
TORRINGTON: Havenly, HB.
WORLAND: John Werner, HB.

–patrick

All-class, all-state teams: A few relics from the 1970s and 1980s

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One of the important bits of help I had in building all-decade teams were the all-class, all-state teams chosen throughout the years.

Often, those came in the form of Super 25 recognition, started in 1991 as a joint venture between the Casper Star-Tribune and the Wyoming Radio Network.

However, all-class, all-state teams didn’t start with the Super 25. Variously, such teams have been chosen throughout the past century, although their popularity waned as classifications took root in the 1940s.

That said, five other Star-Tribune all-state teams were not only helpful in building some all-decade teams but fascinating to look at from today. In 1972, 1973, 1982, 1983 and 1984 (from what I could find), the CST also chose all-state teams from across all classifications based on position, an early precursor to what became the Super 25.

I thought they were interesting, so I thought I’d share the choices here. Those teams included:

1972 (66 choices)
BASIN: Roger Cowan, 6-0, 195, sr, OG.
BIG PINEY: Mark Mickelson, 6-0, 225, sr, OT; Solon Murdock, 5-10, 165, sr, LB.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Jef Johnson, 6-0, 170, sr, OT; Steve Stowe, 5-9, 168, jr, LB.
CHEYENNE EAST: Greg Federer, 5-4, 145, sr, E; Mike Rafferty, 6-1, 172, jr, QB.
CODY: Ernie Fuller, 6-1, 165, sr, DB.
COKEVILLE: Briant Teichert, 5-6, 130, sr, LB.
COWLEY: Don Strom, 6-3, 190, sr, E.
DOUGLAS: Kent Griffin, 5-8, 170, sr, DB; Larry Shatto, 5-7, 150, sr, DB.
DUBOIS: Mike Hesseltine, 6-3, 236, sr, C.
EVANSTON: Alan Aanerud, 5-11, 160, sr, DB; Bob Hansen, 5-7, 130, sr, DB.
GLENROCK: Fred Hiser, 5-9, 165, sr, LB; Steve Potter, 6-0, 180, sr, OG; Mike Ragan, 5-10, 160, sr, QB.
GUERNSEY-SUNRISE: Greg Putman, 6-1, 185, sr, DE.
KELLY WALSH: Tom Coleman 5-10, 150, sr, DB; Gerry Geldien, 6-2, 180, sr, FB; Marv Jackson, 6-0, 150, jr, LB; Gary Potter, 6-1, 164, sr, DE; Mark Smith, 5-9, 136, sr, DB.
KEMMERER: Mark Borino, 6-2, 217, sr, DT; Joe Feeley, 6-8, 185, sr, HB.
LANDER: Jim Eustace, 6-1, 200, sr, OT; Kirk Lunt, 6-1, 185, sr, E; Mike Milne, 5-11, 155, sr, HB; Jim Svilar, 6-3, 205, jr, DE.
LARAMIE: Jeff Collins, 6-1, 187, sr, DT; Craig Parham, 5-9, 140, sr, HB; Lenny Roehrkasse, 6-0, 155, sr, DB; George Waskovich, 5-10, 150, sr, DE.
LINGLE: John Thomas, 6-0, 175, sr, LB.
LOVELL: John Cassity, 6-0, 165, sr, E.
MOUNTAIN VIEW: Wade Rudy, 5-10, 156, sr, DT.
NATRONA: Dick Fenster, 6-1, 178, sr, DT; Brent Lorimer, 5-11, 187, sr, OT; Roy Renfro, 6-0, 182, sr, DE.
PINEDALE: Loren Springstead, 6-3, 180, jr, OG.
POWELL: Dusty Franklin, 6-0, 170, sr, DB; Kim Frame, 5-11, 160, sr, DB.
RAWLINS: Jim Wells, 5-10, 170, sr, LB.
RIVERTON: Dennis Bishop, 5-11, 190, sr, OG; R.B. Hackbarth, 5-11, 152, sr, E; Scott Komrs, 5-9, 165, jr, OT; Randy Pickinpaugh, 5-8, 167, sr, DB.
SHERIDAN: Greg Filbert, 6-2, 230, sr, FB; Mike Harris, 175, sr, DB; Mark Hendrickson, 5-9, 160, sr, HB; Jim Jurosek, 6-1, 205, sr, OT.
ST. MARY’S: Doug Brown, 6-0, 150, sr, LB.
STAR VALLEY: Ballard Johnson, 6-1, 165, jr, E.
THERMOPOLIS: Dave Haworth, 6-2, 180, sr, C; John Hendryx, 5-89, 155, sr, OG.
TONGUE RIVER: Dennis Brunson, 5-11, 186, jr, HB; Steve Switzer, 5-10, 180, sr, DT.
TORRINGTON: Tom Anderson, 6-0, 210, sr, OG; Ron Brooks, 6-1, 165, jr, FB; Gary Herdt, 6-2, 165, sr, QB; Kelly Sittner, 6-3, 195, sr, LB.
UPTON: Chuck McAulay, 5-9, 170, sr, HB; Cecil Strong, 5-10, 185, sr, DE.
WHEATLAND: Rex Johnson, 6-2, 190, sr, C.
WORLAND: Don Love, 6-0, 180, sr, DT.

