Category Archives: Picks

For two schools just 23 miles and a couple dozen students apart, Lingle and Guernsey-Sunrise have taken decidedly different paths since the last time they played football against each other.

The longtime rivals haven’t faced each other since Oct. 3, 2008 — the last game between the two before the Vikings left for the new six-man classification.

Since then, they’ve both found success in separate ways. Lingle has advanced to the 1A 11-man playoff semifinals five times, finishing once as runner-up (2009). Guernsey-Sunrise has won a pair of state championships at the 1A six-man level, going undefeated in 2009 and 2014.

Now that Lingle has made the move to six-man, the North Platte valley rivalry can renew once again.

And what a rich rivalry it is.

From 1952 to 2008, the Doggers and the Vikings/Longhorns/Miners played each other every season, and Lingle also played Guernsey in 1951. They stayed joined despite shifting play structures, playing in six-man together from 1951-56, eight-man from 1957-63 and 11-man from 1964-2008 (playing each other even through Lingle’s dip into nine-man in 1989 and 1990 and Guernsey-Sunrise’s hybrid nine-man season in 1998).

However, Lingle and Guernsey didn’t play each other from 1940-50, when Guernsey moved to six-man football but Lingle stayed in 11-man; Sunrise and Lingle had a similar gap from 1941-50.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

After seven years apart, the Vikings and Doggers renew their rivalry on Friday in Lingle. In the terms of the 2016 season, this game represents an opportunity for one of the two teams to get back on track; both teams lost their season openers Saturday.

In terms of history, though, this game has much bigger implications for a rivalry that’s been dormant for far too long.

Now that Lingle and Guernsey-Sunrise are again in the same classification, they might be back together on each other’s schedules for another 56 consecutive years.

Other games I’ll be watching closer than others this week, because attention is finite and I must devote my brain’s resources accordingly: Obviously, East-South is the marquee game in Class 4A this week. South is 2-0 (and after the last few years, the Bison deserve it) and East is one two-point conversion away from 2-0. If South can somehow pull this one off, my goodness, I think the good folks south of I-80 in Cheyenne will be ready to make coach Dan Gallas the mayor. Or the governor. … Rawlins-Green River is the only 3A game that pits two undefeated teams. Arguably, Green River’s one W is more impressive than Rawlins’ two, but I’m interested to see if the Outlaws can push the Wolves and maybe pull the surprise. … Bridger Valley Bowl, Mountain View-Lyman, is always worth your attention. Even though Mountain View won and Lyman lost last week, I thought both teams had eye-catching Week 1 outings — Mountain View limiting 1A Cokeville, Lyman hanging tough with 3A Rawlins. … Rocky Mountain was impressive in its opener, beating Kemmerer by 40. The Grizzlies, for their success, get to play Upton-Sundance in Week 2. Maybe, just maybe, the Griz will be better than we think? … Shoshoni travels to Yoder to play Southeast in the biggest revenge game of the week. Southeast, of course, ended Shoshoni’s undefeated season in the 1A 11-man quarterfinals last week. The Wranglers would love to exact some measure of revenge; the Cyclones would love to show their victory was no aberration. … The two best teams in six-man last week may have been Burlington (winners by 70) and Farson (surprisingly easy winners on the road against a good Guernsey-Sunrise team). It doesn’t seem right that they play so soon in the schedule. It’s got all the feeling of a Week 8 potential conference-championship-deciding kind of game.

Here’s what I think will happen this week, with the teams I think that will finish with more points than their opposition in bold:

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Gillette
Cheyenne East at Cheyenne South
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
Big Piney at Lovell
Burns at Big Horn
Greybull at Kemmerer
Mountain View at Lyman
Newcastle at Moorcroft
Thermopolis at Glenrock
Wheatland at Pinedale
Class 1A 11-man
Pine Bluffs at Wind River
Rocky Mountain at Upton-Sundance
Saratoga at Lusk
Shoshoni at Southeast
Tongue River at Wyoming Indian
Class 1A six-man
Guernsey-Sunrise at Lingle
Midwest at Normative Services
Snake River at Riverside
Saturday
Class 1A 11-man
Wright at Cokeville
Class 1A six-man
Burlington at Farson
Kaycee at Hanna
Meeteetse at Dubois
Rock River at Hulett
Ten Sleep at St. Stephens

Picks last week were respectable; I’m climbing out of the awful hole I dug for myself in Zero Week. That said, to the teams I did not pick to win, a short message: Upsets make me happy. Prove me wrong, and I’ll be the first to praise you. So, by all means, prove me wrong! No bitterness on this end…

Last week: 27-6 (82 percent) This season: 34-12 (74 percent).

Which game has YOU excited for Week 2? Many teams begin conference play this week… Which game catches your attention as a key game to start a conference slate? Leave a thought below and we can talk about the start of something cool.

–patrick

A little distance but a lot of time separate the football programs in Newcastle, Upton and Sundance.

Only 28 miles separate Newcastle and Upton, and only 46 separate Newcastle and Sundance. In football, though, they may as well have been across the globe from each other.

Despite being so close, Newcastle hasn’t played Upton or Sundance all that recently, even though the Dogies have had traditional rivalries with both schools dating back to the early days of football in Wyoming.

Newcastle and Upton have played each other 40 times, but not at all since 1982. And Newcastle and Sundance have played each other 31 times, but only once since 1954.

However, both rivalries come back on Friday thanks to the Upton-Sundance Patriots. Friday’s game between the Patriots and Dogies could represent the start of a regional rivalry — one with its roots both in the past and in the existing framework of football in the state’s northeast corner.

The Upton-Sundance co-op is in a different classification from Newcastle (Upton-Sundance is 1A 11-man, Newcastle is 2A), but it’s not like the players are unfamiliar to one another. These programs play each other at the junior-high level before separating for high school. So the regional bragging rights in this one will be big.

Both teams come in hot, too, after winning-cross border battles against South Dakota foes in Zero Week. Newcastle opened its season by pasting Custer, S.D., 48-2; Upton-Sundance throttled Lead-Deadwood, S.D., 56-0.

Upton-Sundance is the defending Class 1A 11-man champion and has hopes for a repeat. Newcastle went 3-6 last year but, as the Custer game showed, the Dogies may be a surprising squad in the 2A East.

At least for one night, the programs will have the chance to renew their long-dormant rivalries — and start a new one in the process.

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Other games I’m watching closely this week: Cheyenne South at Cheyenne Central. Both the Bison and the Indians are 1-0; South won its season opener for the first time in program history, and Central became just the second team in Wyoming history to win a game by scoring exactly five points. It’s the only 1-0 vs. 1-0 game in 4A this week. … Green River at Riverton. Both of these teams are eager to prove they can hang with 3A’s best. The winner of this game will have a lot more valid claim — although Riverton won this game last year and Green River played for the 3A title. So go figure. … I’m really curious to see how Lingle and Snake River match up on Saturday in Lingle’s first six-man game since 1956. This might be a game that Snake River wins in Week 1 but Lingle wins in Week 8, after the Doggers gain some six-man experience. … Finally, St. Stephens travels to Rock River, and the Eagles just might get their first varsity victory in three-plus seasons of play. Rock River hired its coach at the end of last week and only has seven players. The Longhorns will still put up a fight, but the potential ingredients are there for an Eagle streak-stopper.

The picks for the week are below, and the teams in bold are the teams I’m predicting will win. For a full season schedule with kickoff times, click here.

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

Wright has already defeated Wyoming Indian by forfeit this week; the Panthers play the Kelly Walsh sophomores Friday in Casper.

Here’s to hoping I can improve on my Zero Week pick accuracy. It was a rough start. My tallies so far:

Last week: 7-6 (54 percent). This season: 7-6 (54 percent).

