Category Archives: Picks

The 1A six-man West Conference is going to be perhaps the most competitive conference, top to bottom, in the whole state this year.

If you believe the Wyopreps.com coaches and media poll to start the season, the five best teams in six-man all reside out west. And it just might be true.

Let’s break down the West:

• Farson is the defending champs and has two undefeated seasons the past three years.
• Meeteetse was runners-up last year and has maybe six-man’s biggest playmaker in Dace Bennett.
• Encampment lost by ONE to Farson in the semis and returns a core of talented players.
• Dubois is the odds-on favorite to win six-man in 2023 with a talented group of sophomores.
• Snake River is not far removed from an unbeaten season and didn’t graduate anyone — like, zero seniors last year.
• Burlington somehow managed to go under the radar but is never, ever the weak link.

There’s a chance the West could sweep the East this week in the five six-man inter-conference games this week.

The stakes go up quickly in the West Conference after this week, though. Conference play starts in Week 2 with two of the 15 games that will decide the standings for a conference that won’t disappoint, as Encampment goes to Snake River and Farson hosts Burlington.

But that’s next week.

This week, the focus is a fast start.

And this week, five West teams (Meeteetse is off) face the five East teams to try to do just that.

The sweep has a better than average chance of happening this week, but beware the spoiler. If an East team can win this week, that squad basically becomes the de facto favorite for a top seed from six-man’s forgotten side in 2021.

If you can beat one team from the even West conference, you automatically know you can play with them all.

+++

Other games that have piqued (not peaked) my interest:

Central was shut out last week against Natrona; Kelly Walsh put up 70. Which one was a fluke, and which one was a harbinger? We’ll find out when the Indians and Trojans meet this week. …

Thunder Basin picked up a pretty amazing victory last week, rallying from a 28-0 deficit to beat Cheyenne East 39-34. The ‘Bolts can ill afford another slow start against Rock Springs, which lived up to some big offseason hype by thumping on Campbell County. …

Would defending 4A champ Cheyenne East really start 0-2? Natrona would love it if they did. …

Sheridan County’s two 2A programs, Big Horn and Tongue River, are both intriguing this year. I’m curious to see how they stack up against Bighorn Basin programs Lovell and Thermopolis, respectively, in a pair of inter-conference games. …

Prior to 2011, Southeast and Shoshoni had never played each other. Now they’ve played eight times, including playoff games in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020. And this will be the second straight year that Shoshoni will begin its season by playing the team that ended its previous season. It’s the kind of unexpected rivalry that helps define an era, and I’m glad to see it going in 2021.

+++

Here are the Week 1 picks. Teams I think will give it everything they have are and quite possibly spring an upset are in the regular type; the teams I think they might spring the upset against are in bold.

Thursday
Class 1A nine-man
Pine Bluffs at Riverside
Interclass
Big Piney at Evanston JV
Lyman at Rawlins
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Kelly Walsh
Cheyenne East at Natrona
Cheyenne South at Sheridan
Laramie at Campbell County
Rock Springs at Thunder Basin
Class 3A
Cody at Riverton
Green River at Lander
Worland at Powell
Class 2A
Big Horn at Lovell
Glenrock at Pinedale
Wheatland at Kemmerer
Class 1A nine-man
Lingle at Wind River
Moorcroft at Greybull
Rocky Mountain at Wright
St. Stephens at Lusk
Southeast at Shoshoni
Wyoming Indian at Saratoga
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Kaycee
Encampment at Midwest
Farson at Guernsey-Sunrise
Hulett at Burlington
Interclass
Buffalo at Newcastle
Evanston at Mountain View
Torrington at Douglas
Interstate
Bear Lake, Idaho, at Jackson
Cokeville at Rich County, Utah
Star Valley at Preston, Idaho
Upton-Sundance at Lead-Deadwood, S.D.
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Snake River
Interclass
Sheridan JV at Tongue River
Open: Meeteetse.