1973 (26 choices)
COWLEY: John Wilson, 170, sr, CB.
GLENROCK: Blair Hershey, 225, sr, OT.
GREEN RIVER: Stan Owens, 210, sr, DE; Bruce Parker, 170, sr, OG.
GUERNSEY-SUNRISE: Mark Gorman, 170, jr, LB; Dennis Reffalt, 205, jr, DE.
JACKSON: Gary Clinkenbeard, 190, sr, S.
KELLY WALSH: Neil Grandbouche, 165, sr, TE; Les Jackson, 145, sr, S. 
KEMMERER: Jerry Dolar, 180, sr, QB; Steve Dover, 180, sr, RB.
LANDER: Jim Svilar, 206, sr, OG.
LARAMIE: Mike Gerard, 135, sr, WR; Terry Martin, 185, sr, NG.
LINGLE: Joe Kinnan, 210, sr, OT.
NATRONA: Bruce Gonce, 160, sr, P; Chuck Wilson, 165, jr, LB.
PINEDALE: Chuck McAdam, 190, sr, C.
POWELL: Nevin Jacobs, 190, sr, K.
RIVERTON: Dirk Bush, 187, jr, FL.
ROCK SPRINGS: Jerry Fennell, 190, sr, K.
TONGUE RIVER: Dennis Brunson, 187, sr, RB; Mike Hille, 230, sr, DT.
TORRINGTON: Ron Brooks, 175, sr, CB; Byron Grapes, 240, sr, DT.
WHEATLAND: Randy Kennicut, 165, sr, RS.

1982 (25 choices)
BURNS: David Petsch, 5-10, 165, jr, DB.
BYRON: Brian Ballard, 6-2, 215, sr, NG.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Scott Romsa, 6-2, 205, sr, C.
COKEVILLE: Ed Delgado, 5-9, 150, sr, K; Scott Ferguson, 6-1, 210, sr, DT.
JACKSON: Tom Basye, 6-3, 190, sr, RB; Scott Coonce, 6-4, 215, sr, OT.
KELLY WALSH: Jim McAnulty, 6-3, 165, (??), DB.
LARAMIE: Troy Gillum, 5-10, 155, sr, KR; Vaughn Spiegelberg, 5-8, 183, sr, LB.
MOORCROFT: Rock Mirich, 6-3, 200, sr, LB.
NATRONA: David Browning, 6-2, 180, jr, P.
NEWCASTLE: Mike Gregory, 6-2, 235, sr, OG.
RAWLINS: Sam Earl, 6-3, 180, sr, DB; Dwayne Weythman, 6-3, 195, sr, OT; Mike Wilcox, 6-1, 205, sr, OG.
RIVERTON: Jim Price, 6-0, 195, sr, DE.
SARATOGA: David Jones, 5-10, 160, sr, RB.
SHERIDAN: Pat Keith, 6-1, 190, sr, TE; Marc Martini, 5-11, 170, sr, QB; John Mitchell, 6-1, 215, sr, DT; Tom Weber, 5-9, 205, sr, DE.
STAR VALLEY: Todd Spencer, 5-10, 185, sr, DB.
WHEATLAND: Dean Dick, 6-4, 190, sr, FB; Andy Jones, 6-1, 165, jr, SE.