One last plea, inspired by a conversation with my dad last week: People in Casper have a cool opportunity to support Natrona County’s smallest high school football team this fall with Midwest scheduled to play its home games “in town.” I sincerely hope the people of Casper will embrace the chance to (1) see some six-man football and learn something new about the game and (2) support a group of students going through a season in difficult circumstances. Midwest’s first game is at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Natrona.

Which teams do YOU think are ready to make a big showing in Week 1? Post a comment, or head over to the Wyoming-football.com Facebook or Twitter, and let’s talk!

–patrick

No Class 4A team is more interesting this season than Rock Springs.

The Tigers went 5-5 last season — exactly middle-of-the-pack kind of stuff. But, boy, was it interesting.

Of Rock Springs’ 10 games, eight were decided by a possession or less. The Tigers won those close games against teams below them in the standings (14-13 against Laramie, 28-21 against Kelly Walsh, 28-27 against Evanston, 50-47 against Cheyenne South) and lost those close games against teams above them (13-7 against Cheyenne East, 20-12 against Sheridan, 19-14 against Natrona, 14-13 against East again).

That dichotomy — playing close against both the best and worst 4A teams in the state — made Rock Springs an intriguing team to watch in 2015. With a significant crew of players coming back from that squad, many people, including yours truly, think this can be the Tigers’ breakthrough season.

The first test? East: The team that beat Rock Springs twice by a combined seven points last season.

Conveniently, Rock Springs hosts East on Friday to open the season.

If Rock Springs can beat East, it may signal a shift in 4A’s power structure. Since 2011, Gillette, Cheyenne East, Natrona and Sheridan have been a combined 136-4 against the other six teams in the classification.

The Tigers know what they’re facing. They haven’t beaten a Big Four team since beating East in 2011, one of the four in that 136-4. They’ve come close, though, as last year showed.

Playing close is a good start, but last year, close ultimately went down as an “L” too many times for the Tigers to make that jump from middle-of-the-pack to title contender.

Last year, Rock Springs stormed the Big Four castle, but only got as far as tearing down the fence around the castle. For the Big Four, the Tigers were frustrating, and they exposed some weaknesses, but ultimately tearing down the fence didn’t affect the castle at all.

This year, the fence isn’t enough. The Tigers are aiming for the tower. And they might be able to slip past the moat in the season opener….

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As usual, picks are below, with teams in bold the teams I’m prognosticating as the winners of said games. For a full season schedule with kickoff times, click here.

Games
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Natrona
Cheyenne East at Rock Springs
Evanston at Cheyenne South
Kelly Walsh at Gillette
Laramie at Sheridan
Class 1A six-man
Hulett at Meeteetse
Interstate
Jackson at Teton, Idaho
Juab, Utah, at Star Valley
Lead, S.D., at Upton-Sundance
Lyman at Altamont, Utah
Moffat County, Colo., at Rawlins
Newcastle at Custer, S.D.
Powell at Miles City, Mont.

Scrimmages and Jamborees
Friday: Cokeville at Kemmerer; Farson at Evanston JV; Greybull at Shoshoni; Mountain View at Green River; Pine Bluffs, Torrington at Glenrock; Pinedale at Big Piney; Riverton at Cody; Thermopolis at Lander; Wind River at Lander JV.
Saturday: Douglas, Southeast at Wheatland; Dubois, Midwest, Snake River jamboree (at Natrona); Guernsey-Sunrise, Riverside, Ten Sleep at Kaycee; Lovell at Buffalo; Lusk at Burns; Moorcroft, Wright at Big Horn; Rocky Mountain at Powell JV.
Off: Burlington, Hanna, Lingle, Normative Services, Rock River, St. Stephens, Saratoga, Tongue River, Worland, Wyoming Indian.

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To be clear, here are the rules I use to determine whether a Zero Week contest is a game or is something else:

• 1. Was the game played with four 12-minute quarters with normal timing rules?
• 2. Were officials used? And were normal rules of play instituted for the game?
• 3. Was score kept?

If these three criteria are met, I call it a game and record it as such on this site. Many of the contests listed above violate rule No. 2 — they play a normal game but don’t have special teams plays.

Aside from Class 4A, we can think of Zero Week as Wyoming football’s “soft launch.” We can see some pieces come together, but we won’t see all we need to see until a week from now.

So what do you think — about Zero Week, the 2016 season, football, life? Post a comment! I would love to hear your thoughts.

–patrick

What’s unique about this year’s Wyoming high school football playoff brackets isn’t who’s new. It’s who’s out.

Three schools — Cheyenne Central, Cody and Lusk — broke long strings of playoff qualifications. Central’s out for the first time after 11 consecutive qualifications, while Cody and Lusk are out after nine consecutive years of postseason berths.

And while most of the usual suspects still qualified for the playoffs (Gillette qualified for the 26th year in a row, Natrona the 24th and Cokeville the 23rd), seeing brackets without Central, Cody or Lusk feels a bit weird.

Even so, the loss of some venerable programs doesn’t necessarily mean the brackets had a lot of room for playoff neophytes.

Of the seven qualifiers this year that didn’t qualify last year — Buffalo, Glenrock, Green River, Hulett, NSI, Rock Springs and Southeast — six have reached the playoffs at least once in the past three seasons. Only six-man NSI, who is in the playoffs for the first time in six years, can truly be called a playoff newcomer. The Wolves were the only one of Wyoming’s 11 programs with playoff droughts of four years or longer who broke through to qualify for the postseason in 2015.

The repetition breeds familiarity: Five games (Laramie/Gillette, Douglas/Star Valley, Lyman/Wheatland, Rocky Mountain/Upton-Sundance and Tongue River/Cokeville) are rematches of quarterfinal games from last year.

What is a little bit different about the 20 quarterfinal games is who gets to host them. Seven of the 20 hosts this week are hosting their first playoff games in at least four years.

Torrington will break the longest home postseason drought, as it will host its first playoff game since 1996. Shoshoni will host its first since 2001; Wheatland its first since 2005; Hulett its first since 2008; Buffalo and Greybull their first since 2010; and Glenrock its first since 2011. And Upton-Sundance will host a playoff game for the first time in the co-op’s four-year history.

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Coaching milestones

How about this? Cokeville coach Todd Dayton will go for career win No. 300 this week. I outlined Dayton’s storied coaching career prior to this season. …

Also, Gillette coach Vic Wilkerson will go for win No. 100 on Friday. Wilkerson started as the Camels’ head coach in 2004 and enters Friday’s game against Laramie with a career record of 99-32. …

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Here’s some picks. Bold teams are the ones I think will one; non-bold ones will just need to be bold in person rather than on this blog:

Class 4A
(8) Laramie at (1) Gillette: The Camels have just been doing Camel-like things all season long. That should keep right on happening. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(5) Rock Springs at (4) Cheyenne East: These two teams met to start the regular season, so it only seems right that they meet to start the postseason, too. The Tigers have to be eager for revenge after falling 13-7 in the season opener. This might be THE best game of the quarterfinals. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals).
(7) Evanston at (2) Sheridan: One: It’s a long ways from Evanston to Sheridan. Two: Sheridan’s really, really good. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals.)
(6) Kelly Walsh at (3) Natrona: I’m always weary when rivalry games happen again in the postseason. The emotions stir for a week — and that either leads to amazing results or to fantastic frustration. And remember: This was a 20-14 game in the regular season. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
Class 3A
(4W) Powell at (1E) Torrington: I’ve got no reason to think the Trailblazers won’t keep rolling along. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
(3E) Douglas at (2W) Star Valley: The Braves already beat the Bearcats once this year, and it wasn’t pretty. It’ll be closer this time, but still, Star Valley’s the favorite. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4E) Riverton at (1W) Jackson: The Broncs need to be careful. The emotional high of beating Star Valley last week could lead to a lull this week. If that’s there, the Wolverines have the ability to win this one. (First playoff meeting.)
(3W) Green River at (2E) Buffalo: OK, really now, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. I’ll give the Bison the nod, just because they’re at home, but this one should be a great game. (First playoff meeting since 1976 Class A championship game.)
Class 2A
(4W) Lyman at (1E) Wheatland: Bulldogs 47, Eagles 0 in Week 1. Two months probably can’t cover that gap. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(3E) Big Horn at (2W) Greybull: Big Horn just won the biggest game of its season. Greybull just lost its biggest. The emotional reaction to those games more than anything will determine which way this one goes. And it could go to the final seconds. (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(4E) Thermopolis at (1W) Lovell: The Thermopolis we saw last week was the Thermopolis I thought we’d see all season. They will give the Bulldogs some trouble in the opening round… (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(3W) Mountain View at (2E) Glenrock: The Buffalos will be game. But the Herders have the clear advantage in this one. (First playoff meeting since 2006 quarterfinals.)
Class 1A 11-man
(4E) Southeast at (1W) Shoshoni: The Cyclones’ first trip to Fremont County won’t be a fun one; the Wranglers have been a buzzsaw all season, especially on defense. (First playoff meeting since 2012 quarterfinals.)
(3W) Rocky Mountain at (2E) Upton-Sundance: The Grizzlies’ run game has been on fire lately, and that might cause the Patriots some problems. Probably not enough problems, though. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4W) Riverside at (1E) Lingle: The Rebels are plucky, but they’ve also suffered two consecutive confidence-crushing defeats. Lingle, meanwhile, bounced back big time last week. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(3E) Tongue River at (2W) Cokeville: OK, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. The honest truth is that I have no clue who to pick. What I do know, though, is that John Scott is building a program in Dayton that’ll rival any in 1A. This game could prove that to the rest of the state. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
Class 1A six-man
(4W) Dubois at (1E) Kaycee: I think the Buckaroos are just thankful that Guernsey’s on the other side of the bracket — because Kaycee’s been destroying everyone else. (First playoff meeting.)
(3E) NSI at (2W) Snake River: Wait, wait, wait. THIS ONE REALLY could be the best game of the quarterfinals. The Wolves’ high-scoring offense is fun to watch, but so is Snake River’s, and the Rattlers get to play at home. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(4E) Guernsey-Sunrise at (1W) Meeteetse: A rematch of a Week 8 game in which neither team wanted to give away too much because they knew they’d probably be playing each other again… but the score will probably be about the same as last week’s. (First playoff meeting since 2013 semifinals).
(3W) Farson at (2E) Hulett: Now I’m super serious. This will be the best game of the quarterfinals, NO DOUBT! I think Farson has the on-paper advantage, but dang: 405 miles is a long way. (First playoff meeting.)

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Brothers Tad and Homer must have had some bonding over the end of the regular season. They only disagree on two of their picks for the quarterfinals.

The picks
Tad: Douglas over Star Valley; Southeast over Shoshoni.
Homer: Star Valley over Douglas; Shoshoni over Southeast.
Both: Gillette over Laramie; Cheyenne East over Rock Springs; Sheridan over Evanston; Natrona over Kelly Walsh; Powell over Torrington; Riverton over Jackson; Green River over Buffalo; Wheatland over Lyman; Big Horn over Greybull; Thermopolis over Lovell; Mountain View over Glenrock; Upton-Sundance over Rocky Mountain; Lingle over Riverside; Cokeville over Tongue River; Dubois over Kaycee; Snake River over NSI; Meeteetse over Guernsey-Sunrise; Farson over Hulett.

The records
Class 4A
Laramie at Gillette (Gillette 19-18 overall, Gillette 11-8 at this location)
Rock Springs at Cheyenne East (East 24-18 overall, East 17-7 at this location)
Evanston at Sheridan (Sheridan 14-2 overall, Sheridan 7-1 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona (Natrona 42-12 overall, Natrona 20-7 at this location)
Class 3A
Powell at Torrington (Powell 6-0 overall, Powell 4-0 at this location)
Douglas at Star Valley (Douglas 9-3 overall, Star Valley 3-1 at this location)
Riverton at Jackson (Riverton 2-0 overall, Riverton 1-0 at this location)
Green River at Buffalo (Green River 3-1 overall, Green River 2-0 at this location)
Class 2A
Lyman at Wheatland (Wheatland 4-1 overall, Wheatland 2-0 at this location)
Big Horn at Greybull (Big Horn 14-4 overall, Big Horn 6-1 at this location)
Thermopolis at Lovell (Thermopolis 42-35 overall, Thermopolis 19-18 at this location)
Mountain View at Glenrock (Mountain View 8-4, Mountain View 3-1 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Southeast at Shoshoni (Southeast 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Upton-Sundance (Upton-Sundance 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Riverside at Lingle (first meeting)
Tongue River at Cokeville (tied 1-1 overall, tied 1-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Kaycee (Dubois 2-0 overall, Dubois 1-0 at this location)
NSI at Snake River (first meeting)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 5-2 overall, Meeteetse 3-2 at this location)
Farson at Hulett (Farson 2-0 overall, Farson 1-0 at this location)

Last week’s records: Patrick, 23-9 (72 percent); Tad, 24-8 (75 percent); Homer, 23-9 (72 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 206-55 (79 percent); Tad, 165-96 (63 percent); Homer, 147-114 (56 percent).

With that… let’s play some games! I’m ready for the postseason, especially this quarterfinal round. This might have been my most difficult quarterfinal round to pick since I started making weekly picks 11 years ago. What matchups are YOU most excited to see? Post a comment and let me know how you see the first round shaking out.

–patrick

The most exciting team in Wyoming this season enters the final week of the season at .500, struggling for a playoff spot.

One thing is for sure: When the Normative Services Wolves take the field, points will be scored.

Through six games (bye in Week 1), NSI has scored 389 points (average of 64.8 per game) and given up 362 (average 60.3). Both marks are on pace to be among the top 10 all-time in state history.

Yes — the Wolves have a historically high-scoring offense AND a historically leaky defense.

The top of the state’s season scoring leaders list is littered with state champions; the top of the list showing the most points allowed in a season is similarly littered with winless or near-winless teams. Historically, there hasn’t been much room on either list for .500 teams.

Until this season. Until the Wolves. Until the six-man team from Sheridan played in games this season with final scores of 69-19, 67-61, 65-45, 82-66, 90-38 and 90-59. The Wolves have one more game left in the regular season; they need to beat Midwest on Friday to secure a playoff berth from the 1A six-man East Conference. (Expect some scoring. Midwest is giving up about 51.4 points per game so far this year. When these two teams played each other last year, Midwest won 78-64.)

No team in state history has ever both scored and allowed 60 points per game in any single season. Heck, no team has done that with 50 points per game. And only a couple teams have both scored and allowed at least 40 points per game in a season.

What the Wolves are doing this season is unprecedented.

And, if you like seeing touchdowns, it’s pretty exciting, too.

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NSI isn’t the only team scoring points at a record pace. Meeteetse has scored 518 points, or an average of 74 per game, through its seven games. If the Longhorns can keep up this pace, they’ll obliterate the records for most points in a season (803, set by Meeteetse in 2013) and most average points per game (68.22 ppg, set by Guernsey-Sunrise in 2009).

Dubois, meanwhile, scored 102 points in its 102-6o victory against Ten Sleep last week. The 162 combined points were the most in any single game in state history, and the 102 points represented the first time any Wyoming high school team had cracked the century mark in a game since 1930. See the other single-game scoring records here.

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On to Week 8, the last week of the regular season. In all, 23 games this week will have an impact one way or another on playoff seeding. Five teams (Cheyenne Central, Newcastle, Thermopolis, NSI and Midwest) are in true win-and-you’re-in, lose-and-you’re-out situations. For them, the playoffs may as well start this week. Newcastle plays Thermopolis and Midwest plays NSI for the final playoff spot from their respective conferences, while Central plays Evanston in what was probably the hardest game of the week for me to pick.