Thermopolis’ game with Tongue River this week was canceled, and Burns forfeited its game against Mitchell, Neb. The loss of both games was COVID-19-related. Please mask up and vaccinate, if not for you, then for the football players you obviously care about if you’re this deep into reading this blog post.

Update: St. Stephens also forfeited its game this week against Lusk. A St. Stephens school Facebook post said the forfeit was “due to numbers, lack of practices, eligibility, and injuries.”

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 1” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 13-4 (76 percent). This season: 13-4 (76 percent).

+++

Is the 1A six-man West really the most competitive conference top to bottom? In what other leagues do you see the lowest-ranked team having a realistic chance of beating the highest-ranked team? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

One takeaway that Week 0 gave us in 2020?

August football and November football are two different things.

Cheyenne East, the Class 4A champion in 2020, suffered its only loss of the season in its August season opener against Thunder Basin, 34-28.

The two teams met again 11 weeks later, in November, in the 4A championship, with East winning 29-15.

East and Thunder Basin will play in Week 0 again this year, starting the 2021 season the same way the 2020 season ended.

In Class 4A, we know from the experience East and Thunder Basin had last year that who wins this week in August doesn’t necessarily have an advantage come November.

Moreover, a regular-season loss doesn’t mean a title-game loss to the same team is inevitable.

East in 2020 made it back-to-back seasons in 4A where a regular-season loss was followed by a championship victory against the same team. East repeated Sheridan’s 2019 path. The Broncs lost their 2019 regular-season game to Thunder Basin but won the championship.

That phenomenon has happened two other times since 4A began its round-robin regular-season scheduling in 2009. Sheridan also did the same, to Campbell County, in 2015, and Natrona got revenge on a regular-season loss to Sheridan in 2010.

Those instances are a reminder not to read too deeply into the first week of results, especially in Class 4A. A team’s August heat doesn’t always last through November’s winds.

+++

A couple other things caught my eye for opening weekend:

Week 0 has numerous interesting contests on the schedule, but if I really wanted to see a lot of action, I’d set up camp near Hell’s Half Acre and go to both Casper and Shoshoni. A bunch of nine-man teams will scrimmage Friday in Casper and Saturday in Shoshoni, a great opportunity to see how teams stack up against another team without worrying about their record. …

The only new Class 4A coach in Wyoming, Paul Ronga, makes his debut with the Laramie Plainsmen at home against Sheridan, while the only new 2A coach, Glenrock’s Paul Downing, debuts against the Natrona sophs at home. The other four new head coaches in the state are in 1A nine-man; two of those four coaches will be in Shoshoni on Saturday. …

Interstate matchups in Zero Week are always fun to watch. Every single one of the nine on the schedule this week look like they’ll be close, solid matchups. I’m particularly curious to see how Torrington, Lyman, Jackson and Meeteetse — teams that played in their respective title games last year — do agains their interstate foes.

+++

On to this week’s picks. Projected winners are in bold, but I love a good upset.

Friday
Class 4A
Campbell County at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Cheyenne South
Natrona at Cheyenne Central
Sheridan at Laramie
Thunder Basin at Cheyenne East
Class 3A
Powell at Riverton
Interclass
Natrona sophs at Glenrock
Wheatland at Rawlins
Interstate
Big Piney at Bear Lake, Idaho
Burns at Yuma, Colo.
Evanston at Ben Lomond, Utah
Gering, Neb., at Torrington
Hot Springs, S.D., at Newcastle
Malad, Idaho, at Lyman
Meeteetse at Bridger, Mont.
Star Valley at Summit Academy, Utah
Teton, Idaho, at Jackson

The rest of the schedule…

Jamborees and Scrimmages
Friday
Buffalo at Big Horn
Cokeville, Green River JV at Kemmerer
Douglas at Cody
Dubois, Guernsey-Sunrise, Midwest at Encampment Jamboree
Lingle at Pine Bluffs
Lusk, Shoshoni, Wind River, Wright at Casper Jamboree (Natrona)
Mountain View at Green River
Pinedale at Lander
Saturday
Greybull, Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Saratoga at Shoshoni Jamboree
Lovell at Tongue River
Moorcroft vs. Southeast, at Lusk
Worland at Thermopolis
Open: Burlington, Farson, Hanna, Hulett, Kaycee, St. Stephens, Snake River, Upton-Sundance, Wyoming Indian.