1983 (25 choices)
BUFFALO: Scott Studie, 6-2, 240, jr, OT.
BURNS: David Petsch, 5-11, 170, sr, RB; Ardie Wardell, 6-2, 195, sr, DE.
CAMPBELL COUNTY: Dan Hays, 6-4, 210, jr, QB; Rich Klein, 6-4, 210, sr, TE.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Pat Brinkman, 6-0, 160, sr, DB; David Edeen, 6-5, 210, sr, DT; Gordon Knopp, 6-4, 305, sr, OT; Andre Rudolph, 5-11, 175, jr, RB.
EVANSTON: Brent Sanders, 5-11, 170, sr, RB.
KELLY WALSH: Grant Koenekamp, 5-10, 170, sr, C; J.R. Robinson, 5-89, 155, sr, DB.
KEMMERER: Jon Cogdill, 6-5, 235, jr, DT.
LARAMIE: Frank Ahrenholtz, 5-10, 175, sr, OG; Andy Swanson, 5-10, 155, jr, K.
LYMAN: Vince Palmassano, 6-2, 200, sr, NG.
PINEDALE: Mike Davis, 5-9, 185, sr, LB.
SHERIDAN: Kip Halverson, 6-4, 200, sr, DB; Chuck Johnson, 6-7, 200, sr, SE; Tom Kilpatrick, 6-3, 190, sr, P; John Will, 5-9, 150, sr, LB.
STAR VALLEY: Casey Erickson, 5-8, 155, sr, KR; Orrin Schwab, 6-2, 200, sr, DE.
UPTON: Walt Riehemann, 5-9, 150, sr, DB.
WHEATLAND: Dean Finnerty, 6-1, 215, sr, OG.

1984 (25 choices)
BUFFALO: Scott Studie, 6-4, 250, sr, OL.
CAMPBELL COUNTY: Troy Lake, 6-0, 225, sr, C; Flint McCullough, 6-11, 225, jr, DL.
CHEYENNE CENTRAL: Jeff Lansing, 5-9, 175, sr, LB; Tony Lowham, 6-2, 180, sr, NG; Andre Rudolph, 5-11, 180, sr, RB.
CODY: John McDougall, 6-3, 190, jr, DB; Shawn Wehrer, 6-3, 240, sr, OL.
DUBOIS: Kal Jepson, 5-6, 140, sr, DB.
KELLY WALSH: Todd Brichacek, 6-2, 185, sr, DB; Sean Simmons, 5-6, 140, sr, DB.
KEMMERER: Jon Cogdill, 6-5, 265, sr, DL.
LARAMIE: Mark Douglas, 5-10, 145, sr, DL; Terrace Vaughn, 6-4, 243, sr, RB; Jay Wright, 6-3, 220, sr, OL.
MIDWEST: Greg Hoff, 5-7, 135, sr, KR.
NATRONA: Lance Banks, 6-2, 185, sr, TE; Bill Brenton, 5-9, 185, sr, LB.
POWELL: Scott Wagner, 6-2, 205, sr, DL.
RAWLINS: Jerry Smith, 6-1, 165, sr, SE.
RIVERTON: Todd Brown, 5-10, 170, sr, K; Ken Crouse, 6-3, 200, sr, P.
SHERIDAN: Brian Conley, 6-4, 200, sr, OL; Tom Kilpatrick, 6-4, 190, sr, QB.
WHEATLAND: Duncan Irvine, 5-10, 185, sr, RB.

–patrick

2023 Wyoming all-state football teams released

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The 2023 all-state football teams, released Monday by the Wyoming Coaches Association, have been added to the all-state listings.

Five players made their third first-team all-state squads. Dubois’ Wyatt Trembly, Encampment’s Quade Jordan, Meeteetse’s Joseph Pina, Snake River’s Seth Maxson and Wind River’s Cooper Frederick were named all-state for the third time in their careers. Trembly and Jordan are the first three-time all-state selection to come from their respective schools.

