Category Archives: Humble Pie

Can one play, one moment, one victory symbolize the end of years of frustration?

You bet — just look at what happened to the Torrington Trailblazers on Friday.

A 76-yard touchdown pass from Mitch Schlager to Micheal Winget in the final two minutes helped Torrington beat Cody 12-10 — in Cody — and boosted the Trailblazers from afterthought and also-ran to dangerous contender.

It’s been awhile since Torrington has been more than just pesky. The Trailblazers haven’t had a winning season since 1995 (although they played in the 1996 3A championship) and have won just one playoff game in the past 12 years.

A 37-0 loss to Chadron, Neb., in the season opener two weeks ago made it seem like Torrington was destined for another losing season. A big win last week over Worland wasn’t too surprising — especially since the game was in Torrington — and didn’t turn many heads.

But this win on Friday is something different. It’s a road win over a ranked opponent, and it came out of a situation that didn’t look all that promising — 76 yards to go and less than two minutes to do it in.

Torrington has three winnable games the next three weeks (at Wheatland, home versus Rawlins and at Riverton) before facing Buffalo and Douglas in the final two weeks of the regular season. And by then, Torrington could be favorites, THE team to beat.

One play, one moment, one victory. The Trailblazers are back.

Second mad props to Burns, who did just what I thought they might do — mess up my pick — in its 20-0 road victory over Newcastle. This was exactly what the Broncs needed to get back on track. They’re now a respectable 1-1 in the East and with three of their next four conference games at home, Burns could be right back in the thick of things by late October.

Speaking of the 2A East, third mad props to Big Horn, which pummeled Wright 37-0. Don’t look now, but Big Horn has won two in a row heading into its toughest stretch of the regular season — at Glenrock next week, at Thermopolis the following week. The Rams are now 2-0 in the 2A East could be a big spoiler in the playoffs, especially if they can pull out a victory in at least one (or both) of their next two games.

Fourth mad props to Lusk, which just felt like running in its 24-6 win over (previously) top-ranked Southeast. The Tigers tallied a ton of yards on the ground — almost 300 in all — and held Southeast to just 89 rushing yards. Oh, and just go ahead and make your plans now to show up at Lusk next week, when the 3-0 Tigers host 3-0 Lingle in yet another huge conference game.

Speaking of 1A, fifth mad props to Rocky Mountain, which used a stifling defensive effort to beat Riverside. The Grizzlies’ defense is for real. Through three games, Rocky is 3-0 and has yet to give up a point, winning by scores of 35-0, 39-0 and now 24-0. The Grizzlies’ defensive efficiency will definitely be tested next week as the team travels to Pavillion to play Wind River, but nonetheless three consecutive shutouts is nothing to sneeze at.

Speaking of 1A, sixth mad props to Sundance, which used a late fourth-quarter touchdown to beat Pine Bluffs 27-20. The Bulldogs’ victory spoiled a couple goose eggs — it was Sundance’s first victory this season and Pine Bluffs’ first loss. If any team can throw a kink into the 1A East, it might be Sundance. Remember, the Bulldogs play both Lusk and Lingle AT Sundance….

Seventh mad props to Powell, which found a little bit of offensive rhythm to mow down Buffalo 20-7 to notch its third consecutive victory. This was a big one for Powell, a momentum-builder for the 3A West slate that starts next week. Powell doesn’t have to travel much the next few weeks — counting the Buffalo game, the Panthers play four of five games at home, with the only road trip in that stretch to Afton to face Star Valley — so the Panthers have a great chance to establish themselves as one of 4A’s best. They’ve done a great job so far, and Friday’s win will only help that momentum build.

Other stuff that caught my eyes this week:

Kelly Walsh beat Natrona County 28-27 in double overtime in a thrilling Oil Bowl. KW won in the second OT after NC’s two-point conversion attempt was stopped short. … How did Sheridan avoid the upset at Rock Springs? Broncs win, 20-17, but that’s all I know. If you were there, fill me in. … Glenrock won’t be cruising to the 2A title. Thermopolis gave the Herders a game before falling 32-26, while Kemmerer proved it has refocused its energy by notching its second consecutive blowout victory. … Road teams are 16-11 so far this week, an abnormally high ratio for road wins.