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 0” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

As usual during Zero Week, here is a reminder of 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.

+++

Where are you keeping your eyes for Zero Week? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say this about any round of semifinal playoffs:

That looks fresh.

I’m talking specifically about the Class 2A bracket, where we’ll see two games between programs who have never faced each other before now.

In a parity-filled classification, it only seems right to get the only two such games in the state happening in the same classification.

Torrington and Mountain View meet in one semifinal game, while Upton-Sundance and Lyman meet in the other.

In short, no one knows what to expect, least of all me.

Torrington and Mountain View are both 7-2, with each of them suffering a loss to a 3A program (Torrington to Douglas, Mountain View to Evanston) as well as a conference opponent.

It’s a great matchup for two programs that crossed paths in both 2017 and 2018, but as ships passing in the night, not ships destined for a collision. Those years, both the Buffalos and Trailblazers reached Laramie, with the ‘Blazers finishing as 3A runners-up both seasons and the Buffalos winning the 2A title in 2017 and finishing second in 2018.

Now, they get to finally meet each other. And that’s pretty cool.

Also pretty cool? Lyman (9-1) and Upton-Sundance (8-1) are meeting in a semifinal game that will likely be defined by defense. Upton-Sundance and Lyman are the only two teams in 2A who have allowed fewer than 100 points this season, with the Patriots allowing 89 and the Eagles just 67.

These two programs, too, are strangers to each other, but that’s to be expected with the Upton-Sundance co-op being less than a decade old. However, Lyman also never played either Upton or Sundance when they were separate programs.

Of the other eight games this week, six (East-Sheridan, Kelly Walsh-Thunder Basin, Powell-Cody, Shoshoni-Southeast, Lusk-Rocky Mountain, Encampment-Farson) give us matchups have already been played this season. So… not as fresh, as most of those games weren’t all that close in the regular season. Cheyenne East and Sheridan played a 16-14 thriller in Week 4, but all the other games were decided by double-digit margins.

Jackson and Douglas haven’t played since 2013, so that game has a semblance of freshness. And Meeteetse and Kaycee haven’t played each other since 2017, but they played against each other in every postseason from 2013 to 2017, so it’s almost nostalgic to see that pairing brought back.

Class 2A, though — Wyoming’s biggest and most parity-filled classification — will draw much of my attention this week. That attention has been earned by a pair of games that help make the bracket even more unexpected — and fun.

+++

Here are my picks for this week’s games. Chances are you’re not even reading this paragraph, because you know by now that bold means that I’m picking that team to win. So you’re just glazing right past this to see who I think will win. Glaze… mmmm, donuts…

Friday
Class 4A
(4) Sheridan at (1) Cheyenne East: Unstoppable force, immovable object, blah blah blah. The bottom line is that these are the two hottest teams in 4A, and it seems weird to have them playing in the semis. East, but just barely, in what could be the game of the year in the entire state, all season.
(7) Kelly Walsh at (3) Thunder Basin: The Trojans proved their mettle last week and will give the ‘Bolts a challenge, but I still like Thunder Basin at home in this one.
Class 3A
(3W) Powell at (1W) Cody: Think Cody won’t be ready for this one? Then again, think Powell won’t be? Broncs in a tight one in an intra-county rivalry that deserves all the love it’s gonna get this week.
(2W) Jackson at (1E) Douglas: Jackson’s offense looked on point last week, and even though I think Douglas will present a challenge, I like what the Broncs have going right now. I wish it was more nuanced than that, but it’s not.
Class 2A
(2W) Mountain View at (1E) Torrington: With the parity that’s present in 2A this year, I’m totally not going to be surprised by a Mountain View victory. But Torrington looked great last week, and the Trailblazers have home field.
(2E) Upton-Sundance at (1W) Lyman: If there’s one team that can give the Eagles’ defense fits, it might just be the Patriots. I get the feeling this is one of those that’s gonna be decided by extra points, like 14-13 or something close to that.
Class 1A nine-man
(2W) Shoshoni at (1E) Southeast: The Cyclones shut out the Wranglers 22-0 in Yoder in Week 1. The problem for an improved Shoshoni team is that Southeast has improved, too.
(2E) Lusk at (1W) Rocky Mountain: We saw this matchup four weeks ago. Remember how wild that 62-50 shootout Grizzlies victory was? Well, that means anything could happen this time around, and the Tigers are dangerous.
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
(3W) Encampment at (1W) Farson: Undefeated Farson won the first go-round of this season 74-32 back in Week 3. It’ll be closer this time, but the undefeated Pronghorns have too much depth.
(2W) Meeteetse at (1E) Kaycee: The Longhorns have been lights out basically all season, and I like their chances against a Kaycee team who’s — get this — playing its seventh home game in the past eight weeks.