Two-time first-team selections included Big Horn’s Kiefer Dunham and Drew Heermann; Big Piney’s Karsyn Gurr and Reuben Stoutenberg; Buffalo’s Will Hammond; Burlington’s Joe Bassett; Campbell County’s Levi Palmer; Cheyenne East’s Kolbe Dierks, Cam Hayes, Drew Jackson, Nathan Mirich and Colby Olson; Dougas’ Trey Rinn and Tegen Seeds; Encampment’s Ryon Miller and Kaben Pickett; Evanston’s Cohen Morrow and Brady Roberts; Kaycee’s Vaun Pierson; Lingle’s Louden Bremer; Lovell’s Jared Mangus; Lyman’s Carter Bradshaw and Morgan Hatch; Mountain View’s Carson Eardley and Jayce Schultz; Powell’s Trey Stenerson; Sheridan’s Dane Steel; Snake River’s Isaiah Skalberg; Star Valley’s Jayden Crook, Jesse Gibson and Clay Merritt; Tongue River’s Colter Hanft and Caleb Kilbride; Torrington’s Ty Bennick and Kaiden Riggs; and Upton-Sundance’s Eli Gill.

All of the two-time selections except for Bassett, Bremer, Riggs and Gill are seniors. Riggs was all-state last year at Lingle.

Two freshmen — Lusk’s Raynce Brott and Newcastle’s Landon Hatheway — were named all-state.

If any names are misspelled among the all-state listings, please let me know and I will update it as soon as I can.

–patrick

What’s in a name? Different dudes, similar accolades for Wyoming football players.

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There have been 106 total cases in Wyoming’s high school football history where players with the same names ended up as all-state selections. Most were coincidence — not everyone has a unique name. Some were father-son senior/junior situations. And some were just plain weird.

In four cases, players with the same name made the all-state team in the same year for different teams:

  • Clay Cundall: Made the all-state teams for both Greybull and Guernsey-Sunrise in 2009.
  • Shawn Kelley: Made the all-state teams for both Cody and Dubois in 1994.
  • Mike Williams: Made the all-state teams for both Natrona and Kemmerer in 1971.
  • Phil Martin: Made the all-state teams for both Buffalo and Lingle in 1970.

An honorable mention here goes to the two Larry Sessions from 1960; Moorcroft Larry was an all-state honorable mention in Class B eight-man in 1959 as an underclassman and was all-conference in 1960. Byron Larry was an all-state selection in B 11-man in both 1960 and 1961.

Meanwhile, the most common name for an all-state football player in Wyoming is Mike Johnson; mentioning “Mike Johnson” always has to come with the caveat of “Which one?” Some of the more common names for all-state selections:

  • Mike Johnson: Six Mike Johnsons have been all-state: The Byron one (1964), the Thermopolis one (1969-70), the Bow-Basin one (1976), the second Thermopolis one (1978), the Southeast one (1979-80) and the Wheatland one (1997-98).
  • Bob Johnson: Four Bob Johnsons have been all-state: The Natrona one (1954), the Rock Springs one (1959), the Huntley one (1965) and the Wheatland one (1973). There was also a Rob Johnson (Tongue River 2005-07).
  • Bob Wilson: Four Bob Wilsons have been all-state: The Sheridan one (1952), the Big Piney one (1958-59), the Glenrock one (1965) and the second Big Piney one (1979).
  • Jim Anderson: Four Jim Andersons have been all-state: The Douglas one (1960), the Natrona one (1967), the Cheyenne East one (1973) and the Laramie one (1979).
  • Bill Miller: Three Bill Millers have been all-state: The Cheyenne Central one (1958), the Cowley one (1965) and the Campbell County one (2003). There was also a Will Miller (Campbell County, 2020-21).
  • Don Anderson: Three Don Andersons have been all-state: The Cody one (1946), the Greybull one (1961-62) and the Ten Sleep one (1988).
  • Don Miller: Three Don Millers have been all-state: The Natrona one (1935), the Cheyenne Central one (1954) and the Burlington one (1987).
  • Mike Smith: Three Mike Smiths have been all-state: The Kemmerer one (1973), the Rawlins one (1974-75) and the Ten Sleep one (1983-84).
  • Mike Thompson: Three Mike Thompsons have been all-state: The Cody one (1982-83), the Cheyenne Central one (1988) and the second Cody one (2007).