Home-field advantage is also up for grabs in three specific games: Star Valley and Jackson face off for the top seed from the 3A West; Lovell and Greybull meet for the 2A West title; and the Shoshoni-Riverside winner wins the No. 1 seed from the 1A 11-man West. Additionally, Wheatland faces Big Horn for the conference title in the 2A East — Wheatland wins it outright with a victory, while Big Horn can cause a three-way tie for first by beating the Bulldogs.

The 1A 11-man East and the 1A six-man East top seeds won’t be as easy to figure out. Here’s a guide.

And here’s your guide to projected winners for the week, who I’ve noted with boldness:

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

Rocky Mountain already picked up a forfeit victory against Burlington this week.

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

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The resident curmudgeons Tad and Homer have their picks this week, too. They’re not discouraged by their recent rough showings; picks they miss are simply more data for them to mull over.

The picks
Tad: Cheyenne Central over Evanston; Gillette over Cheyenne East; Thermopolis over Newcastle; Southeast over Upton-Sundance; Tongue River over Pine Bluffs.
Homer: Evanston over Cheyenne Central; Cheyenne East over Gillette; Newcastle over Thermopolis; Upton-Sundance over Southeast; Pine Bluffs over Tongue River.
Both: Sheridan over Cheyenne South; Laramie over Kelly Walsh; Natrona over Rock Springs; Buffalo over Douglas; Green River over Worland; Star Valley over Jackson; Riverton over Lander; Cody over Powell; Torrington over Rawlins; Big Horn over Wheatland; Wright over Burns; Glenrock over Kemmerer; Lovell over Greybull; Mountain View over Lyman; Big Piney over Pinedale; Moorcroft over Lingle; Riverside over Shoshoni; Cokeville over Wind River; Saratoga over Wyoming Indian; Kaycee over Hanna; Meeteetse over Guernsey-Sunrise; Normative Services over Midwest; Hulett over Rock River; Snake River over Farson; St. Stephens over Ten Sleep; Rocky Mountain over Gillette JV; Dubois over Natrona sophs.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Evanston (Central 9-5 overall, tie 4-4 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Sheridan (Sheridan 4-0 overall, Sheridan 2-0 at this location)
Gillette at Cheyenne East (Gillette 25-17 overall, East 11-9 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Laramie (Laramie 22-17 overall, Laramie 15-6 at this location)
Rock Springs at Natrona (Natrona 48-19-3 overall, Natrona 32-7-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Douglas at Buffalo (Buffalo 34-30-1 overall, Buffalo 21-10-1 at this location)
Green River at Worland (Green River 8-5 overall, Green River 5-3 at this location)
Jackson at Star Valley (Star Valley 63-15 overall, Star Valley 32-8 at this location)
Lander at Riverton (Riverton 60-51-7 overall, Riverton 32-24-2 at this location)
Powell at Cody (Cody 60-51-4 overall, Cody 30-22-1 at this location)
Torrington at Rawlins (Torrington 25-5-1 overall, Torrington 10-5 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Wheatland (Big Horn 5-0 overall, Big Horn 2-0 at this location)
Burns at Wright (tie 11-11 overall, Wright 6-3 at this location)
Kemmerer at Glenrock (tie 6-6 overall, Glenrock 4-2 at this location)
Lovell at Greybull (Lovell 55-28-4 overall, Lovell 28-11-2 at this location)
Lyman at Mountain View (Mountain View 44-31 overall, Mountain View 21-16 at this location)
Pinedale at Big Piney (Big Piney 55-45 overall, Big Piney 29-18 at this location)
Thermopolis at Newcastle (Thermopolis 17-8 overall, tie 5-5 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Lingle (Moorcroft 4-3 overall, Moorcroft 2-1 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Burlington (Rocky Mountain 14-5 overall, Rocky Mountain 6-3 at this location) (Rocky already picked up the W via forfeit for this game)
Shoshoni at Riverside (Riverside 13-7 overall, Riverside 5-4 at this location)
Southeast at Upton-Sundance (Southeast 2-1 overall, first at this location)
Tongue River at Pine Bluffs (Tongue River 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Wind River at Cokeville (Cokeville 18-5 overall, Cokeville 9-3 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Saratoga (Saratoga 10-2 overall, Saratoga 5-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Kaycee (Kaycee 6-1 overall, Kaycee 3-0 at this location)
Meeteetse at Guernsey-Sunrise (Meeteetse 4-2 overall, Meeteetse 1-0 at this location)
Midwest at NSI (NSI 7-2 overall, NSI 3-1 at this location)
Rock River at Hulett (Hulett 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Snake River at Farson (Snake River 8-2 overall, Snake River 3-1 at this location)
Ten Sleep at St. Stephens (St. Stephens 3-2 overall, St. Stephens 1-0 at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team. And they always pick a varsity team over a sub-varsity team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 26-5 (84 percent); Tad, 15-16 (48 percent); Homer, 20-11 (65 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 183-46 (80 percent); Tad, 141-88 (62 percent); Homer, 124-105 (54 percent).

And that’s the end of the regular season, folks. How do YOU see it all coming together? Leave a comment here and let’s discuss the last week of the regular season!

–patrick

Torrington has waited a long time for this season.

Actually, 21 years.

When the Trailblazers take to Wiseman Field on Friday, they will play for their first conference title since 1996, when the Trailblazers tied with Riverton and Douglas for the 3A East title. If everything falls right, Torrington could also win its first outright conference title since winning the 3A East in 1994.

If the Blazers can get past Buffalo, struggling Rawlins awaits in Week 8. Although that game is no guarantee, a sweep of the Bison and the Outlaws will give Torrington the outright conference title and will keep the Trailblazers undefeated.

No one in the 3A East, least of all the Trailblazers, wants to crown Torrington as the conference champ just yet. If you asked a Magic 8 Ball, though, if Torrington was going to win the conference, the ball would probably respond with a “Signs point to yes.”

For the last two decades, the answer was more likely to be an “Outlook not so good.”

Lander, which last shared a conference title in 1995, is the only 3A team with a longer streak without a conference title than Torrington. Of the 12 teams in the classification, nine of them have won outright or shared a conference championship in the past seven seasons. Rawlins — which won an outright conference crown in 2000 — Torrington and Lander are the holdouts. (This always comes with the explanation that, from 2001-04, Wyoming schools below the big-school classification did not have conferences.)

But the Blazers are on track to break that streak. Fifth-year coach Mark Lenhardt has seen his team improve its record every season, from 1-8 to 1-7 to 3-6 to 7-3 to, this year so far, 6-0. Last year’s 41-14 victory against Jackson was the team’s first playoff win since 2005; Torrington’s 7-3 finish was the program’s first winning record since 1995.

Now, for the first time in two decades, Torrington’s conference championship goals are more than just dreams.

Or, as the Magic 8 Ball would say: “It is decidedly so.”

+++

Here’s a quick look at who’s playing for conference championships this week — and, consequently, teams that are playing in absolutely huge games this week:

Gillette can wrap home field and the top seed in 4A by beating Laramie.

Torrington can clinch the 3A East Conference’s top seed by beating Buffalo.

Wheatland could win the 2A East if the Bulldogs beat Burns and if Newcastle beats Big Horn.

Lingle can secure first in the 1A 11-man East by beating Tongue River.

Kaycee, despite playing a nonconference game this week, could win the 1A six-man East if Midwest and Rock River beat their respective opponents (Hulett and Guernsey-Sunrise) this week.

The other conferences — the 3A West, the 2A West and the 1A 11-man West — can’t be decided just yet. Meanwhile, Meeteetse won the 1A six-man West after Week 5.

Cheyenne South, Rawlins, Burns, Wright, Kemmerer, Burlington, Saratoga, Wyoming Indian and Rock River have already been eliminated from postseason contention.

Other games that have me looking around and wondering if anyone else realizes that, you know, week 7 is, like, a big deal:

Natrona-Sheridan. For realsies. The winner here likely gets home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs. (And, maybe, gets to host the rematch in the 4A semifinals.) If you’re anywhere near Homer Scott Field on Friday, get on up to the field and watch this one. …

Yes, I played for Midwest, but I’m not just saying this as an Oiler alum: The Hulett-Midwest game might be closer than you think. …

Week 8 looms large with potential conference title games in the 3A, 2A and 1A 11-man West conferences, but only if Star Valley and Jackson (3A), Lovell and Greybull (2A) and Riverside (1A-11) win this week. That said, the biggest challenges might come to Greybull and Riverside. …

Riverside-Rocky Mountain is absolutely huge. If the Rebels win this one, they’ll notch home field for the first round of the playoffs at least; if the Grizzlies can pull the upset, they’ll set up a potential three-way tie for the second, third and fourth spots in the conference between themselves, Riverside and Cokeville — that is if they all win in Week 8, too. …

And Greybull, meanwhile, faces Lyman, a team that’s been easy to overlook this year but is all too capable of pulling off an upset of this magnitude. The Eagles are 3-1 after dropping their first two games, the only loss coming to conference co-leader Lovell. …

Hardest games to pick this week? Big Piney-Mountain View, Newcastle-Big Horn, Kaycee-Snake River, NSI-Hanna. Big Piney’s underrated; Big Horn’s unpredictable; Snake River’s untested; NSI’s uncertain. Lots of uns this week. I tried the best I could to sort through it and pick some winners, who I’ve noted here in bold:

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

Shoshoni (against Burlington) and Cokeville (against Wyoming Indian) have already notched forfeit victories this week.

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

The week wouldn’t be complete without Tad and Homer, who have their picks, as well. They both had it rough last week, which led to some bickering at the dinner table, which led to some hurt feelings, which didn’t affect their picks at all this week.

The picks
Tad: Natrona over Sheridan; Rock Springs over Cheyenne South; Buffalo over Torrington; Cody over Green River; Riverton over Douglas; Big Piney over Mountain View; Lingle over Tongue River; Lusk over Southeast; Guernsey-Sunrise over Rock River.
Homer: Sheridan over Natrona; Cheyenne South over Rock Springs; Torrington over Buffalo; Green River over Cody; Douglas over Riverton; Mountain View over Big Piney; Tongue River over Lingle; Southeast over Lusk; Rock River over Guernsey-Sunrise.
Both: Cokeville over Star Valley JV; Shoshoni over Natrona JV; Cheyenne Central over Kelly Walsh; Cheyenne East over Evanston; Gillette over Laramie; Powell over Jackson; Lander over Rawlins; Star Valley over Worland; Glenrock over Thermopolis; Lyman over Greybull; Lovell over Kemmerer; Big Horn over Newcastle; Burns over Wheatland; Pinedale over Wright; Pine Bluffs over Moorcroft; Riverside over Rocky Mountain; Wind River over Saratoga; Dubois over Ten Sleep; Farson over St. Stephens; Midwest over Hulett; Snake River over Kaycee; Hanna over Normative Services; Meeteetse over Worland JV.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Kelly Walsh (Central 25-16 overall, Central 12-9 at this location)
Evanston at Cheyenne East (East 19-9 overall, East 11-4 at this location)
Laramie at Gillette (tie 18-18 overall, Gillette 10-8 at this location)
Natrona at Sheridan (Natrona 56-41-6 overall, Sheridan 26-20-3 at this location)
Rock Springs at Cheyenne South (Rock Springs 3-1 overall, tie 1-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Torrington (Buffalo 21-17 overall, tie 9-9 at this location)
Cody at Green River (Cody 14-8 overall, Green River 6-4 at this location)
Powell at Jackson (Powell 19-12 overall, Powell 8-6 at this location)
Rawlins at Lander (Lander 29-27-1 overall, Lander 16-8 at this location)
Riverton at Douglas (Riverton 21-12-1 overall, tie 7-7-1 at this location)
Worland at Star Valley (Star Valley 25-14 overall, Star Valley 13-7 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Mountain View (Big Piney 39-36 overall, Mountain View 20-17 at this location)
Glenrock at Thermopolis (Glenrock 19-13 overall, Glenrock 10-5 at this location)
Greybull at Lyman (Lyman 9-5 overall, Lyman 4-2 at this location)
Kemmerer at Lovell (Lovell 15-14 overall, Lovell 7-5 at this location)
Newcastle at Big Horn (Big Horn 5-1 overall, Big Horn 2-0 at this location)
Wheatland at Burns (tie 3-3 overall, Burns 3-0 at this location)
Wright at Pinedale (Pinedale 3-0 overall, Pinedale 2-0 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Shoshoni (Shoshoni 17-16 overall, Shoshoni 9-5 at this location) (Shoshoni has already won this by forfeit, but here’s the records because why not)
Cokeville at Wyoming Indian (Cokeville 5-0 overall, Cokeville 2-0 at this location) (again, this one has already been forfeited to Cokeville, but the records are still interesting)
Lingle at Tongue River (Lingle 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Lusk at Southeast (Lusk 24-15 overall, tie 10-10 at this location)
Pine Bluffs at Moorcroft (Pine Bluffs 3-1 overall, Pine Bluffs 3-0 at this location)
Riverside at Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain 19-5 overall, Rocky Mountain 11-1 at this location)
Saratoga at Wind River (Wind River 8-3 overall, Wind River 5-0 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Ten Sleep (Dubois 15-4 overall, Dubois 8-1 at this location)
Farson at St. Stephens (Farson 2-0 overall, Farson 1-0 at this location)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Rock River (Guernsey-Sunrise 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Hulett at Midwest (Midwest 30-18-1 overall, Midwest 14-8 at this location)
Kaycee at Snake River (Snake River 6-1 overall, Snake River 5-0 at this location)
NSI at Hanna (Hanna 2-0 overall, first at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 23-7 (77 percent); Tad, 14-16 (47 percent); Homer, 11-19 (37 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 157-41 (79 percent); Tad, 126-72 (64 percent); Homer, 104-94 (53 percent).

What strikes you as interesting as you look at the Week 7 slate? Post your thoughts and let’s talk through the fun together.

–patrick

Since Wyoming went back to conference play for its schools in 2005, the state has had 97 conference champions.

Of those 97, the winners of only 10 survived a conference loss to win a conference championship.

With the notable exception of Class 4A’s “conference” regular-season championship, those titles have always been shared. The conference champions since 2005 who won the league title with a conference loss were:

2006 2A Southeast: Burns, Southeast share at 2-1
2007 5A South: Cheyenne East, Cheyenne Central share at 4-1
2007 2A East: Sundance, Saratoga, Lusk share at 4-1
2009 4A: Sheridan 8-1
2009 3A West: Cody, Star Valley, Worland share at 4-1
2009 1A 11-man East: Southeast, Lingle share at 6-1
2010 4A: Natrona 8-1
2010 2A West: Lovell, Greybull, Lyman share at 6-1
2011 2A East: Glenrock, Newcastle share at 5-1
2014 1A six-man West: Dubois, Snake River share at 4-1

As you can see, only once in the past three seasons has a conference champion not gone undefeated in conference play. However, already this year, we know at least one conference champ will hoist a crown with at least one conference loss.

That champion will come from the Class 1A six-man East Conference. Each one of the seven schools in that conference already has a conference loss. Four of those schools — Guernsey-Sunrise, Kaycee, Hulett and NSI — start the week with one conference loss apiece.

The rotation works like this: Guernsey beat Kaycee; Kaycee beat Hulett; Hulett beat NSI; NSI beat Guernsey.

One way or another, the top of the 1A six-man East will sort itself out this week as Kaycee travels to NSI and Guernsey-Sunrise goes to Hulett.

Adding to the urgency this week: None of the top four teams in the conference will play each other after this week.

With the road teams at 3-1 in league play and the home teams at 2-1, some sense has to rise out of the confusion.