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Semifinals” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 20-1 (95 percent). This season: 227-60 (79 percent).

+++

Which 10 teams do you see emerging from this week and reaching the championship games? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

Occasionally, just before the playoff starts, we get a playoff game.

Now, I’m not talking about a game that’s a part of the actual playoff bracket, being played a week early. That’s crazy talk.

Instead, I’m talking about the simplest of propositions facing a team in Week 8: Win and you’re in. Lose and you’re not.

So even though the regular-season finale on Friday for Green River and Star Valley isn’t a playoff game… it is. They face that winner-takes-a-spot, loser-takes-a-seat scenario, and they’ll do so together.

The game between the Wolves and Braves the only game in the state like that this week.

Of the 40 playoff spots available in Wyoming’s five classifications of football, 36 teams already have one of those postseason spots secured. That includes all eight teams in Class 4A and Class 2A, seven of eight in 3A and 1A nine-man and six of eight in 1A six-man.

In Class 1A six-man, three teams (Burlington, Snake River and Encampment) are going for the final two spots, and conveniently Burlington and Encampment play each other. That will help settle a lot of uncertainty. However, only Burlington is in a true win-and-in, lose-and-out spot; both Encampment and Snake River could lose and still get in.

And in Class 1A nine-man, in a weird twist, the eighth spot (the final spot from the West), going to either Greybull or Wind River, will be decided by a game played by Shoshoni and Riverside. If Shoshoni wins, Greybull makes the playoffs. If Riverside wins, Wind River is in. Wind River is off this week; if I’m the Cougars, I’m organizing a trip across Fremont County to Shoshoni to go root for the Rebels.

A bit different than Star Valley-Green River, isn’t it?

+++

Even though the bulk of spots are sets, multiple questions still exist for seeding. Particularly in Class 4A, the scenarios are complicated, as four of the five games have an effect on who ends up where. While I’ll pay particular attention to 4A, every game has something interesting going on; here’s what I’m intrigued by the most this week:

Anyone else get the feeling that Sheridan might sneak up on Thunder Basin in a potential trap game for the ‘Bolts? Just me? OK. …

Can Rock Springs sweep the Cheyenne schools? The Tigers had a huge attention-getting victory last week against Central, and if they can do the same to East the week before the playoffs, Katie bar the door. …

I’m still not sure how Buffalo is 1-5 and not making the postseason. Buffalo is one of those teams that’s better than its record; the Bison’s five losses are by scores of 8-6, 14-6, 13-6, 27-23 and 20-17. It’s too bad their season will end this week. The Bison could give Lander a true challenge, even though the Tigers will be playing at home next week and the Bison will be watching from home. …

The 2A East’s top seed will be decided one way or another by the game between Big Horn and Upton-Sundance. Don’t let the Rams’ slow start fool you; they’re playing really well right now. And don’t let the previous sentence fool you, either; the Patriots are in great shape, and their only loss all season was on the road by 3 points. …

The Bridger Valley Bowl between Lyman and Mountain View means way more this season, as it will decide the top seed from the 2A West. Lyman’s defense has been its calling card all season long, so I’m curious to see how the Eagles will match up against a diverse Mountain View offense.