Also, keep your thoughts with Midwest this week. A car crash on Thursday injured Midwest player Taylor Weber and killed his mother. Details of the crash are available here. The Oilers’ game with Kaycee got moved to Tuesday, but right now that’s not the important thing. The important thing is doing what you can to comfort the family and the communities — both Midwest and Bar Nunn — as they cope with the accident.

What else caught your attention this week? Any upsets, surprises or blowouts that you didn’t see coming? Or maybe something you saw coming that seemingly no one else did? Post your thoughts below.

Sunday addition: Also, congratulations to Snake River, which beat the Natrona frosh-soph team 38-26 in Casper to win the school’s first football game since (according to my records) 1953. It’s a win 56 years in the making. Good job, Rattlers!

This week: 26-7 (79 percent). This season: 89-21 (81 percent).

–patrick

Who is this Sheridan team — and what the heck happened up there in the past two weeks?

The Broncs proved something on Friday with a 34-21 victory over top-ranked Green River, a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates.

So this is what we know in Class 4A: Kelly Walsh throttled Sheridan two weeks ago, Green River barely beat Kelly Walsh last week, and then Sheridan throttled Green River last night.

Which one was the aberration?

That, only time will tell. But, as of about 10 p.m. Friday night, the Broncs look like the best team in the state. They led 27-0 at halftime and shut down everything the Wolves wanted to do on both sides of the ball.

After three weeks, only Cheyenne Central and Gillette remain undefeated in Wyoming’s 4A ranks. And it looks like any of about six or seven 4A schools could win it all in mid-November in Laramie.

As of Week 2, it looks like Sheridan is — all of a sudden — the team to beat.

Second mad props to Big Horn, which used opportunistic offense and a key turnover in the fourth quarter to top Burns — in Burns — in a rematch of last year’s 2A championship game. The Rams got a little bit of revenge for the Broncs’ win last November and sent the Broncs to an 0-2 start, something few people saw coming.

Third mad props to Star Valley, which eked out a 14-13 win over Riverton. Don’t know much about how this game broke down — comment below if you do, I’d love to hear how it went. Either way, a big win for the Braves, who finally saw some glimpses of offense in a game that could put them right back into contention.

And that’s all of this week’s Humble Pie (for now). Ditching humble for a minute, I was freaking awesome making my picks this week!!!!!!!!!1111

Once again, the theme of the week was big points and blowouts. Kemmerer 54-0 over Lyman, Douglas 65-0 over Jackson, Big Piney 54-6 over Wyoming Indian, Lingle 62-7 over Upton, Wind River 55-0 over Shoshoni (in which Shoshoni finished with 10 players on the field), Cokeville 49-6 over Riverside, Midwest 80-24 over Meeteetse in six-man and — ouch — Cody 72-8 over Rawlins. Put simply, it was an ugly week.

In part, that’s what made it so predictable. Especially in 3A and 2A, the top teams have already asserted themselves — and so have the bottom teams. Obviously, anything can happen on any given Friday, but that doesn’t mean it will.

That said, there were still some good, close, exciting games that helped settle some of the questions atop the divisions. Buffalo and Lander, as expected, staged a great, close, tight, defense-first game, with the Bison pulling off a 10-3 victory. I still think the Bison and the Tigers are among 3A’s best — Douglas has seized the rights to the top spot — and both teams proved last night they have what it takes to make a deep playoff run.

Thermopolis needed a comeback, scoring 15 late points, to beat Wright 22-19 on the road. The Bobcats’ big win last week over Lyman was expected; beating Wright on the road was a toss-up. The Bobcats proved they could pull out those close ones on Friday, no matter the location — something that will bode well for the rest of the season.