Note that these lists don’t account for all possible first name variants such as Bob/Robert, Mike/Michael, etc. But it’s a pretty close approximation.

You can explore the all-state listings for yourself using the new searchable and sortable all-state database, which includes all selections from 1920 to 2022, minus the three all-state teams that have yet to be found (1926 all-class, 1932 all-class and 1994 1A nine-man).

–patrick

So, Wyoming’s missing 1930 all-state football team turns up in a 1957 Nebraska newspaper…

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One thing that constantly amazes me is that no matter how much research I do into Wyoming’s sports history, I always keep finding more interesting things.

The latest? Wyoming’s 1930 all-state football team, published in a Nebraska newspaper published in 1957.

Yep, you read that right.

The 1930 all-state team was one of just a handful of missing all-state teams on wyoming-football.com, a list that now includes only the all-class teams from 1926 and 1932 and the elusive 1994 Class 1A nine-man team.

But I did not expect to find the 1930 all-state team the way I did, published in an out-of-state paper nearly 30 years after the season was done.

In doing research for a big project (details coming, maybe this summer), I fell into a deep dive of looking into Sheridan’s 1930 championship team. I started looking into a few of the players, particularly guys like Raymond “Jeff” Doyle, Sheridan’s speedy halfback; center Rusty Thompson; and end Clarence Brokaw. They were cornerstones of the Broncs’ team that beat Laramie (and later Cody) for the championship in the final year before state-sanctioned playoffs and the formation of the Wyoming High School Activities Association.

When I threw their names into a search on newspapers.com — a subscription made possible by the site sponsors (thank you!) — I stumbled into a column from the Oct. 29, 1957, edition of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald in Nebraska from Bill Madden. More on him in a bit.

In that column, Madden said the upcoming game between Scottsbluff and Laramie would be his first time seeing the Plainsmen since 1930, when he was a boy in Sheridan and the Plainsmen came north for a key game. He then went into detail on the 1930 game between the Plainsmen and Broncs, which for all intents and purposes decided the state championship, and those who played in it. Madden said the rosters included five all-staters from Sheridan (Doyle, Thompson, Brokaw, guard Clint Endicott and tackle Albert Husman) and two from Laramie (end Lester Forsyth and fullback Wes Christenson).

But in addition, he also mentioned the other four players named all-state that year: tackle Dan Sedar and quarterback Porter Davis of Natrona, guard Fay Thompson of Midwest, and halfback Don Tottenhoff of Cheyenne Central.

That’s 11 guys. An all-state team from that era only had that many. I double-checked the names in other publications and yearbooks I could access online, and the list looks legit. No unexpected names here.

However, Madden didn’t cite his source, which is always a big question in research like this. After looking into his career, though, if there’s one Nebraska journalist whose word we can trust on matters like this, it’s Madden’s.

Madden grew up in Sheridan an avid sports fan and attended Hastings College in Nebraska. From 1955 to 1974, Madden was a sportswriter for the Scottsbluff Star-Herald; he then moved on to the nearby Gering Courier, where he stayed until he retired in 1991.

He was named to the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1996; his bio said he was “a noted historian of high school athletics.” In reading a selection of Madden’s work, it’s easy to draw comparisons to Chuck Harkins, Casper Star-Tribune sports editor in the 1970s and the one person who has taught me more about Wyoming sports than anyone else I’ve never met. Madden died in 1997.

In his 1957 pontifications of a 1930 football game and the all-state players in it, Madden didn’t need to cite a source because he was the source. That’s good enough for me.

The 1930 all-state team is now listed among this site’s all-state listings — with any luck, never to be lost again.

–patrick

2022 Wyoming high school football all-state honors released

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Seven three-time selections highlighted the Wyoming Coaches Association’s 2022 all-state football teams, released Sunday.