+++

Picks. I make ’em. You read ’em. I bold ’em; you know it means that’s who I’m picking.

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Laramie
Cheyenne East at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Campbell County
Natrona at Cheyenne South
Thunder Basin at Sheridan
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander
Cody at Jackson
Green River at Star Valley
Powell at Evanston
Riverton at Rawlins
Worland at Douglas
Class 2A
Big Horn at Upton-Sundance
Cokeville at Lovell
Glenrock at Tongue River
Kemmerer at Big Piney
Lyman at Mountain View
Newcastle at Wheatland
Thermopolis at Pinedale
Class 1A nine-man
Lingle at Greybull
Pine Bluffs at Moorcroft
Riverside at Shoshoni
Saratoga at Lusk
Southeast at Wright
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Kaycee
NSI at Hulett
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Burlington at Encampment
Dubois at Ten Sleep
Farson at Snake River
Guernsey-Sunrise at Midwest
Interclass
Cody JV at Meeteetse
Open: Rocky Mountain, Wind River. The game between Torrington and Burns scheduled for this week was canceled.

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 8” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 28-3 (90 percent). This season: 183-55 (77 percent).

+++

What’s been the most surprising thing to you so far this season? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

Over the next couple weeks, you will probably hear a lot about home-field advantage in the playoffs.

And you may ask yourself how much it really matters, playing at home in the postseason.

The short answer? It matters a lot.

While home teams win an average of about 56% of Wyoming high school football games, that skyrockets to 74% in the playoffs.

Moreover, no active team in Wyoming has a better road playoff record than home playoff record.

And for some teams, the difference is pretty drastic.

Take, for example, Farson. All-time, Farson is 6-0 in home playoff games but 0-7 in road playoff games. It’s safe to say that Farson — who’s playing Meeteetse this week, with the winner holding home-field advantage from the 1A six-man West — wants to play as many playoff games at Pronghorn Field as possible.

Or Big Horn, one of four teams chasing the top two spots out of the 2A East: 33-6 at home, 3-17 on the road.

Or Rock Springs, which needs some help to avoid a first-round road trip in 4A: 13-1 at home, 6-31 on the road.

And Sheridan, which is working hard to try to get the up-for-grabs fourth seed in Class 4A, would much rather play its opening-round game at home, where the Broncs are (get this) 39-2 all-time in playoff games.

So when you look at the standings and try to parse through what’s possible, keep in mind just how important it is to stay off the bus as much as you can in the postseason.

+++

With that in mind, let’s clarify a bit of confusion about the potential hosts for state title games.

Without realizing it, the Wyoming High School Activities Association put out some conflicting information about who would host the championship game if two teams with equal seeds (say, both top seeds, or both No. 2 seeds, and so on) met in the championship.

WHSAA Associate Commissioner Trevor Wilson gave me some definitive answers via email this week, though, and what it boils down to is this: When in doubt, check the handbook.

Wilson clarified that, in the case of two equal seeds meeting, the WEST team will host the 3A and 1A six-man title games, while the EAST team will host the 2A and 1A nine-man title games. These are the scenarios outlined in the WHSAA handbook for this season.

Wilson also clarified that if the two teams have met in the regular season, that regular-season result will NOT be used to determine the host.