Either way, the team(s) that win the conference will be able to claim something that roughly only 10 percent of Wyoming conference champs can claim the past decade: They survived a conference loss to win their conference title.

+++

Meanwhile, no team in the state in any conference can win its conference with a victory this week. Gillette is the only team in Wyoming that could wrap up a regular-season title this week, but the Camels would need to beat Rock Springs and both Sheridan (playing at Cheyenne Central) and Natrona (hosting Cheyenne South) would have to lose for that to happen.

However, Meeteetse in the 1A six-man West Conference has already wrapped up the conference championship with three weeks left in the regular season. The undefeated Longhorns end conference play this week against winless St. Stephens, and then finish the regular season with a date against the Worland JV in Week 7 and a nonconference showdown against Guernsey-Sunrise in Week 8. The Longhorns own tiebreakers over any teams they might tie with in the unlikely event that St. Stephens pulls the biggest upset in Wyoming football history this week, making the final three weeks of the regular season one long postseason preparation party for the top-ranked Longhorns.

Conversely, some teams may be eliminated from postseason contention with losses today. That makes pretty much every game a big game this week. However, some are bigger than others:

Worland-Powell might be the most intriguing matchup of the week. Was Worland’s 10-7 victory against Cody last week a harbinger or an aberration? Either way, Todd Weber’s squad notched an important victory against Cody, one of those on which a coach can build a program. …

It’s hard to imagine a team with more confidence than Rock Springs. The Tigers have proven they can play with 4A’s best teams (hanging tough two weeks ago vs. Sheridan) and can win games even when they’re struggling (last week vs. Evanston). Tiger Stadium will be nuts on Friday when No. 1 Gillette makes its visit. …

Two weeks ago, who would have pictured that Jackson would be 2-0 in 3A West Conference play — and defending state champion Cody would be 0-2? They’ll face each other Friday in Park County. …

The last (and only) time Riverside beat Cokeville was 1992. Since joining the same conference in 2009, the Panthers have beaten the Rebels 49-6, 61-6, 48-0, 55-7, 54-8 and by forfeit. But on Friday, Riverside starts the game with a conference record of 4-0, while Cokeville is 3-1. The Rebels could push aside several years’ worth of frustration if they can somehow keep the momentum going in Lincoln County. …

I don’t know why I keep thinking about the only 2A nonconference game this week, Thermopolis playing at Lovell. I’ve been waiting for Thermop to bust through all season, and even though the Bobcats lost last week, the second half of that loss — where Thermopolis came back from down 26-0 only to lose 26-24 — might be a jumpstart to their season. The Bulldogs better be careful. …

The two most difficult games of the week to pick? Southeast-Tongue River and Lyman-Big Piney. And when it’s all said and done, both these games might be for playoff spots. …

On to this week’s picks. I’ve noted my selections below by denoting the team I think will win the game in bold type. Even if I didn’t tell you, I think you’d be able to figure that out:

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

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

Ya boys Tad and Homer have their picks this week, too. And I better watch out. Tad actually won the weekly picks last week, topping both his brother Homer AND me:

The picks
Tad: Sheridan over Cheyenne Central; Riverton over Buffalo; Star Valley over Green River; Worland over Powell; Big Horn over Burns; Greybull over Pinedale; Wind River over Shoshoni; Guernsey-Sunrise over Hulett; Kaycee over Normative Services; Meeteetse over St. Stephens; Ten Sleep over Farson.
Homer: Cheyenne Central over Sheridan; Buffalo over Riverton; Green River over Star Valley; Powell over Worland; Burns over Big Horn; Pinedale over Greybull; Shoshoni over Wind River; Hulett over Guernsey-Sunrise; Normative Services over Kaycee; St. Stephens over Meeteetse; Farson over Ten Sleep.
Both: Laramie over Cheyenne East; Natrona over Cheyenne South; Gillette over Rock Springs; Evanston over Kelly Walsh; Douglas over Rawlins; Cody over Jackson; Lander over Torrington; Glenrock over Newcastle; Big Piney over Lyman; Mountain View over Kemmerer; Thermopolis over Lovell; Wheatland over Wright; Lusk over Lingle; Cokeville over Riverside; Southeast over Tongue River; Upton-Sundance over Pine Bluffs; Dubois over Snake River; Hanna over Midwest.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Laramie (Laramie 33-25 overall, Laramie 17-11 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Natrona (Natrona 4-0 overall, Natrona 2-0 at this location)
Gillette at Rock Springs (Gillette 15-5 overall, Gillette 6-4 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Evanston (Evanston 11-7 overall, tie 3-3 at this location)
Sheridan at Cheyenne Central (Sheridan 39-27-1 overall, Central 16-14 at this location)
Class 3A
Douglas at Rawlins (Douglas 23-9 overall, Douglas 11-4 at this location)
Jackson at Cody (Cody 17-6 overall, Cody 9-1 at this location)
Lander at Torrington (Lander 4-1 overall, Lander 2-0 at this location)
Riverton at Buffalo (Riverton 8-7 overall, tie 4-4 at this location)
Star Valley at Green River (Star Valley 35-31-5 overall, Green River 18-13-3 at this location)
Worland at Powell (Worland 39-33 overall, tie 19-19 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Burns (Big Horn 6-3 overall, Burns 3-2 at this location)
Glenrock at Newcastle (Glenrock 23-18 overall, Glenrock 10-9 at this location)
Greybull at Pinedale (Greybull 5-3 overall, Pinedale 3-1 at this location)
Lyman at Big Piney (Big Piney 45-34-1 overall, Big Piney 25-15 at this location)
Mountain View at Kemmerer (Mountain View 20-16 overall, Mountain View 14-5 at this location)
Thermopolis at Lovell (Thermopolis 42-34 overall, Thermopolis 19-17 at this location)
Wright at Wheatland (Wheatland 4-0 overall, Wheatland 2-0 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Saratoga (Burlington 5-0 overall, Burlington 2-0 at this location) (Burlington has forfeited this game, but it’s still fun to look at the records)
Lusk at Lingle (Lusk 43-10-3 overall, Lusk 19-5 at this location)
Riverside at Cokeville (Cokeville 11-1 overall, Cokeville 5-0 at this location)
Tongue River at Southeast (tie 1-1 overall, Southeast 1-0 at this location)
Upton-Sundance at Pine Bluffs (Upton-Sundance 3-0 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Wind River at Shoshoni (Wind River 27-22 overall, tie 12-12 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain 19-2 overall, Rocky Mountain 9-1 at this location) (again, Wyoming Indian has already forfeited this game, but records are fun to look at anyway)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Snake River (Dubois 4-2 overall, Dubois 2-0 at this location)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Hulett (Guernsey-Sunrise 5-4 overall, Hulett 3-1 at this location)
Kaycee at NSI (Kaycee 2-0 overall, first at this location)
Midwest at Hanna (Hanna 9-6 overall, Hanna 4-3 at this location)
St. Stephens at Meeteetse (tie 4-4 overall, St. Stephens 3-1 at this location)
Ten Sleep at Farson (Ten Sleep 5-4 overall, tie 2-2 at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 24-8 (75 percent); Tad, 27-5 (84 percent); Homer, 22-10 (69 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 134-34 (80 percent); Tad, 112-56 (67 percent); Homer, 93-75 (55 percent).

For about 90 percent of teams, Week 6 represents either a time to survive, a time to maintain or a time to rise. So who’s set to do that? Leave a comment and let me know where my picks went awry, or what picks you think I got right!

–patrick

This might be the biggest week in the four years of Upton-Sundance football.

Not because of who the Patriots face on the field this week — although, admittedly, their game against Lingle is huge. The Patriots and the Doggers are the only two teams left unbeaten in Class 1A 11-man East Conference play.

Instead, the Upton-Sundance co-op agreement faced some scrutiny in a Casper board room this week.