The all-state listings were first published by WyoPreps.

Three-time selections included Cody’s Matt Nelson and Luke Talich, Lusk’s Dayne Lamp; Lyman’s McKoy Smith; Pine Bluffs’ Stu Lerwick and Diego Paniagua; and Rocky Mountain’s Nate Minemyer. All are seniors.

Another 43 players were selected all-state for a second time. Two-time first-team all-state selections included Big Horn’s Cooper Garber; Buffalo’s Blake Bell; Burlington’s Seth Wardell; Cheyenne Central’s Keagan Bartlett; Cheyenne East’s Trevor Eldridge and Garet Schlabs; Cody’s Grayson Beaudrie, Remy Broussard, Jace Grant and Jackson Schroeder; Cokeville’s Cael Thompson and Landon Walker; Douglas’ Karson Ewing; Dubois’ Wyatt Trembly and Ryan Wells; Encampment’s Quade Jordan; Glenrock’s Logan Jones; Greybull’s Jake Schlattmann; Lander’s Matisse Weaver; Lyman’s Braydon Bradshaw; Meeteetse’s Joseph Pina; Natrona’s Breckin McClintock; Pine Bluffs’ Ryan Fornstrom and Dalton Schaefer; Rock Springs’ Carter McBurnett; Rocky Mountain’s Carsyn Weber; Sheridan’s Colson Coon; Shoshoni’s Cannon Campbell, Korbin Dewitt, Trey Fike, Dom Jarvis, Jaxon Stanley and Pehton Truempler; Snake River’s David Hernandez, Seth Maxson, Hadley Myers and Kannadis Peroulis; Star Valley’s Derek Astle; Wind River’s Cooper Frederick, Tucker Jensen and Calder Johnson; and Worland’s Brock Douzenis and Kade Weber.

All players but Weaver and Douzenis were 2021 first-team selections; Weaver and Douzenis were chosen in 2020.

Of the two-time selections group, Trembly, Jordan, Pina and Frederick are juniors; the rest are seniors.

Full all-state listings for this year are available here. If any names are misspelled, please let me know; leave a comment on this post, and I’ll get it fixed.

Full listings of Wyoming’s all-state teams by decade back to 1920 are here.

–patrick

All-state at two schools: How rare is that?

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Making an all-state football team is a challenge.

Making an all-state football team as an underclassman is even more challenging.

Making an all-state football team as an underclassman and then making all-state again after changing schools, though, is so rare that the number of incidents in Wyoming where that’s happened can be counted on two hands — and you’d still have fingers left over.

One player in Wyoming will be trying to do just that this year, as Dom Kaszas, an all-state selection at wide receiver for Sheridan last year, will play his senior year at Cheyenne East.

An examination of the 11,060 all-state selections on wyoming-football.com shows that Kaszas’ attempt, if successful, will accomplish something only a handful of players have ever done — reach all-state status with two separate Wyoming football programs.

The list of names is short — eight for sure, and one more maybe where I need to get your help.

The eight players who have done this before, in reverse chronological order:

  • Josh Dawson, Jackson/Star Valley: Dawson was an all-state selection as a sophomore at Jackson in 2015, then finished his career at Star Valley as a junior and a senior, where he was all-state both in 2016 and 2017.
  • Jordan Roberts, Campbell County/Sheridan: Roberts’ transfer might be the most famous in state history. He was an all-state running back at Campbell County as a sophomore and a junior in 2009 and 2010. He then moved to Sheridan as a senior, where he set the state’s all-time single-season rushing record (2,688 yards), which still stands.
  • Devin Wilson, NSI/Moorcroft: Wilson, a junior, was a Class 1A all-state selection while playing at NSI in 2007; the next year, Wilson was a Class 3A all-state selection while playing at Moorcroft in 2008.
  • Boyd McMaster, Big Horn/Lusk: McMaster was a second-team 1A all-stater as a junior at Big Horn in 1986 and a first-team 2A all-state pick in 1987 as a senior at Lusk. Both times, he was chosen to positions on the defensive line.
  • Ron Cathcart, Greybull/Lander: Cathcart was a Bighorn Basin star as a junior with Greybull, notching an honorable mention to the Class A all-state team in 1962 at guard. Then he transferred to Lander for his senior year, earning Class AA honorable mention all-state honors at tackle in 1963 with the Tigers.
  • Larry Dickman, Shoshoni/Morton: Dickman’s journey is one of the most interesting I’ve ever seen. As a sophomore, he played at Morton; as a junior in 1962, he was at Shoshoni, where he was honorable mention to the Class B 11-man all-state team as a guard. Then, as a senior, he went back to Morton, where he was a 1963 Class B first-team all-state guard.
  • Larry Kellner, Hulett/Upton: A running back, Kellner was a Class B eight-man honorable mention selection to the all-state team as a sophomore with the Red Devils in 1961. His junior and senior years, though, he played at Upton, where he earned first-team Class B all-state honors in both 1962 and 1963.
  • John Turner, Saratoga/Evanston: Turner was a second-team all-state selection in the Class B eight-man division while playing at Saratoga in 1961; he was also a heck of a basketball player and was team MVP. As a senior, though, he played at Evanston, earning first-team Class A all-state recognition as an end.

One other instance of a possible transfer has popped up, but I have yet to prove anything definitively on whether they’re the same person or two people with the same name in similar times:

  • Matt Miller, Kemmerer/Big Piney: There was a Matt Miller, a junior, who was a Class A all-state selection at offensive tackle at Kemmerer in 1979; there was a Matt Miller who was a Class B first-team all-state selection at offensive and defensive tackle at Big Piney in 1980. Again, I don’t know if they’re the same guy.

If you, dear reader, can provide any insight on this case, leave a comment on this post!

–patrick

Updated Sept. 22, 2023, to indicate Wilson as a two-school selection after initially listing him as uncertain.

Updates: All-state

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I was able to add a couple more first names to the all-state listings thanks to some help — Cindy Asay in Lovell hooked me up with some first names of Lovell players, and Andrew Towne at the Torrington Telegram chipped in some Torrington first names.

Update: Thanks to those of you who left comments below to help — they were valuable! And another big thanks to the Stat Rat, Jim Craig, for helping me find the others so far.

Update 2, Sept. 4, 2022: With some more help from the Stat Rat, we are down to only six first names that are still missing. I’ve cleaned up the list below to remove names that have been found.

Thanks for the help!

And here’s a list of the first names I’m still missing for all-state selections, by school:

Buffalo
1929: Metcalf

Douglas
1922: F. Rice

Lovell
1925: Brosheaus (maybe Brosious)

Midwest
1935: Barsh

Thermopolis
1925: Guffey

University Prep
1920: Sonners

–patrick

Updates: Campbell County, Buffalo, Torrington, Jackson, Pinedale, Ranchester, Reliance, all-state

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Some recent site updates, thanks to new information I found through yearbooks and old press clippings:

Torrington beat Lyman, Neb., 34-6 on Nov. 8, 1934, in Torrington.

Noted that the game between Oct. 13 and 16, 1943, between Buffalo and Campbell County was played in Gillette; it’s still on the missing games list because I have yet to pin down a date.

Noted that the Oct. 15, 1966, game between Jackson and the Rock Springs JV was canceled due to snow.

Noted that the Oct. 9, 1956, game between Reliance and Pinedale and the Oct. 11, 1940, game between Ranchester and Big Horn were not played.

Noted that Ranchester’s coach in 1948 was Bert Johnston, not Silas Lyman.

Updated Campbell County’s coaches for 1943. The Camels actually used three coaches that season — Chet Bowen for the first game, Ray Ritter for the next three games, and Ben Dobbs for the final four games. It was war times.

Corrected the spelling for Campbell County’s coach from 1950-52; it was Albert Consbruck.

I’m also working on a separate all-state project, and in that work I’ve corrected a handful of misspellings or players listed with the wrong team in all-state listings. I’ve also added about a half-dozen first names for players who were missing those names on lists. I’m still missing 50 first names on all-state teams from 1920 to 1936.

All of the updates have been made on all the relevant pages.

–patrick

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