+++

As we approach the final two weeks of the regular season, surprises become fewer and fewer. But that makes surprises more interesting when they do happen. These are the games that could bring us the most surprises:

Riverton and Worland could give us a close game in a key 3A East matchup. I really considered picking the Wolverines this week, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them KO the Warriors in Washakie County. …

Opposite momentums will meet in Cokeville Friday. The host Panthers have won three in a row after starting 2A West play with consecutive losses. Meanwhile, Big Piney’s lost two in a row after starting 4-0. How big will “Big Mo” be for both teams? …

Wheatland and Torrington meet in a huge game that will go a long way in deciding 2A East title rights. No matter who wins, they’ll both need a little help next week for the top seed, but the top seed doesn’t happen at all without a victory right here. …

The Lusk-Southeast winner is the top seed from the 1A nine-man East Conference. Meeteetse and Farson face the same stakes, just for the 1A six-man West. Both games could come right down to the final moments; Southeast hasn’t yet played anyone with Lusk’s firepower, and undefeated Meeteetse has been plucky enough to give also-undefeated Farson a challenge.

+++

Here are the weekly picks. If you’re new here, I pick teams to win every week, and I signify my choices in bold. But you’re not new here, are you?

Wednesday
Class 3A
Star Valley at Evanston (as picked before the game on Twitter)
Thursday
Class 1A nine-man
Greybull at Shoshoni
Interclass
Natrona sophs at Snake River
Friday
Class 4A
Campbell County at Sheridan
Cheyenne South at Laramie
Kelly Walsh at Cheyenne East
Rock Springs at Cheyenne Central
Thunder Basin at Natrona
Class 3A
Douglas at Buffalo
Green River at Cody
Jackson at Powell
Rawlins at Lander
Riverton at Worland
Class 2A
Big Piney at Cokeville
Burns at Newcastle
Glenrock at Upton-Sundance
Lovell at Kemmerer
Lyman at Pinedale
Mountain View at Thermopolis
Tongue River at Big Horn
Wheatland at Torrington
Class 1A nine-man
Lusk at Southeast
Moorcroft at Riverside
Pine Bluffs at Lingle
Wind River at Rocky Mountain
Wright at Saratoga
Class 1A six-man
Midwest at Kaycee
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise
Ten Sleep at Burlington
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Encampment at Dubois
Hulett vs. Hanna (at Midwest)
Meeteetse at Farson

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 7” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 26-5 (84 percent). This season: 155-52 (75 percent). Does not include last week’s forfeit.

+++

Like I brought up before… you’re not new here. So give me your insight. What Week 7 game has you the most fired up? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

Lusk and Rocky Mountain haven’t crossed their football paths very often.

But when the two undefeated Class 1A nine-man behemoths face off on Friday, they’ll resurrect a matchup that had its best moments in the ’90s.

The Tigers and Grizzlies played against each other in two Class 1A-Division I championship games back in the 1990s, with Rocky winning both times (1995 and 1997). The victories were part of a run of four titles in the 1990s for Rocky; the Tigers later won titles of their own in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

Neither one has won a championship since.

This year might break that streak for one of them — they both have the talent to make a run in 2020, as evidence by their records and how they’ve racked them up.

The Tigers and Grizzlies have been two of the biggest beneficiaries from the move to nine-man football this season. The 5-0 Tigers have nine-man’s highest-scoring offense, averaging 56.4 points per game. The 4-0 Grizzlies aren’t far behind, ranking second in the class at 49 ppg, but Rocky has also given up nine-man’s fewest total points (26).

Even so, Rocky Mountain and Lusk rank second and third, respectively, in the Wyopreps.com coaches and media poll for 1A nine-man; they both trail Southeast in the rankings.

The stakes aren’t much higher than pride this week — the game has no effect on the playoffs, as Rocky’s in the West Conference, and has already wrapped up the top seed out of the West at that, and Lusk is in the East.

But for pride? Rankings? The renewal of a little-played but often-intense rivalry?

Plan on seeing the best out of each squad. This one’s important.