When the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s board of directors met on Tuesday for the first of its four quarterly meetings in Casper, it encountered two letters of complaint about U-S from other schools. Both letters expressed their frustration with the classification of the U-S co-op, which is for now scheduled to stay in Class 1A 11-man in the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

Why does that matter? Well, together, Upton and Sundance have a combined enrollment of about 205 students. The school slated to be the biggest in 1A 11-man next season is Tongue River at about 150.

That disparity has some schools upset. So they started a little letter-writing campaign to the WHSAA.

The issue comes in how the WHSAA counts students for a co-op. The host school — in this case, Upton — has all of its students counted. The school joining the co-op — in this case, Sundance — only has students in the gender of the sport counted.

Roughly, this gives the U-S co-op a count of 146 students, with Upton’s 87 and half of Sundance’s 118. That is smaller than Tongue River’s 150 and enough to keep the Patriots eligible for the playoffs in 1A 11-man. However, the actual student counts next summer — not ADMs right now — will determine the Patriots’ ultimate playoff eligibility fate.

So are the Patriots a 1A 11-man co-op or a 2A co-op?

That’s a question for 2016, and the WHSAA.

For what it’s worth, the WHSAA barely broached the Upton-Sundance topic on Tuesday. Barring some sort of change in the district meetings in late October or a new proposal addressing enrollment and classification of all co-ops in all sports, the Patriots will probably be in 1A 11-man if the schools’ enrollments hold steady.

This season, Upton-Sundance is definitely a Class 1A 11-man program. One of the best, at that. The Patriots are unbeaten; Shoshoni is the only other 1A 11-man school that can say that. With a victory against Lingle on Friday, the Patriots will move into sole possession of first place in the East Conference and into position to host games in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Patriots have a huge opportunity this week on the field, no matter what happens off the field.

+++

Other awesome Week 5 games (not that the others aren’t, but these ones have some extra tangy zip on them this week):

Yeah, the Energy Bowl is Friday night in Gillette. And I was going to write about it. Then I realized the Energy Bowl was my game of the week in 2014. And 2013. You have plenty of opportunities to read up on the history of Camels vs. Broncs. That said, these teams are both 5-0 and this is the biggest 4A game of the regular season, full stop. This one deserves your attention. Just like it does every year. …

The Oil Bowl (Kelly Walsh-Natrona) and Capital Bowl (Cheyenne Central-Cheyenne East) are tonight, too. Big games in Wyoming’s big cities, and clear favorites in each. …

Yes, really: Green River actually has a chance to knock off Jackson in Jackson. The Wolves have been easy to overlook but could improve to 2-0 in the 3A West if they can pull the surprise. Jackson is the favorite, but Green River won’t be as easy a W as the Broncs might have anticipated in August. …

Hulett — which missed the playoffs last year — controls its own destiny in the 1A six-man East Conference as the only team left without a conference loss. This week, the Red Devils face Kaycee in Kaycee in what might be a make-or-break game for both teams. …

The last time Torrington beat Douglas in Douglas was 2002. The Bearcats won’t let that streak end easily. …

Most underrated game of the week might be Lovell-Lyman. The Bulldogs were impressive in beating Mountain View 33-0 last week, but Lyman has notched solid conference victories of its own in back-to-back weeks. …

Picks. Bold=projected winner. Of course. (Updated 12:25 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1 to reflect new Tongue River game.)

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

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

For the first time all season, Homer beat Tad  in the weekly round of picks. Tad has vowed his revenge, though. And there’s a lot of disagreement in their picks this week.

The picks
Tad: Sheridan over Gillette; Cody over Worland; Lovell over Lyman; Wheatland over Big Piney; Rocky Mountain over Wind River; Southeast over Moorcroft; Meeteetse over Dubois; Midwest over Rock River; Snake River over St. Stephens.
Homer: Gillette over Sheridan; Worland over Cody; Lyman over Lovell; Big Piney over Wheatland; Wind River over Rocky Mountain; Moorcroft over Southeast; Dubois over Meeteetse; Rock River over Midwest; St. Stephens over Snake River.
Both: Cokeville over Evanston JV; Cheyenne Central over Cheyenne East; Rock Springs over Evanston; Natrona over Kelly Walsh; Laramie over Cheyenne South; Buffalo over Lander; Green River over Jackson; Star Valley over Powell; Riverton over Rawlins; Torrington over Douglas; Thermopolis over Big Horn; Glenrock over Burns; Greybull over Kemmerer; Newcastle over Wright; Mountain View over Pinedale; Lingle over Upton-Sundance; Lusk over Pine Bluffs; Riverside over Saratoga; Shoshoni over Wyoming Indian; Guernsey-Sunrise over Hanna; Kaycee over Hulett; Farson over Normative Services; Tongue River over Natrona JV.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Cheyenne East (Central 42-23 overall, Central 20-13 at this location)
Evanston at Rock Springs (Rock Springs 44-29-5 overall, Rock Springs 23-11-3 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona (Natrona 41-12 overall, Natrona 19-7 at this location)
Laramie at Cheyenne South (Laramie 3-1 overall, Laramie 2-0 at this location)
Sheridan at Gillette (Sheridan 41-29-1 overall, Gillette 17-14 at this location)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander (Buffalo 11-3 overall, Buffalo 4-2 at this location)
Cody at Worland (Cody 42-32-1 overall, Worland 19-17-1 at this location)
Green River at Jackson (Green River 28-10-2 overall, Green River 13-5-2 at this location)
Powell at Star Valley (Star Valley 24-12 overall, Star Valley 15-3 at this location)
Rawlins at Riverton (Riverton 31-19-1 overall, Riverton 14-9 at this location)
Torrington at Douglas (Torrington 54-31-2 overall, Torrington 26-16-1 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Thermopolis (tie 3-3 overall, Thermopolis 2-0 at this location)
Burns at Glenrock (Glenrock 6-3 overall, Glenrock 3-1 at this location)
Kemmerer at Greybull (Greybull 8-7 overall, Greybull 4-2 at this location)
Lovell at Lyman (Lovell 8-6 overall, Lyman 3-1 at this location)
Newcastle at Wright (Newcastle 6-4 overall, Newcastle 3-2 at this location)
Pinedale at Mountain View (Mountain View 38-27-2 overall, Mountain View 18-13-1 at this location)
Wheatland at Big Piney (Wheatland 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Cokeville at Burlington (Cokeville 14-1 overall, Cokeville 3-1 at this location) (Cokeville will win this game this week by forfeit)
Lingle at Upton-Sundance (Lingle 2-1 overall, Lingle 1-0 at this location)
Pine Bluffs at Lusk (Lusk 29-6 overall, Lusk 13-4 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Wind River (Rocky Mountain 19-7 overall, Wind River 6-5 at this location)
Saratoga at Riverside (Riverside 4-2 overall, Riverside 2-0 at this location)
Shoshoni at Wyoming Indian (Shoshoni 25-6-1 overall, Shoshoni 10-3-1 at this location)
Southeast at Moorcroft (Southeast 2-0 overall, first at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 25-10-1 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 14-5-1 at this location)
Hulett at Kaycee (Kaycee 3-1 overall, tie 1-1 at this location)
Meeteetse at Dubois (Meeteetse 12-10 overall, Dubois 6-5 at this location)
Midwest at Rock River (Midwest 1-0 overall, first at this location)
NSI at Farson (Farson 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Snake River at St. Stephens (Snake River 2-0 overall, first at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 25-5 (83 percent); Tad, 16-14 (53 percent); Homer, 17-13 (57 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 110-26 (81 percent); Tad, 85-51 (63 percent); Homer, 71-65 (52 percent).

The Week 5 schedule is chock full of big games. So which is the biggest of the big? Post your comment and let’s talk week 5, high school football, co-ops, October weather, tailgates full of bratwurst and popcorn….

–patrick

The process of building a football program in Farson took time.

The Pronghorns’ program resurfaced for the first time in two decades in 2009 with the introduction of six-man football. Farson struggled its first four years; from 2009-12, the Pronghorns won just three games.

Farson’s first big breakthrough didn’t come until its third season, when the Pronghorns beat Meeteetse in the season opener for their first victory against another six-man varsity opponent.

Two years later, Farson started to find itself, winning three games and picking up a fourth victory by forfeit. And then in 2014, Farson had its best season yet, finishing 6-3 — its first winning record since coming back.

The 2015 season might be Farson’s best yet.

Farson is 3-0 for just the second time in school history. They’ve won games by 14, 33 and 68 points. They tied a school record last week with 70 points in a victory against Dubois.

The success, though, is balanced out by trepidation.

Farson won its first three games last year, too. Everything was going well. And then Meeteetse got in the way.

Remember that game? Folks in Farson — and Meeteetse — sure do. Meeteetse led 30-0 in the second quarter and 46-13 at halftime. Then Farson rallied. And rallied. And rallied. And lost, 62-61. (Video of that game is below, as produced by Wyopreps.)

The loss ended up costing Farson a shot at home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Pronghorns eventually fell to the Class 1A six-man West Conference’s No. 4 seed and had to travel across the state to play undefeated — and eventual state champion — Guernsey in the first round. The Pronghorns got thumped.

Meeteetse, meanwhile, finished as the conference’s No. 3 seed and drew a road date with Kaycee, a game the Longhorns won with surprising ease.

While the 2011 game may have shown Farson its worst days were behind it, the 2014 game against Meeteetse taught Farson it still had work to do.

Meeteetse has unintentionally become Farson’s measuring stick.

This year’s game, with both Farson and Meeteetse coming in undefeated, could loom even larger, especially as a gauge for Farson. Farson and Meeteetse are the only two teams remaining in the West Conference without a conference loss. And while Farson might be proud of its school-record 70 from last week, Meeteetse has been putting up points like crazy, scoring 81, 81 and 73 in three outings so far. This game — as it was last year — will be crucial in deciding the conference champion and the home-field playoff advantage that brings with it.

When the Pronghorns and Longhorns meet Friday night in Meeteetse, the final score will represent more than just who won and who lost. It will also measure how far a slowly building upstart program has come in seven years.

+++

Other games that I’m keeping my eye on, because Week 4 is bae:

Glenrock’s victory against Big Horn turned conventional wisdom about the 2A East on its head. The Herders’ game against Wheatland has a new dimension to it now, doesn’t it? The Herders have home-field advantage; the Bulldogs have a target. …

I’m curious to see how Burlington does after two weeks of forfeit losses. …

Apologies to Star Valley-Cody, but Rawlins-Buffalo might be the most intriguing 3A game this week. Buffalo appears to be much better than I originally thought. And Rawlins has had back-to-back tough losses. In a 3A East that looks as wide open as it’s been in years, this game is critical. …

And, yes, Star Valley-Cody. The Braves have been one of 3A’s most improved teams thus far, but defending champ Cody will present a stout challenge, especially in Cody. This one might be for a home playoff game when it’s all said and done.

With the news breaking last week about Lingle’s petition to move to six-man in 2016 and 2017, this week’s rivalry game between the Doggers and Southeast takes on special significance. This might be the last time these two squads meet, at least for the foreseeable future. …

The 2A West has a huge make-or-break this week with Lyman playing at Pinedale and Mountain View traveling to Lovell. All four teams have shown flashes of potential, but all four have also shown they have weak spots. This might be the week we see a couple of these teams patch up those weak spots and stay in the race for a home playoff game. …

Here, finally, are the picks for the week, with projected winners in the non-narrow typeface:

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

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

+++

In making their picks this week, Tad and Homer actually came to a lot of agreement. They only disagree on four games. How cute!

The picks
Tad: Kelly Walsh over Cheyenne East; Worland over Jackson; Wheatland over Glenrock; Wind River over Burlington.
Homer: Cheyenne East over Kelly Walsh; Jackson over Worland; Glenrock over Wheatland; Burlington over Wind River.
Both: Gillette over Cheyenne South; Cheyenne Central over Laramie; Natrona over Evanston; Sheridan over Rock Springs; Powell over Green River; Douglas over Lander; Buffalo over Rawlins; Riverton over Torrington; Star Valley over Cody; Kemmerer over Big Piney; Newcastle over Greybull; Pinedale over Lyman; Mountain View over Lovell; Thermopolis over Burns; Big Horn over Wright; Upton-Sundance over Moorcroft; Cokeville over Rocky Mountain; Saratoga over Shoshoni; Southeast over Lingle; Lusk over Tongue River; Riverside over Wyoming Indian; Dubois over Hulett; Meeteetse over Farson; Midwest over Kaycee; Guernsey-Sunrise over Normative Services; Hanna over Rock River; Snake River over Ten Sleep.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh (tie 24-24 overall, East 12-10 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Gillette (Gillette 4-0 overall, Gillette 2-0 at this location)
Laramie at Cheyenne Central (Central 66-58-6 overall, Central 41-20-2 at this location)
Natrona at Evanston (Natrona 14-4 overall, Natrona 6-1 at this location)
Rock Springs at Sheridan (Sheridan 17-4-2 overall, Sheridan 10-2-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Green River at Powell (Powell 10-5 overall, Powell 5-2 at this location)
Lander at Douglas (Douglas 9-6 overall, Douglas 5-4 at this location)
Rawlins at Buffalo (Buffalo 18-3-1 overall, Buffalo 10-1 at this location)
Riverton at Torrington (Riverton 11-6 overall, Riverton 4-3 at this location)
Star Valley at Cody (Star Valley 18-9 overall, Star Valley 10-3 at this location)
Worland at Jackson (Worland 19-13 overall, Jackson 8-5 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Kemmerer (Kemmerer 23-19-1 overall, Kemmerer 14-7 at this location)
Greybull at Newcastle (Newcastle 5-2 overall, Newcastle 2-1 at this location)
Lyman at Pinedale (Pinedale 38-32 overall, Pinedale 21-16 at this location)
Mountain View at Lovell (Mountain View 9-6 overall, Mountain View 3-2 at this location)
Thermopolis at Burns (Thermopolis 4-0 overall, Thermopolis 2-0 at this location)
Wheatland at Glenrock (Wheatland 14-13 overall, Glenrock 8-6 at this location)
Wright at Big Horn (Big Horn 11-4 overall, Big Horn 4-2 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Upton-Sundance (tie 1-1 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Cokeville (Cokeville 10-0 overall, Cokeville 5-0 at this location)
Shoshoni at Saratoga (Saratoga 8-6 overall, Saratoga 5-2 at this location)
Southeast at Lingle (Southeast 25-11 overall, Southeast 14-4 at this location)
Tongue River at Lusk (Lusk 5-2 overall, Lusk 3-0 at this location)
Wind River at Burlington (Wind River 11-8 overall, Burlington 4-3 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Riverside (Riverside 11-1 overall, Riverside 4-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hulett (Dubois 5-2 overall, Dubois 3-0 at this location)
Farson at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 6-1 overall, Meeteetse 3-0 at this location)
Kaycee at Midwest (Midwest 5-4 overall, Midwest 3-2 at this location)
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 6-0 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 5-0 at this location)
Rock River at Hanna (Hanna 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Ten Sleep at Snake River (Snake River 5-1 overall, Snake River 2-0 at this location)

Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 26-6 (81 percent); Tad, 20-12 (63 percent); Homer, 14-18 (44 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 85-21 (80 percent); Tad, 69-39 (64 percent); Homer, 54-52 (51 percent).

Like I said, Week 4 is bae. I had trouble making about a dozen picks this week. The schedule is full of what should be some great, close, competitive games. Which one stands out to you? Where did I go wrong with my picks? Post your thoughts and let’s talk Week 4!

–patrick