Also right up there is the Hulett-Lusk showdown, won by Lusk 24-10. Both the Tigers and the Red Devils are talented — talented enough to go deep into November. But the 1A East hierarchy is settling out right now, and the big Lusk-Southeast showdown looms next week in Yoder.

The Big Horn-Burns game and the Star Valley-Riverton games fall into this category, too.

Overall, the 2009 season is shaping up kind of odd. There have been too many blowouts, especially in the first week of conference play, and not enough defense in basically every single classification.

Doesn’t mean it’s not exciting, though — and I’m still having fun. How about you?

This week: 28-3 (90 percent). This season: 63-14 (82 percent).

–patrick

Apparently, the reports of Cokeville’s demise were highly exaggerated.

Friday’s 34-0 victory over Mountain View sent a pretty clear message: The Panthers are back.

Chance Maddock looks like he’ll be the next big star for the Panthers. He did it all. He ran for 247 yards, four touchdowns and probably found time to cook a pizza on the sidelines in between scores.

Cokeville didn’t quite have the same expectations heading into 2009 that they’ve seemingly had in the past. Now, though, those expectations are back.

Second mad props to another southwest corner resident, Evanston, which took care of Natrona in fairly easy fashion — 27-14 — in Casper. Corey Huntley scored three times and Evanston forced seven NC turnovers. The Red Devils are for real, folks. They played Gillette close last week and beat Natrona…. but the tests don’t stop now. Next week, Evanston travels to Cheyenne to play Central. And you better believe the Indians won’t be taking anything for granted.

Staying in the southwest corner, third mad props to Big Piney, which beat Burlington 20-12 in a big road victory. The Punchers had an unusually difficult time of it in 2008, so it’s good to see them get off on the right foot in 2009. Just from a glance at the score, the Punchers could be one of the better teams in 2A this year — and could easily be 4-0 heading into their Week 5 matchup with Kemmerer.

Fourth mad props to Glenrock, which went down to The Pit and beat Kemmerer 26-6 in a rematch of the ’05, ’07 and ’08 3A championship games. Don’t know the details, sorry, but my guess is that the Herders survived on lots of sweeps, dives and options.

Fifth mad props to Lusk, which used an efficient running game (nearly 400 yards) and a 16-point third quarter to beat Burns 28-6. Jerit Degering scored twice as the Tigers helped show the 2009 season could be a big one in Niobrara County — and the statement they made by beating the defending 2A champs was impressive.

Sixth mad props to Riverside, which sneaked past Pinedale 13-12 in Basin. This is another one of those games I don’t know much about, so can anyone fill me in on how the Rebels ended up a point ahead? Five safeties and a field goal?

Seventh mad props to Greybull, which beat Big horn 7-6 on Thursday. The Buffs scored the game-winning touchdown by capping a 99-yard drive with a Chayce Goton touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Buffs are better this year than they’ve been in a long time — Thursday’s victory helped prove that — and, now, everyone knows it.

Eighth mad props to Cody, which beat Hardin, Mont., like 500 to nothing. Actually, it wasn’t that bad (the real final was 43-0), but after losing in ugly fashion last week, it’s got to be good for the soul for the Broncs to get a big win like this one. Details?

From Saturday: Ninth mad props to the Natrona frosh-soph team, which beat Meeteetse 33-13 in Casper.

Now, for something completely different…

I did make it up to Kaycee on Friday for the historic Kaycee-Snake River contest, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised — the bleachers were filled to overflowing, the football was heartfelt but slightly tentative, and the atmosphere was all Kaycee. The song to which the Buckaroos first took the field? Chris LeDoux’s “Hooked on an 8 Second Ride.” I mentioned in my CST  story there was no organized cheering, and that means more than just no cheerleaders. That means no organized cheers at all, not even a “De-FENSE” chant. It was definitely a curious crowd that came to Kaycee, but give it time…. the football itself was great, the crowd was huge (for Kaycee) and both Kaycee and Snake River have football. And that’s the most important point about Friday’s little adventure to the base of the Bighorns.

By the way, how about the offensive performances on Friday? Sheridan put up 56 points on East; Pine Bluffs scored 55 at Shoshoni, Lander 47 against Rawlins, Central 52 at Rock Springs, Lingle 54 against Saratoga and Cody’s previously mentioned 43 against Hardin.

What were some of your favorite moments from Week 1? Post your comments below and let’s talk about it.

This week: 25-9 (69 percent). This season: 35-11 (76 percent).

–patrick

When the 2009 football schedule came out last November, the Kelly Walsh Trojans knew they’d get tested right off the bat.

Week 0, at Sheridan. Week 1, at Green River.

Two games against the top two ranked teams in Class 4A.

But the Trojans weren’t intimidated — and it was the perfect opportunity to make a statement.

42-20.

One down for the Trojans. A 1-0 start. And, suddenly, a fantastic opportunity.

Two KW backs (Lucas Nolan and Riley Moore) broke 100 yards and Tom Manning was five yards short of becoming the third, as the Trojans exploited the Broncs’ miscues and turned them into easy points.

And this is a sentence I never thought I’d write: Sheridan’s Austin Woodward threw for 285 yards, and the Broncs still lost.

Go figure.

The Trojans became the first team to upset the 4A preseason heirarchy, and did so dramatically.

That makes next week’s showdown at Green River more than just big — it’s KW’s way to prove itself as THE team to beat in 4A this fall.

Second mad props to Newcastle, 15-14 double-overtime winners over Custer, S.D. As I noted earlier this week, the Dogies were 0-for-the-century against South Dakota teams, but a successfully converted fake extra point in the second OT gave the Dogies — and new head coach Matt Conzelman — their first victory. It’s Newcastle’s first win in a season opener since 2001 and sets the team up beautifully for what could be a fun season in Weston County.

It was a fun week to start the season. I had the pleasure of attending the Central-Natrona game in Cheyenne on Friday and it was a blast. Back and forth, big play after big play, both teams matched each other. Central is senior-laden and talented enough to give teams fits trying to account for everyone; Natrona is young, but athletic and — at least from a distance — bore a hard-working attitude that will pay off as the season progresses.

But, even so, it’s Week 0. And that means I need to slip on my hip waders to slog through the bull poop.

The hypocrisy of Week 0 is everywhere. At Wyopreps, where hypocrisy is apparently justified, tossed out this mega-dose of it: Newcastle’s thrilling win over Custer counts. Cody’s blowout-turned-sorta-respectable 48-21 loss to Laurel, Mont., doesn’t.

Same game, played under the same rules. Yet one counts and one doesn’t — at least as Wyopreps sees it.

Two games — Riverton’s 26-7 win over Jackson and Lyman’s 27-0 loss to Altamont, Utah — were either relayed to me as scrimmages or were left out altogether of the schedules of the teams playing in those games.

And THAT’S the kind of stuff I’m talking about. It’s just confusing — especially for me, the self-appointed record keeper of Wyoming high school football. Sites like Wyopreps perpetuating the myth that some games should count and some shouldn’t only adds to the confusion, both personally and for the fans statewide.

For the record, here are the criteria I use to judge whether or not to call an event a “game,” and therefore list it in the standings (and, eventually, as part of the team record on this site):

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 an event meets those criteria, it’s a game, and I’ll list it as such. If the only thing missing is attitude — i.e., the coaches and players went into the game not trying to win, but trying to test out their depth and their schemes in live game situations in a game that won’t affect its playoff seeding anyway — well, I’m sorry, but that’s not justification enough to have it “not count.”

Simple request, from here on out, to the coaches statewide:

DON’T WANT IT TO COUNT? DON’T KEEP SCORE!

I’ll follow that rule if you will. It eliminates confusion and it puts forth a simple reason for counting or not counting every Week 0 contest.

Until then, we’re going to have this fight every single year.

This week: 10-2 (not counting Lander-Kemmerer, score not available). This season: 10-2.

–patrick

Read it here.