+++

Some other games:

The Capital Bowl between East and Central is for more than bragging rights this year. Central is 6-0, and East, at 5-1 and with five consecutive victories, is the Indians’ biggest obstacle to a perfect regular season. It’s been a long time since this game has meant so much. …

Four teams are tied at 3-3 in Class 4A, and the game between Sheridan and Kelly Walsh will break up that logjam. That’s a tiebreaker scenario that could get all kinds of messy by the end of the season. …

Riverton hosts Lander in the Fremont County rivalry game that really deserves a nickname. They’re both 1-1 in the 3A East, so a victory here will mean everything in terms of postseason momentum. …

The 2A West is a mess of parity right now, but the only team that remains unbeaten in league play — Mountain View — could do itself a huge favor if it can beat once-beaten Big Piney on Friday in Uinta County. …

One other good geographic rivalry is this week, as Riverside and Greybull meet on the field for the first time since 2014. Here’s to hoping this is a long-lasting renewal in what could be a close game in the reintroduction to the rivalry.

+++

The picks have been my nemesis this year; it seems like every close game on Friday (or Saturday) goes against the team I have bolded on Thursday.

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

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 6” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 21-11 (66 percent). This season: 129-47 (73 percent).

+++

Which is your game-of-the-week choice for Week 6? And are you going to be there in person? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

The top two-thirds of the Class 2A West Conference was going to be filled with parity — we knew this, more or less, last November.

After two weeks of conference play, trying to distinguish between the top six teams in that conference is tougher than a $2 steak.

Games between Big Piney, Cokeville, Lovell, Lyman, Mountain View and Thermopolis have been the kinds of games that can swing on a single play.

Just look at these scores from six teams through two weeks of conference play: 14-12, 16-0, 23-13, 12-9, 12-7. That kind of parity is rare, especially among so many teams. And it makes the conference a blast to follow.

Big Piney, Mountain View and Lyman have started conference play 2-0; Thermopolis is at 1-1, and Cokeville and Lovell 0-2.

(Pinedale and Kemmerer are also in the 2A West mix, but their starts have been less auspicious, less a part of the parity defining the relationships among the other six.)

This week, we’ll likely get two more close games in showdowns between these schools, as Lyman faces Big Piney and Thermopolis meets Lovell.

The rub in all of this, of course, is that only four of these teams can make the playoffs.

And in a season with hundreds of plays for every team, just one can make the difference between being a part of the postseason and being apart from it.

++++

Here are some other Week 4 games that look as delicious as a Genoise cake:

Cheyenne East and Sheridan each have one loss in Class 4A play, and they can ill afford another and hope to maintain any hopes of home-field advantage past the first round. This one will be big — and competitive. …

Cody and Powell will get together for the Big Horn Brawl. For the first time since 1936, both teams enter the game undefeated, a side effect from the game usually being played much later in the season. Both are 3-0, and Powell has the added benefit of a week off after last week’s game with Douglas was canceled. As the conference opener for both teams, this game also sets the standard for the rest of the conference to follow. …

Star Valley and Jackson also have a great 3A West rivalry, and their meeting Friday in the shadows of the Tetons will be telling. Are Jackson’s fast start and Star Valley’s slow start trends or flukes? …

Worland looked great last week in beating Green River; I’m curious to see if the Warriors can keep the momentum going against 3A East preseason fave Lander in Fremont County. …

After two weeks, six of the eight teams in the 2A East have at least one loss. The only two without a loss? Upton-Sundance and Torrington. I figured U-S would be in the mix this year, but I thought a junior-heavy Torrington team might be a year away. Clearly, Torrington’s young guys have met the challenge. I’m eager to see how they match up Friday in Goshen County. …

Lingle and Lusk won their games last week by a combined 114-16. They’ll meet this week, and something has to give. …

Even though Meeteetse is undefeated, the Longhorns will be the underdogs when they play Burlington on Friday. The Huskies have had a much tougher schedule so far and gave top-ranked Farson its biggest test of the season two weeks ago in a 31-24 loss. …

+++

On to the picks. Bolded teams are the ones that I think will win. But the teams that aren’t bolded still deserve orange slices after the game.

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

For a full schedule including kickoff times, as well as results from past weeks, go here. Click on “Week 4” on the top of the page for this week’s schedule.

+++

Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 25-7 (78 percent). This season: 89-26 (77 percent). 

+++

Had you ever heard of a Genoise cake before this post? If so, why hadn’t I? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick