“Sometimes the distance from point A to point B is not always a straight line. Sometimes it takes funny curves along the way.” –Jackson football coach Jim Rooks, speaking to the Jackson Hole Guide, Nov. 11, 1986

In the history of Wyoming high school football, no championship chase has seen more curves than the Class 3A championship race from 1986.

In that season, six different teams were ranked No. 1, and neither of the two teams ranked No. 1 in the final two weeks of the regular season played in the state championship game. Every team in the classification finished with at least three losses. Neither the East nor the West Conference had an undefeated champion. And every single top-ranked team eventually fell victim to “the curse.”

Ultimately, the Class 3A title race of 1986 was one where several teams had a chance, but seemingly none of them wanted to win.

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(Optional but recommended: To establish the correct atmosphere for reading this post, I recommend that you click on the following YouTube video and let it play in the background as you read.)

The preseason buzz in Class 3A heading into 1986 was where it belonged: squarely on the shoulders of the defending champions. In 1985, Evanston overcame a pair of early losses and swept through the 3A West part of its schedule. The Red Devils, in doing so, earned the right to host the championship game, and once there Evanston blew out Torrington by 39 points to win its first championship since 1951.

But Evanston had a problem. All six of its all-state choices had been seniors, and none of the seniors entering 1986 were returning starters, leaving the defending champs inexperienced all over the field — and, as it turns out, overrated.

A bunch of suitors were ready to take the Red Devils’ place. As a Class 3A preseason story in the Casper Star-Tribune on Sept. 5 of that year noted in its lead: “At least eight teams could win the 1986 3-A state title…”

There was Torrington, runner-up the year before and talented. There was Glenrock, 6-2 the year before and experienced on the backfield. There was Douglas, 5-4 in 1985 but with a dozen returning starters. There was Star Valley, traditionally tough and rebuilding. There was Wheatland, steadily improving and just a year removed from the title it had earned in ’84. There was Jackson, which brought back eight senior starters. There was Powell, which boasted 21 returning lettermen in the senior class alone. And then there were Buffalo, Worland, Newcastle and Thermopolis, all eager to prove they, too, belonged in the discussion.

Then came Week 1, the first curve in the road.

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WEEK 1

Of those 12 Class 3A teams, only three earned victories to open the season — Glenrock’s 14-8 nail-biter against Thermopolis; Jackson’s 27-0 shutout of Livingston, Montana; and Star Valley’s 15-14 squeaker against Rock Springs.

Preseason No. 1 Evanston lost, 15-12 to Green River. So had No. 2 Torrington, losing 12-7 to Kimball, Neb. So had No. 3 Wheatland, losing 12-6 in overtime to Cheyenne East. So had No. 5 Douglas, taking a 19-6 beating from Rawlins.

Jackson’s Broncs, the only ranked team to win, shot to the top of the polls.

Rankings after Week 1: 1. Jackson, 2. Evanston, 3t. Torrington, Star Valley, 5. Wheatland.

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WEEK 2

If Week 2 was supposed to bring stability to the Class 3A race, it didn’t.

Jackson’s good fortune ran out in a 12-10 loss to South Fremont, Idaho. Defending champion and No. 2 Evanston lost again, this time 28-0 to Rawlins. And Torrington lost again, this time 24-6 to Cody.

Just like that, the three teams ranked 1-2-3 all lost.

Star Valley emerged as the shining beacon of hope in the second week, taking out Bear Lake, Idaho, 13-3 to join Wheatland (35-8 over Thermopolis) as the only ranked teams to win. Meanwhile, Powell — idle in Week 1 — made a statement by beating Buffalo on the road, 13-6, and Glenrock improved to 2-0 by beating Morrill, Neb., 34-18.

And in a game few people paid attention to at the time, Worland knocked off Douglas 14-6. By the time the season would finish, both teams would be key players in the championship race; right now, it was a nonconference game between two unranked opponents.

Rankings after Week 2: 1. Star Valley, 2. Wheatland, 3. Glenrock, 4. Jackson, 5. Powell.

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WEEK 3

In three weeks of rankings and two weeks of play, three different West teams had enjoyed the top spot in the rankings. Star Valley, lightly regarded but still a threat after a 2-6 season in 1985, became the first to enjoy it, taking a bye in Week 3 and keeping the threats to the No. 1 spot at bay.

Meanwhile, Wheatland caved to the pressure. As did Jackson. As did Powell. All three ranked teams lost: No. 2 Wheatland 43-17 to Rock Springs, No. 4 Jackson 7-6 in overtime to Green River and No. 5 Powell 7-0 to Cody. Once again, it was Glenrock — unranked to start the season — that came out on the other end victorious, a 15-8 W against Rawlins to its credit.

But defending champ Evanston lost, again, as did Worland; Buffalo beat a JV team; Torrington barely survived against a smaller Mitchell, Neb., team. Who wants to win this thing?

Rankings after Week 3: 1. Star Valley, 2. Glenrock, 3. Jackson, 4. Powell, 5. Wheatland.

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WEEK 4

Star Valley’s first chance to defend its No. 1 ranking went just as well as it had for the other teams who had been in the same position so far this year.

Not well.

The Braves couldn’t put a single point up against Green River, falling 6-0 and losing their grip on the top spot in the rankings in the process. And they lost that No. 1 spot to… Glenrock, which couldn’t screw up its fast start while taking a bye week.

But Jackson lost, as did Wheatland — Jackson 23-13 to Lander, Wheatland 36-6 to Rawlins — as the majority of ranked teams again lost. Powell was the only ranked survivor, and even that wasn’t all that impressive, a 20-14 overtime victory against a struggling Riverton program. Evanston and Worland also lost nonconference games, but the East started to take shape as Douglas beat Buffalo 14-0 to move to 2-0 in league play.

At this point, 3A teams were a combined 17-28.

Rankings after Week 4: 1. Glenrock, 2. Star Valley, 3. Powell, 4. Torrington, 5. Jackson.

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WEEK 5

By virtue of its non-loss against “bye” in Week 4, Glenrock jumped into the top spot of the 3A rankings heading into Week 5.

Guess what? The Herders promptly lost, continuing a streak of losses by 3A No. 1 teams — who were now 0-4 while playing with that ranking to start the 1986 season.

A 17-0 thumping at the hands of unranked Wheatland ended the Herders’ perfect start and sent them freefalling down the East Conference standings, where Douglas and Wheatland shared the top spot at 2-0 despite mirroring overall records of 2-3. While Wheatland was beating Glenrock, Douglas was losing, again, this time to Scottsbluff, Neb., in a game that didn’t affect the conference race.

In the 2-vs.-3 matchup between Star Valley and Powell, the higher-ranked team lost. Because of course they did, as was now tradition in 1986 3A play. Powell survived the trip to Afton and left victors, 24-22, and were the highest-ranked team to win that week.

Torrington did survive despite being in the rankings, blanking downtrodden Newcastle 21-0, and Jackson, too, came away victorious, 22-6 against Worland in a game that few realized the importance of at the time.

Rankings after Week 5: 1. Powell, 2. Torrington, 3. Glenrock, 4. Star Valley, 5. Jackson.

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WEEK 6

The Powell Panthers had earned their spot atop the 3A rankings, coming in with a 3-1 record and a focus on ending the curse that had plagued No. 1 teams all year.

Did it work?

Do you even need to ask?

Final score: Worland 3, Powell 0.

Just like every other 3A No. 1 team before them, Powell failed at its opportunity to retain its prestige.

Two East teams, however, proved up to the pressure. Both Torrington and Glenrock won — the Trailblazers beating rival Wheatland 27-12 and Glenrock edging past Buffalo 21-7 — to justify their spots. And Star Valley won big, 41-6 over Thermopolis.

As for Jackson? Well, winless Evanston (Remember Evanston? This is a story about Evanston.) picked up its first victory of the year, and how, in a 27-7 shellacking of the Broncs in Uinta County. With the victory, Evanston was now the lone remaining undefeated team in West Conference play at — get this — 1-0.

Rankings after Week 6: 1. Torrington, 2. Glenrock, 3. Star Valley, 4. Powell, 5. Douglas.

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WEEK 7

Just seven weeks into the season, Torrington became already the sixth different Class 3A program to be voted to the top of the rankings.

For their sins, Torrington was scheduled to face Glenrock, who just happened to be ranked second and was the only one-loss team remaining in 3A at 4-1. (Remember how Wheatland beat Glenrock 17-0? Yeah, Wheatland, now 2-4 and unranked… yeah.)

But curses don’t last forever, and the Trailblazers did everything they could to end this stupid trend. And they did just that, embarrassing the Herders on their own field in doing so in a 35-0 Trailblazer road romp.

No. 1 had finally proven worthy of the ranking.

No. 3 wasn’t, though. Star Valley’s resurgence ended with a 22-21 loss to Worland that sent the Braves to the West Conference cellar at 0-2 in league play. Evanston couldn’t keep its West record spotless any longer either, though, and Powell’s 32-0 beatdown of the Red Devils turned some heads.

Torrington looked set. With Wheatland beating Douglas 20-13 to KO the No. 5 team, the Trailblazers were alone as the only undefeated team in East play. And they were still No. 1.

Rankings after Week 7: 1. Torrington, 2. Powell, 3. Glenrock, 4. Star Valley, 5. Worland.

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WEEK 8

At home, No. 1, in control of their postseason destiny and facing an unranked team with a losing record, Torrington had every reason to be confident heading into Week 8 against Douglas.

But the curse? The one they had buried deep in the end zone in Glenrock? Well, it crawled out of the dirt, attached itself to the team bus before it left town, hung around Goshen County for a few days and showed up at Wiseman Field right around kickoff to take a big ol’ dump on Torrington’s plans. At the end of it all, Torrington had lost control of everything — ranking, championship hopes, all of it — in a 12-6 loss to Douglas.

No. 1, losers again.

The East race was just as exciting in the middle, as Buffalo upset Wheatland 22-7. Heading into the final week of the regular season, five of the six playoff-eligible East teams — Douglas, Torrington, Wheatland, Glenrock and Buffalo — were still alive for the conference championship. ADs actually set plans for what would happen in case of a five-way tie for the East title, which was a mathematical possibility.

Powell smelled its opportunity to jump back to No. 1 all the way from Goshen County, and the Panthers made good by shellacking Thermopolis by 40. But Star Valley couldn’t make good on its ranking, losing to Jackson for the first time since 1981, 17-6, to all but fall out of title contention. And Worland barely survived against one-win Evanston, 15-8.

Rankings after Week 8: 1. Powell, 2. Torrington, 3. Glenrock, 4. Worland, 5. Douglas.

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WEEK 9

Powell was in the absolute dumbest of situations as the No. 1-ranked team heading into the final week of the regular season.

Powell and its Week 9 opponent, unranked Jackson, were both 2-1 in the West. They were both chasing Worland, which was 3-1 and off playing winless Thermopolis in a nonconference game to end the regular season.

If Powell lost, Jackson and Worland would tie, and Jackson would win the tiebreaker. If Powell won, Powell and Worland would tie, and Worland would win the tiebreaker.

So despite being top-ranked, tied with Glenrock for the best 3A record (5-2) and potential conference co-champion, Powell’s season would end against Jackson, no matter what.

You could call it a curse. But this was simply a case of one team having something to play for and the other one not. Jackson took that spot, beating Powell 12-0 in the shadows of the Tetons to tie for the conference title, win a tiebreaker and earn its spot in the 3A championship game.

Yes, that Jackson. The one that’s not anywhere to be found in this week’s rankings, that entered the final week at .500, victim of the curse in Week 2, losers to one-win Evanston. Those guys. Title game.

And No. 1 had lost again.

Meanwhile, in the East, it was Douglas — ranked behind conference rivals Torrington and Glenrock — that has the biggest say in its postseason fate. With the potential five-way tie looming, the Bearcats did their part to avoid it, beating Converse County rival Glenrock 25-22 to win the East’s bid to the title game. Never mind what Torrington did. Incidentally, the Trailblazers beat Buffalo 8-0. Didn’t matter. With both teams at 4-1 in league play, Douglas had won the tiebreaker with its victory against Torrington (the curse game last week).

Ranked No. 5 to start the week, Douglas was in. And hosting.

Rankings after Week 9: 1. Torrington, 2. Douglas, 3. Jackson, 4. Powell, 5. Wheatland.

Standings after Week 9
East
Douglas 5-1 5-4
Torrington 4-1 6-3
Wheatland 4-2 4-5
Glenrock 3-3 5-3
Buffalo 3-3 4-5
Newcastle 1-5 2-7
Thermopolis 0-5 0-9
West
Jackson 3-1 5-4
Worland 3-1 5-4
Powell 2-2 5-3
Star Valley 1-3 4-4
Evanston 1-3 1-7

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CHAMPIONSHIP

Entering the final week of the regular season, Jackson was unranked, Douglas was No. 5. Now, with identical nonthreatening 5-4 records, and with neither team sporting the No. 1 ranking (no threat of a curse, at least…), they faced off for the 3A championship.

Again, the question arose: Does anyone actually want to win this thing?

Douglas took a 16-0 lead in the third quarter, but the fact that the Bearcats only had 16 points after four Jackson turnovers, including several in Douglas territory, kept the momentum from totally swinging Douglas’ way. Once Jackson did get on the board to cut it to 16-8, Douglas lost the momentum war and fumbled deep in its own territory. However, when Jackson scored again to make it 16-14, the Broncs couldn’t convert on the potential game-tying 2-point conversion.

Late in the fourth quarter, Douglas fumbled, again, near midfield, and Jackson got a big pass play to get inside the Bearcat 5-yard line. But three rushes produced less than three yards, meaning the foot of Bill Wiley — later head coach of the Broncs, but just a sophomore lineman/kicker at the time — would be the one to decide it all.

For once, someone decided that No. 1 wasn’t such a bad thing.

Wiley’s field-goal kick from 19 yards was true. Douglas’ last drive ended with an interception, and Jackson ran out the clock to win the title 17-16 in the weirdest, wackiest, most curse-ridden season across a single classification in state history.

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POSTSCRIPT

As defending champion, Jackson started the 1987 3A season ranked No. 1. The Broncs lost to Lander 29-7 in their season opener.

–patrick

On eBay right now, you can buy this custom license plate supporting the Powell Panthers.

If you happen to live in eastern Park County, it would be a pretty cool move to have one of these hanging in your office or den.

It’s just that your dollars would be going to Tennessee, not Wyoming.

And that is because Wyoming’s orange-and-black Powell High School Panthers are not the only orange-and-black Powell High School Panthers in America.

In fact, Wyoming’s cats share a name, a mascot and a set of colors with Powell High School in Tennessee.

Powell is one of two Wyoming high schools to share a name, a mascot and a color scheme with another American high school. Campbell County’s Camels have doppelgangers in Alexandria, Kentucky. I mean, come on — none of these shirts would look out of place in Gillette. But your dollars would support the Bluegrass State.

Using MascotDB.com’s search capabilities, I found that Campbell County and Powell are the only two Wyoming high schools to have their name and colors replicated by another high school program somewhere else in America. That said, three others have had their name and mascot repeated — just not their colors.

The United States is a big country. Those kinds of repeats are understandable.

But I still think it would be fun to settle it, once and for all, on the field.

I’d like to see the two Powell teams and the two Campbell County teams on each other’s schedules next year. And, heck, let’s make the stakes high: Winner gets to keep their mascot and colors. Loser has to change at least one of them.

Logistics aside — distance, cost, 4A round-robin schedule, the fact that no one at any of these four schools would actually want to risk giving up their identity on the result of one game — it’s a fun thought. If the visual identity of your entire school or community was on the line, how hard would you play? How hard would you cheer? How many shirts or novelty license plates would you buy? And, wait a minute… isn’t having a twin actually kind of fun?

Regardless, if you ever find yourself in Alexandria, Kentucky, or Powell, Tennessee, keep your eyes peeled. You just might see a little slice of Wyoming.

–patrick

From the perspective of a fan who has no rooting interest, a close game always makes for a more interesting experience than a blowout.

And from that perspective, Wyoming’s six-man classification in 2022 may have given us some of the most boring football we’ve ever seen.

Last year in Class 1A six-man, the chances were significantly better that the game would end with a running clock than in a down-to-the-wire finish — and it wasn’t even close.

More than 61% of six-man games in 2022 (36 of 59) ended with the winning team winning by at least 45 points, the cutoff point for the mercy-rule running clock. This included all seven playoff games. Only two of those 59 six-man games (3.4%) were decided by a margin of a single possession or less. Overall, only 10 of those 59 games last season were decided by less than 20 points.

The average margin of victory was 44.3 points.

Not all that exciting.

The hope is that the blowout trend in 2022 was just an anomaly. After all, the 61% blowout rate was the highest at the six-man level since its return to Wyoming in 2009. And the 3.4% single-possession game rate was the lowest.

Blowouts have always been more plentiful than single-possession games, but the differences in 2022 were stark:

YearTotal gamesMargin 45 or moreMargin 8 or lessPercent finishing with mercy rulePercent single-possesison
20094113431.7%9.8%
20104118443.9%9.8%
20114819339.6%6.3%
20124816933.3%18.8%
20136231450.0%6.5%
20145930750.8%11.9%
20155922537.3%8.5%
20167234447.2%5.6%
20176736453.7%6.0%
20186626739.4%10.6%
20196833748.5%10.3%
20205718731.6%12.3%
202150211042.0%20.0%
20225936261.0%3.4%

Some hope that 2023 might return to some kind of normalcy is the fact that the 2021 season was maybe six-man’s most exciting. In that season, 20% of six-man games finished as one-possession games, the highest rate since six-man’s return in 2009.

–patrick

The two things we all could use more of are time and money.

And if I had both of those things in an unlimited supply, I would use it to venture around the state, catching football game after football game.

Work through the scheduling and travel logistics, and I could make it to 31 games over the nine regular-season weeks of the year. And, after consulting the 2023 schedule, here’s what I’d hit up, when I’d hit it up and why I’d hit it up to enjoy the season without time or money worries:

Week 0
Thursday, Aug. 24
: Kemmerer at Cokeville scrimmage, 4 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 25: Malad, Idaho, at Lyman, 3 p.m.; Kelly Walsh at Rock Springs, 6 p.m.
The only Zero Week Thursday action is in Lincoln County, so a Southwest swing makes the most sense. Picking up the Eagles in some interstate action, plus a 4A game to cap the weekend, is a good way to start a busy season.

Week 1
Tuesday, Aug. 29
: Casper Christian at Meeteetse, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 31: Shoshoni at Pine Bluffs, 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1: Riverside at Southeast, 2 p.m.; St. Stephens at Lingle, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2: Burlington JV at Casper Christian, 1 p.m.
The only Tuesday game of the year is one of the Week 1 highlights. The Thursday game between Shoshoni and Pine Bluffs, a rematch of last year’s 1A nine-man title game, is the can’t miss game of the week, but seeing the two Goshen County nine-man teams is also an opportunity that’s not worth missing. The only in-state game on Saturday is Casper Christian, again, so we’ll see the Mountaineers, Wyoming’s newest football program, twice in a week.

Week 2
Friday, Sept. 8
: Lovell at Cokeville, 1 p.m.; Sugar-Salem, Idaho, at Star Valley, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 9: Dubois at Snake River, 2 p.m.
Lincoln County gives us two of what might be the best games of Week 2, so it made sense to hit up both of them. It’s a long drive from Afton to Baggs on Saturday morning, but worth it to see what might be the most important six-man game of the year.

Week 3
Thursday, Sept. 14
: Rocky Mountain at Wyoming Indian, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 15: Ten Sleep at Kaycee, 2 p.m.; Kelly Walsh at Natrona, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 16: Farson at Casper Christian, noon; Burlington at Midwest, 5 p.m.
We’re a little all over the place, but that’s OK — in the middle of everything is the Oil Bowl, and that should make it all worth it. Saturday’s schedule allows us to pick up two more six-man games in Natrona County, so why not?

Week 4
Thursday, Sept. 21
: Big Piney at Wind River, 5 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 22: Meeteetse at Burlington, 2 p.m.; Douglas at Worland, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 23: Shoshoni at Rocky Mountain, 2 p.m.
The 1A nine-man West Conference should be crazy this year, and no two games personify that better than the Thursday and Saturday games in Week 4. In between are two more Bighorn Basin games that should be worth the admission price.

Week 5
Friday, Sept. 29
: Sheridan at Cheyenne East, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30: Midwest at Hanna, noon.
Other options could have gotten me more games, but there’s absolutely no way I’m missing the Sheridan-East game, a rematch of last year’s 4A championship game. So with that game the priority, others had to fall by the wayside — except Hanna.

Week 6
Thursday, Oct. 5
: Ten Sleep at Meeteetse, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 6: Star Valley at Cody, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 7: Wyoming Indian at St. Stephens, noon.
Again, other ways could have landed more games, but Star Valley-Cody was must-see football last season and could be again this season. I’m not taking the risk of missing it.

Week 7
Thursday, Oct. 12
: Rocky Mountain at St. Stephens, noon.
Friday, Oct. 13: Big Horn at Tongue River, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 14: Kaycee at Hulett, 11 a.m.
For the third straight week, I’m taking quality over quantity and finally making my way up to the far Northeast corner. The Thunder Bowl between Big Horn and Tongue River will be huge this year, at least on paper, and I wouldn’t want to miss it.

Week 8
Thursday, Oct. 19
: Cokeville at Lyman, 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 20: Douglas at Lander, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 21: Burlington at Dubois, 1:30 p.m.
The Week 8 schedule is heavy on Friday night games, and with a Thursday schedule that’s heavily skewed toward teams on the west side of the state, this schedule will do quite nicely.

What’s your can’t-miss game of the 2023 season, at least before the season starts? Leave a comment below.

–patrick

The Wyoming high school football preview magazine — which I write every summer — mentions several hundred Wyoming high school football players before each season.

Every once in a while, though, somebody who should be a part of their team’s story that year isn’t there.

Sometimes, the reasons are explainable, and some reasons more common than others. Moved away. Ineligible. Transferred. Decided to focus on another sport. Had a falling out with a coach. Incarcerated.

In a dozen years of preview magazines, and almost 20 years of covering high school football in the Equality State, I’ve heard all of these.

But sometimes, when I ask the question “What about ____?”, I can hear an audible sigh from the coach, followed by silence on the other end of the line.

I know what’s coming.

That teenager is dead.

Usually, the coach fills me in on the details. I’ve talked to coaches that have had players who have died in car crashes, drowned on rafting trips, been accidentally shot, and more.

But the hardest reason to hear, by far: He killed himself.

I can’t help but feel my heart break harder for those deaths than the others. And I know why — it’s because that could have been me.

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During my freshman and sophomore years in high school, depression manifested in me in the kinds of changes that few people could notice. Even I struggled to see it in the moment. In retrospect — through both individual introspection and therapy — I see it much more clearly, though. Specifically for me, my depression came out in small bits of anger and frustration that grew increasingly more frequent as I got older. By the time I turned 16, right at the start of my sophomore year, I had mastered the “non-response.” If someone said something that brought out my ever-more-frequent feelings of anger or frustration, I stared daggers, but my face didn’t change and my voice stayed silent.

What people didn’t see was how often I turned those daggers inward, beating myself up for my perceived shortcomings. As those moments became more and more frequent, they slowly became tied to thoughts of suicidal ideation.

From an outside perspective, my depression could have simply looked like basic teenager stuff. What teenager doesn’t occasionally come off like a jerk? That’s part of growing up; not every jerk is depressed, and not every depressed person is a jerk. In fact, on a traditional depression checklist, I didn’t hit many of the key indicators that would normally indicate clinical depression.

No matter what, though, the idea of not being there was hard for me to escape.

I didn’t realize that I was struggling as hard as I was until I had an epiphany during my sophomore year. In an instant, I realized something wasn’t right. I asked my parents for help, and fortunately they listened and acted. I started taking antidepressants and going to therapy.

The brain chemistry started changing, slowly at first, although a higher dose of Prozac accelerated the good changes. Therapy gave me more tools to handle my daggers and keep them from stabbing me.

Recovery was proof: I wasn’t broken. I was sick.

Today, more than 20 years later, the sickness still lingers. But now I know how to keep that sickness from killing me.

Unfortunately, not everyone receives that help.

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The coaches I talk to always struggle to find the words. Their words represent the same words uttered by family, friends, mentors, community members. We’re never ready for it. Why him? Why now?

I think the surprise is misplaced. In Wyoming, we should be ready for it. And that sucks.

Wyoming ranked first — or last, depending on how you want to look at it — in per capita suicides in 2021, with a rate of 32.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people, in the last full year that CDC data is available. Wyoming also led the country in per capita suicides in 2020. And 2019. And 2018.

Suicide is the No. 2 cause of death in Wyoming for people from ages 10-44. Men die more often than women, and in Wyoming, 75% of suicide deaths involve a firearm.

Some good news? Wyoming’s rates fell in 2022.

But that’s in the aggregate. The individual suicides remain — holes in families, communities, schools and teams that will remain unfilled.

That’s why we have to talk about it.

I believe the only reason I’m alive is that I felt comfortable talking about my emotional darkness with someone I trusted. Maybe most importantly, I had engaged in difficult, emotional, vulnerable conversations already with people that I trusted, and they had shown me they were ready to handle them. Friendship and rapport are a start; love, trust and vulnerability are even better.

Conversation isn’t the sole solution. Even the most trusting and open relationship may not be enough to save someone. But it’s a start.

From the Wyoming Department of Health: If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line. 

–patrick

Since the institution of overtime in 1975, Wyoming high school football has had 283 games go into overtime. Some of those games came in the most high-stakes situations — games that decided conference titles, playoff appearances, playoff games or even state championships.

From that group of 283, here are the top 10 overtime games in state history, followed by the “next 10” and then 26 others I found fascinating in their own right.

The top 10

N7/2014 Campbell County 34 Cheyenne East 31 4A SF-2OT: The only OT game of 2014 season gave the Camels a spot in the 4A championship game. Talon Nelson’s 20-yard TD catch in the second overtime boosted the Camels past the Thunderbirds after East could only notch a field goal in that session. Gillette rallied from a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit with two touchdowns to force overtime. 

N15/2013 Powell 19 Douglas 13 3A Championship-at Laramie-OT: In a battle of undefeated teams, Powell survived thanks to Hayden Cragoe’s 1-yard run in overtime and won its third consecutive state championship. Powell’s defense had two interceptions, a blocked extra point and a stuff of Douglas’ fourth-and-1 run in OT, all in advance of Cragoe’s score.

S18/2009 Kelly Walsh 28 Natrona 27 2OT: The Trojans rallied from a 21-0 third-quarter deficit thanks to three touchdowns and an interception on defense from Lucas Nolan. Then, after a scoreless first overtime, the Trojans got a score from Riley Moore to take the lead. A Clay Brownell touchdown pulled Natrona within one, but Cormick Eaton stopped Brownell on the 2-point conversion attempt to give KW the Oil Bowl victory.

N4/2005 Cheyenne Central 23 Natrona 20 5A SF-OT: The Indians rallied from a 17-3 third-quarter deficit to force overtime and upset the Mustangs. The game-tying touchdown from Corey Wheeler in the final minute pushed the game to extra time. Bryan Hill’s 1-yard run sealed the game after Natrona had to settle for a field goal on its OT possession. The Indians beat East in the 5A championship the next week.

O26/2001 Glenrock 33 Big Piney 34 3A SF-OT: Big Piney survived this semifinal thriller only after squandering a 27-0 first-quarter lead. Glenrock rallied to score 27 points of its own in the second and third quarters, setting up overtime. Glenrock’s missed extra point in OT was the difference. Big Piney won the 3A championship the next week.

N3/1990 Rawlins 0 Torrington 6 3A SF-OT: Rawlins, which entered the game at 3-5, nearly pulled off the upset of the century against the undefeated Trailblazers. The only points of the game came on the final play, when Jory Kaufman caught a 7-yard pass from Lance Petsch. Torrington won the 3A title the next week.

O17/1986 Midwest 14 Big Horn 21 OT: Top-ranked Big Horn beat second-ranked Midwest in a game that decided a playoff spot, as the 7-1 Oilers stayed home for the postseason. Peter Pelissier scored the game-winning touchdown and also recovered a Midwest fumble in overtime. But getting to OT was tough for Big Horn, which rallied from a 14-0 deficit with 14 fourth-quarter points. Cecil Garland’s 84-yard touchdown catch with 40 seconds remaining, and Rich Garber’s conversion run, tied the game at 14 and sent it to overtime – that is, after a Midwest touchdown pass with 8 seconds remaining was called back by a penalty.

N5/1983 Buffalo 13 Evanston 12 3A Championship-OT: Evanston missed two chances to win the Class 3A championship – one a field goal on the final play of regulation, the other a 2-point conversion attempt that ended with Buffalo tackling David Petersen just short of the end zone. Steve Pabst scored the game-winner for Buffalo, and Eric Thompson provided the extra point; Brent Sanders brought Evanston within one before opportunity slipped by, again.

O23/1982 Saratoga 28 Moorcroft 20 B SF-OT: Despite trailing 20-0 early in the third quarter, Saratoga rallied and scored the game’s final 28 points, including three touchdowns by David Jones (who ran for 214 yards) and the OT winner from Rob Pigg. The victory sent Saratoga to the Class B championship.

N13/1976 Laramie 40 Cody 41 AA Championship-3OT: One of the most famous championship games in state history, the Broncs beat the Plainsmen in triple overtime to win the Class AA title in Laramie coach John Deti Sr.’s final game. Cody rallied from a 20-8 halftime deficit, and Rob Russell’s extra point in overtime was the difference after the Broncs blocked Laramie’s kick in that frame. Both teams had scored 2-point conversions in the first overtime and missed conversions – Laramie a run, Cody a kick – in the second OT.

The next 10 best

S30 and O3/2022 Lander 29 Riverton 28 OT: This game was delayed in first quarter due to lightning and eventually postponed to the following Monday, but the drama more than made up for the delay. Gabe Harris’ catch on a 2-point conversion cemented the victory for the Tigers in the Fremont County rivalry game that was odder than most.

O2/2020 Sheridan 31 Natrona 38 4OT: Believe it or not, this one was 10-10 in regulation. Natrona scored TDs on all four of its overtime possessions, including three by QB Tyler Hill, and then recovered a fumble by Sheridan on the final play of the game.

N2/2007 Campbell County 34 Cheyenne East 35 5A SF-2OT: The Camels almost produced the most epic goal-line stand in state history, but Alex Stratton scored on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down, and Jeremy Kurz kicked the critical extra point, to boost East into the 5A championship. East blocked the Camels’ extra point attempt in the second OT to set up the opportunity for the final margin. East won the 5A championship a week later.

N9/2002 Star Valley 14 Worland 17 4A Championship – OT: Casey Lass’ 18-yard field goal, shorter than an extra point, was the final play of a defensively focused games where points were in short supply. Marc Bradshaw scored both of Worland’s touchdowns, as the Warriors avenged an 18-16 loss from earlier in the season and won despite being outgained by nearly 100 yards.

O30/1993 Cokeville 22 Southeast 21 1A SF-OT: The Panthers went for the win and reaped the benefits, as Rick Himmerich’s 2-point conversion gave Cokeville the victory. The Panthers led 14-0 early but Tim Williams scored three touchdowns for Southeast to keep the Cyclones in it. Cokeville won the 1A 11-man championship one week later.

N10/1990 Lovell 20 Thermopolis 21 2A Championship-OT: Richie Mitchell’s extra point in overtime gave the Bobcats the 2A title and an undefeated season. Rick McKinney scored twice for Thermopolis and Kovi Christiansen scored twice for Lovell, although the OT touchdowns went to Steve Montanez (Lovell) and Corey Wahler (Thermopolis).

O9/1987 Lovell 22 Greybull 14 OT: Three touchdowns by Steve Sessions, including the go-ahead score in overtime, was the deciding factor that got Lovell into the playoffs, and kept Greybull out, as the Bulldogs marched toward their eventual Class 2A championship. Sessions’ 4-yard score in OT held up as Greybull failed to score on its possession.

O21/1983 Laramie 3 Cheyenne Central 6 2OT: One of Wyoming’s more controversial overtime finishes, the Indians were given new life after the first overtime when their potential game-winning field goal was blocked. Laramie’s John Cowper picked up the blocked kick and ran, but officials blew the play dead. Then, in the second overtime, Laramie scored a field goal but Andre Rudolph’s touchdown ended it all. Laramie protested to the WHSAA, but to no avail. If Laramie would have won, it would have created four-way tie for first in the old EWAC; as it was, Central won outright and beat Rock Springs easily in the 4A championship game.

O3/1980 Evanston 13 Star Valley 14 OT: Star Valley’s Class A championship season never happens without this victory against the Red Devils, who were ranked No. 1 at the time and would have eventually won the conference title (and booted the Braves from the playoffs entirely) if they had gotten this victory. However, the Braves held out the Red Devils on a two-point conversion attempt, as Jamie Lowe’s 2-yard run, and Tod Spencer’s PAT kick, just moments earlier held up.

S9/1977 Newell (SD) 34 Upton 26 5OT: The Wyoming Bobcats and the South Dakota Irrigators combined for a state record for the number of overtimes. After a 14-14 regulation, neither team scored in either of the first two overtimes and then matched each other with 12 combined points in third and fourth overtimes. Brian Pope had the winning touchdown and conversion run in the fifth overtime for Newell, scores that Upton couldn’t match.

The boxscore from the Rapid City Journal for the game between Upton and Newell, S.D., from 1977.

The boxscore from the Rapid City Journal for the game between Upton and Newell, S.D., from 1977.

26 others worth your time

S16/2022 Lovell 12 Lyman 6 OT: Jared Mangus’ 6-yard touchdown run on the final play dictated the champion of the 2A West and ended Lyman’s 20-game winning streak.

S13/2019 Laramie 41 Campbell County 48 OT: The victory that broke the Camels’ 21-game losing streak was a wild shootout where 35 points came in the fourth quarter alone. Kaden Race’s 12-yard run and a subsequent defensive stand gave the Camels the victory.

O28/2016 Pinedale 14 Big Horn 20 2A QF-OT: Big Horn’s march to the 2A title almost ended in the first round. The Rams were down 14-0 at half and, even after two scores from Colton Williams, still needed two interceptions in the red zone in the fourth quarter to push it to OT.

S6/2013 Cheyenne East 42 Natrona 41 3OT: The loss, punctuated by a bobbled snap on the final play of the game on an extra-point try, was a portend of things to come for snakebit NC, which lost three OT games that year and four games by one point.

O28/2011 Evanston 27 Cheyenne East 28 4A QF-OT: Jeremy Woods had three touchdowns, including East’s overtime touchdown, to send the Thunderbirds into the 4A semifinals. Extra points were the difference, as East made its kick in OT after Evanston missed its try. East rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit.

S24/2010 Campbell County 27 Sheridan 24 OT: The Camels needed 17 points in the fourth quarter just to get to overtime (an offensive explosion in a game that was 3-0 at halftime), and Jordan Rueschhoff’s two field goals – one with 28 seconds remaining, the second on the final play of the game – gave the Camels the Energy Bowl victory.

N5/2010 Buffalo 24 Cody 21 3A SF-OT: Cody went for the win, but Aaron Tyser made sure the Broncs didn’t get it. Tyser’s tackle on Brady Gulde on fourth-and-2 in overtime – when Cody could have kicked a field goal which, if good, would have prompted a second overtime – sent the Bison to the 3A championship game. Wyatt Witty’s field goal in overtime provided the winning points, which cemented Buffalo’s rally from a 14-0 deficit.

O17/2008 Buffalo 14 Douglas 21 OT CST: In a preview of the 4A championship game that came less than a month later, the Bearcats won the East Conference and secured home-field advantage for the playoffs. Douglas overcame a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to win, with Cody Bohlander’s 10-yard run and a subsequent defensive stand did the trick.

N8/2008 Powell 27 Douglas 28 4A SF-2OT: Cody Bohlander was a busy guy. His 2-point conversion run after a Powell penalty gave the Bearcats just enough to win. Bohlander also scored a 3-yard TD with less than a minute remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime and also scored on another 3-yard run in the second overtime to set up the winning score. Douglas won the 4A title the next week.

S14/2007 Big Horn 13 Riverside 12 OT: In a preview of thriller of a title game a few weeks later, the Rams came out on top thanks to Colby Wollenman’s extra point, sealing the victory after Riverside’s 2-point conversion had failed on their preceding overtime possession. The Rebels got their revenge, though…

O29/2004 Guernsey-Sunrise 24 Burlington 21 1A SF-OT: Shawn King’s field goal in overtime was the difference for the Vikings, who won their first state title in school history the next week.

O28/2000 Cheyenne Central 21 Laramie 27 4A SF-OT: Laramie rallied from 14 points down in the fourth quarter and scored the game-tying points on David Milam’s 14-yard touchdown catch from Jackson Hoopes with 20 seconds remaining. James Grimes’ 10-yard run sealed the Plainsmen’s berth in the 4A championship game.

O1/1993 Cheyenne Central 20 Natrona 21 2OT: Natrona scored 14 points in the final 57 seconds of regulation on a pair of Josh Kalinowski touchdown passes to send the game to overtime. After a scoreless first overtime, Chase Anfinson’s 10-yard touchdown gave Natrona its lead. Central scored but missed its conversion.

O11/1991 Cheyenne East 21 Cheyenne Central 22 OT: In a season where neither Cheyenne team did much, Central’s victory, assured by Ty Alexander’s touchdown and subsequent 2-point conversion, was the season highlight in the Capital City.

O26/1991 Pine Bluffs 22 Moorcroft 14 1A QF-OT: Pine Bluffs had to score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion with no time remaining in the fourth quarter just to get the game to overtime – and did just that. The Hornets drove more than two-thirds of the field in the final 33 seconds; once in overtime, Duane Gilbert’s 1-yard run gave the Hornets the points they needed.

N2/1991 Star Valley 20 Torrington 13 3A SF-2 OT: In a game the Casper Star-Tribune said was played in minus-28 wind chills, the Braves’ Kade Kennington scored the only touchdown of the second OT period with a 2-yard touchdown run to send the defending state champs packing on their home field. Kennington scored twice in the game, including an 87-yard run in the first quarter.

O20/1989 Douglas 31 Glenrock 37 4OT: Mick Lehner’s final game as the head coach of the Herders was a memorable one, as the Converse County rivals went blow for blow four overtimes deep. Bruce Johnston’s 2-yard TD run sealed the game; Jake Hagar’s fumble recovery of a Bearcat bobble in the first half of the fourth OT gave the Herders the opportunity. It was the second of three consecutive overtime games over three seasons between the Herders and Bearcats.

O25/1988 Green River 0 Evanston 7 1/2 playoff-at Rock Springs OT: This victory in a half-playoff game launched Evanston into the playoffs. Then the Red Devils knocked off Laramie in Laramie in the semifinals to reach the 4A title game. Shortly after beating Riverton 6-3 in the first half of the triangular playoff, the Red Devils and Wolves played a scoreless half of football. Garth Wagstaff sealed the victory with an interception on Green River’s first play of overtime; Jason Mitchell had scored Evanston’s only touchdown of the playoff moments before.

S4/1987 Big Horn 45 Riverside 45 3OT-tie: Can’t get much weirder than this. The game should have gone into a fourth overtime, but the officials mistakenly called the game after three extra frames, resulting in a tie. Becket Hinckley scored six touchdowns for Riverside, while six different players scored touchdowns for Big Horn.

O9/1981 Moorcroft 12 Sundance 13 OT: Greg Taylor’s 10-yard touchdown catch from Corey Vail, followed by Brian McInerney’s extra point, gave the Bulldogs their first playoff berth in school history. Moorcroft’s Rock Mirich scored on Moocroft’s possession, but when the Wolves went for two, Neil Warden bobbled a potential game-winning catch. However, the Wolves needed Warden’s 84-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter just to get into overtime.

S8/1978 Lingle 12 Pine Bluffs 6 OT; S29/1978 Southeast 0 Lingle 6 OT: Lingle had to win two overtime games in September to secure the Texas Trail championship and a spot in the Class B playoffs in October, where the Doggers eventually finished as runners-up. Bruce Mowry’s 7-yard run supplied the victory against Southeast.

O7/1977 Meeteetse 32 Ten Sleep 26 2OT: Meeteetse’s TD in the second overtime gave the Longhorns the Big Horn Basin’s northern section crown and eventually a spot in the Class B playoffs. The teams matched each other score for score in a 20-20 regulation. Clair Bennion and Guy Watts each scored twice for Meeteetse.

O21/1977 Star Valley 26 Kemmerer 32 2OT: Russell Lee of Star Valley had a dynamite game, scoring on runs of 92 and 75 yards as well as a 97-yard kickoff return, but the Braves couldn’t convert on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the second overtime, opening the door for Kemmerer. Matt Fagnant scored the winner for Kemmerer, and Jim Joslin added three touchdowns of his own for the Rangers.

S11/1976 Big Piney 12 Lyman 18 4OT: In a parity-filled Southwest Conference, Lyman’s eventual Class B state championship run was almost thrown off by last-place Big Piney in early September. Clyde Gillespie’s touchdown pass to Russ Eyre in the fourth overtime was the difference.

N1/1975 Pinedale 6 Basin 0 B SF-OT: The first overtime playoff game in modern times went to the Wranglers, who won a defensive struggle behind Neil Reed’s 9-yard touchdown in the extra frame. Basin actually out-gained Pinedale 175-132 but couldn’t punch in a score. Pinedale won the Class B title the next week.

S5/1975 Basin 30 Tongue River 24 2OT: Wyoming’s first overtime game went double, as Basin ended Tongue River’s 18-game winning streak and gave the Eagles their first loss to a Wyoming team in four years. Mike Dellos scored three times for Basin, including both Basin touchdowns in overtime.

Don’t see an overtime game on these lists that you think should be on here? Let me know in the comments below! I was limited in what I could share here by what I could find online. If the game you think deserved more attention isn’t on this list, you’re probably right! I wasn’t able to find details on every single overtime game, unfortunately, and I KNOW there were other OT games that had big stakes and fascinating endings that I just couldn’t find anything about. Also, I didn’t want to touch on EVERY overtime game, which by their nature are thrilling. All 283 games could have made this list. Which one was YOUR most memorable?

–patrick

The NCAA basketball tournament — “March Madness” — is the best sporting event in America. This is simply a fact, not a debate.

That experience is only one small step from being replicated at the high school level in Wyoming.

With only 67 boys teams and 66 girls teams playing high school basketball in Wyoming in 2023, the conditions are almost perfect for what could be the state’s greatest sporting event: a one-classification, single-elimination, all-teams-invited state basketball tournament.

The scheduling for such an event isn’t as crazy as it seems. Over one week, Wyoming’s own version of March Madness could take place across four basketball courts, likely in Casper; between boys and girls, it would be 126 games, plus five “pigtail” games, something that could be accomplished in six days. I broke it down, and the logistics are possible.

And let’s face it: The tournament would be awesome.

Seeding the teams

Each team in the state would be seeded either 1-67 (boys) or 1-66 based on a ranking system, to be determined. For now, we’ll use last season’s Maxpreps ratings for boys and girls, which have their own problems but will suffice as an example of what’s possible.

Scheduling logistics

The first-round games would be Monday and Tuesday, with boys games one day and girls games the other, rotating every other year. With 32 games to be played, eight games apiece could be played at the Ford Wyoming Center, Casper College, Natrona County and Kelly Walsh using a schedule similar to the first-day schedule already in use by the WHSAA — 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (The last four games are an hour earlier than the current schedule, just to keep things rolling.)

Pigtail games, or “first four” games, could be played on Monday/Tuesday morning in nearby gyms, such as Glenrock or Midwest, or at one of the middle-school gyms in Casper such as Centennial, Dean Morgan or CY, which are all capable of hosting a small high-school game. The schedule would be set so that pigtail winners would play in the late time slots on Monday/Tuesday night.

The second-round games would come on Wednesday, with another 32 games (16 boys, 16 girls) to be played at the four main sites, with sites rotating every year between boys and girls.

Thursday brings third-round games, or the Sweet 16 round. With only 16 games to be played, eight games apiece could be staged at the Ford Wyoming Center and Casper College, with boys and girls rotating sites annually.

Friday is the fourth round, the Elite Eight, with four games apiece between boys and girls to be played that afternoon and evening at the FWC and CC.

Saturday brings us the Final Four and championship rounds, all at the FWC, with semifinal games at 10:30 a.m., noon, 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. … and championships at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Just like the NCAA Tournament, there would be no consolation rounds. When you lose, you’re done.

Here’s what the 2023 brackets would look like for boys and girls using the Maxpreps rankings at the end of the season, boys first:

Then girls:

Benefits

With a one-class, single-elimination tournament, the need for regional tournaments is eliminated. Without a need to qualify for state, the qualifying tournament can go away.

The “time out of school” argument also loses a bit of sway here, too. With regional tournaments, every team in the state — more or less — is already missing two days of class, and those who qualify for state are missing two more. In the proposed all-comers state tournament, since more than half the teams leave after the first round/pigtails, most teams would only need one day out of class to participate. Additionally, teams that play in the Monday round could potentially return to school and have class on Tuesday, and then return to the tournament for continued play on Wednesday. Three-quarters of teams would be back in class by Thursday morning.

Also, with classifications eliminated for state, regular-season scheduling could take on a whole new dynamic. Teams would no longer be required to schedule certain conference teams and could instead focus on a regionalized schedule that reduces travel or a more challenging schedule with more challenging teams to prepare for the rigors of the state tournament — or to boost that power ranking for a better seed.

And upsets! The potential for upsets and Cinderella runs is heightened in a single-elimination, all-class affair.

Are you serious?

I’m only half-joking when I suggest this. Wyoming’s setup now is absolutely fine and in line with what other states do to crown state basketball champions.

But there’s something inside me that thinks it’d be a lot of fun to watch every team battle it out across a week in Casper.

Forget the NCAAs. This would easily replace it as the must-watch sporting event of the year.

–patrick

Maybe I’ve just missed it, but there’s been surprisingly little chatter about the recent closing of two Wyoming high schools.

The schools in two Platte County communities, Glendo and Chugwater, were closed by a vote of the Platte County School District No. 1 on May 15.

The Platte County Record-Times reported the 9-12 portion of the Glendo school was closed, while the entirety of the Chugwater school was closed — in part due to the new Prairie View Community School, a charter school, opening in Chugwater this fall.

The language used in the reporting was that the board voted “not to staff” the schools. But let’s be real about what just happened.

Chugwater and Glendo are the first public Wyoming high schools to be closed in two decades, since Albin High School closed after the 2003 school year.

In part, I think some of the reason for the quiet is that the schools’ inabilities to field athletic programs the past few years has pushed them out of the statewide public eye. Glendo fielded a girls basketball team just once since 2016, that in 2020; the boys team had been active just twice (2017 and 2020) since 2015. Glendo last fielded a volleyball team in the fall of 2020. Meanwhile, Chugwater hadn’t had boys basketball since 2012 and girls basketball since 2011. Chugwater last had volleyball in the fall of 2018.

The only individual sport at the schools, track, had participants but not necessarily success. Chugwater’s boys last scored points at the state meet in 2016, the girls in 2018; Glendo last notched points at the boys meet in 2018 and girls in 2015.

Enrollment figures from the Platte County School District No. 1 show Chugwater with 30 total students in grades K-12 and Glendo with 27, as of May. Enrollment data submitted to the state last October listed nine students in grades 9-12 at Chugwater, including two seniors and no juniors, while Glendo had eight students in 9-12, with four seniors and no juniors.

The next-smallest high school in Wyoming, after Chugwater and Glendo, is Ten Sleep, which had 28 students in grades 9-12 last year.

+++

Public Wyoming high schools to close in the last 70 years include:

1954: Manville
1956: Ranchester/Dayton (to form Tongue River)
1958: Egbert, McFadden, Reliance, Rozet
1961: Elk Mountain
1962: Superior
1963: Sunrise
1966: Hawk Springs/Veteran/Yoder (to form Goshen Hole)
1969: Morton/Pavillion (to form Wind River), Hillsdale
1970: Fort Laramie
1971: Arvada, Carpenter
1980: Huntley/Goshen Hole (to form Southeast)
1983: Cowley/Deaver-Frannie/Byron (to form Rocky Mountain)
1987: Basin/Manderson (to form Riverside)
1992: LaGrange
1997: Jeffrey City
1998: Medicine Bow
2003: Albin
2023: Chugwater, Glendo

–patrick

With the archive of weekly football rankings complete, I wanted to turn my attention to something that I now have the opportunity to fully research and expand upon: the shared state championship.

Several championships were already listed as shared on my state champions listings. In the pre-playoff, polls-only era, this isn’t unprecedented. However, with both the complete AP and UPI rankings now fully available, it’s afforded me a chance to look back at season-ending polls to see if everything matches up.

In short, it doesn’t. And that’s what this post is designed to do — give some teams the props, and championships, they’ve earned but not had listed here.

This isn’t a new exploration of mine. When I first worked through shared champions in 2009 on this site, I made the decision to solely accept the UPI polls. With the extended research, though, I’ve come to the realization that both the AP and UPI polls were just about as equally valid, run just as often and about just as far and wide across the state as each other.

I defaulted to the UPI rankings because they were the favorite of my adopted hometown paper, and later my employer, the Casper Star-Tribune, which often didn’t even run the AP rankings for an entire season. But the AP rankings definitely had validity, and they need to be recognized as such. That means this site should accept the champions of both the AP and UPI polls, not just the UPI.

So that’s what I’m doing.

This means four teams — Torrington and Glenrock from 1972, Deaver-Frannie from 1971 and Cheyenne Central from 1966 — will retroactively have the championships they earned in those years added to the site. All four were AP champions in some form:

  • Torrington and Glenrock were AP champions in their respective classes (A and B) 1972, as opposed to UPI champions Star Valley and St. Mary’s.
  • Glenrock and Deaver-Frannie tied for the top of the Class B rankings in the final AP poll in 1971, whereas Glenrock won the UPI poll outright.
  • Cheyenne Central and Powell tied atop the final AP poll of the 1966 season, as Powell won the UPI outright.

Two other final polls where teams shared the top spot in the polls were NOT added for the following reasons:

  • The 1971 AA final polls’ top spots were shared between Laramie (AP) and Natrona (UPI). However, by 1971 Class AA had a championship game, which Laramie won. Likewise, the final polls were taken prior to the championship game, in which Laramie beat Rock Springs.
  • In 1961, Greybull (AP) and Laramie (UPI) finished atop the final polls of the season. These, too, came before the playoffs, in which Greybull as a Class A school was involved. Greybull’s loss to Buffalo in the Class A semifinals ended its title run and could not be accounted for in the polls, leaving Laramie as the sole Class AA title claimant and Star Valley, the team that beat Buffalo in the Class A championship game, as the titleist for that class.

Other shared championships that are already listed will remain, including Byron and Glenrock sharing the 1968 Class B championship, Sheridan and Laramie sharing the 1958 Class AA championship, and Sheridan and Natrona sharing the 1957 Class AA championship.

Shared titles before the start of statewide polls in the mid-1950s were “by acclaim” champions, as no formal polling system existed prior to the AP/UPI polls, and in earlier days the polls by the Wyoming Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Researching the polls week to week has given me significantly more insight to the processes used in these times to choose a state champion. I think these updates accurately reflect the sentiment at the time.

And it makes me glad that we have playoffs these days.

–patrick

Since 1984 and the start of the “one-poll” era of Wyoming high school football, a No. 1-ranked team has met a No. 2 team from the same classification 223 times.

And, as expected, the No. 1 teams win more often — although not by as much as you might think.

Overall, No. 1-ranked teams have the advantage, holding a record of 139-84 (.623) in those matchups.

Of the 223 1-vs-2 games in the past 39 years, 117 have come in the regular season and another 106 have come in the playoffs.

In regular-season games, No. 1 teams have a 72-45 (.615) record against No. 2-ranked teams. In the playoffs, No. 1 teams are slightly better, at 67-39 (.632), than in the regular season.

Combined, the No. 1 teams are 65-45 (.591) at home and 48-28 (.632) on the road. In neutral site contests, No. 1 teams are 26-11 (.703).

++++

Here are all the No. 1-vs. No. 2 games in Wyoming high school football since 1984. This list does not include games of teams ranked 1 or 2 in different classifications. Road team listed first; bolded teams won the game; *-at Laramie.

2022
4A Week 5: #1 Cheyenne East 39 #2 Sheridan 42
*4A Championship: #2 Cheyenne East 23 #1 Sheridan 34

3A Week 6: #1 Cody 35 #2 Star Valley 25
*3A Championship: #2 Star Valley 14 #1 Cody 7

2A Week 3: #1 Lovell 12 #2 Lyman 6 OT
*2A Championship: #1 Lovell 7 #2 Big Horn 8

1A nine-man Week 1: #2 Pine Bluffs 34 #1 Shoshoni 26
*1A nine-man Championship: #2 Shoshoni 27 #1 Pine Bluffs 33

1A six-man Week 2: #1 Snake River 44 #2 Dubois 28

2021
4A Week 3: #2 Sheridan 27 #1 Rock Springs 24
*4A Championship: #1 Rock Springs 27 #1 Sheridan 45

3A Week 4: #1 Cody 38 #2 Powell 14
3A Week 8: #1 Cody 21 #2 Jackson 15
*3A Championship: #2 Jackson 24 #1 Cody 41

1A nine-man Week 5: #2 Pine Bluffs 34 #1 Shoshoni 25

*1A six-man Championship: #2 Encampment 24 #1 Snake River 65

2020
4A Week 2: #2 Cheyenne Central 20 #1 Sheridan 17
4A Week 3: #2 Thunder Basin 26 #1 Cheyenne Central 38

3A Week 8: #2 Cody 48 #1 Jackson 6
3A Championship: #2 Jackson 13 #1 Cody 34

2A Week 2: #2 Mountain View 12 #1 Lovell 9
2A Week 8: #2 Lyman 21 #1 Mountain View 15

1A six-man Week 3: #2 Encampment 32 #1 Farson 74
1A six-man Week 5: #1 Farson 47 #2 Kaycee 13
1A six-man Week 7: #2 Meeteetse 16 #1 Farson 35
1A six-man Championship: #2 Meeteetse 30 #1 Farson 42

2019
4A Week 3: #2 Sheridan 30 #1 Thunder Basin 37
*4A Championship: #2 Sheridan 35 #1 Thunder Basin 26

3A Week 7: #1 Star Valley 20 #2 Cody 7

*2A Championship: #2 Buffalo 14 #1 Mountain View 24

1A 11-man Week 4: #1 Big Horn 27 #2 Upton-Sundance 0

1A six-man Week 6: #2 Farson 0 #1 Snake River 53
*1A six-man Championship: #1 Snake River 71 #2 Hanna 38

2018
4A Week 2: #1 Sheridan 7 #2 Natrona 34

*3A Championship: #2 Torrington 14 #1 Star Valley 35

2A Week 4: #2 Buffalo 23 #1 Glenrock 16
*2A Championship: #2 Mountain View 18 #1 Buffalo 43

1A 11-man Week 5: #1 Big Horn 42 #2 Pine Bluffs 7
*1A 11-man Championship: #2 Cokeville 3 #1 Big Horn 56

1A six-man Week 5: #2 Meeteetse 0 #1 Farson 64

2017
4A Week 2: #2 Natrona 34 #1 Sheridan 37 OT
*4A Championship: #2 Natrona 14 #1 Sheridan 28

2A Week 1: #1 Glenrock 12 #2 Greybull 7
*2A Championship: #2 Mountain View 35 #1 Glenrock 28

1A six-man SF: #2 Burlington 38 #1 Kaycee 47

2016
4A Week 5: #2 Campbell County 24 #1 Sheridan 21

3A SF: #1 Star Valley 61 #2 Douglas 42

1A 11-man Week 8: #2 Tongue River 20 #1 Upton-Sundance 32

*1A six-man Championship: #2 Kaycee 41 #1 Farson 30

2015
4A Week 5: #1 Sheridan 14 #2 Campbell County 20
*4A Championship: #2 Sheridan 38 #1 Campbell County 31

3A Week 4: #2 Star Valley 13 #1 Cody 0

*1A six-man Championship: #1 Meeteetse 32 #2 Kaycee 51

2014
4A Week 3: #2 Natrona 47 #1 Campbell County 7

3A Week 1: #1 Powell 18 #2 Douglas 17
3A Week 7: #2 Douglas 15 #1 Riverton 3
*3A Championship: #1 Douglas 0 #2 Cody 19

*2A Championship: #1 Big Horn 19 #2 Mountain View 28

*1A 11-man Championship: #1 Cokeville 26 #2 Lusk 6

*1A six-man Championship: #1 Guernsey-Sunrise 80 #2 Dubois 30

2013
4A Week 5: #2 Sheridan 10 #1 Campbell County 39
4A Week 8: #1 Campbell County 41 #2 Cheyenne East 6
4A SF: #2 Natrona 14 #1 Campbell County 7

*3A Championship: #1 Powell 19 #2 Douglas 13 OT

*1A 11-man Championship: #1 Lusk 12 #2 Cokeville 13

1A six-man Week 4: #2 Meeteetse 56 #1 Dubois 46

2012
4A Week 1: #1 Natrona 38 #2 Sheridan 13
4A Week 8: #2 Campbell County 17 #1 Natrona 20
*4A Championship: #2 Campbell County 7 #1 Natrona 35

3A Week 5: #2 Star Valley 0 #1 Powell 13
*3A Championship: #2 Star Valley 10 #1 Powell 13

2A Week 3: #1 Lovell 6 #2 Lyman 20

1A six-man Week 2: #2 Dubois 43 #1 Snake River 36
*1A six-man Championship: #1 Dubois 54 #2 Snake River 30

2011
4A Week 1: #1 Sheridan 6 #2 Natrona 20

2A Week 3: #2 Lyman 7 #1 Lovell 21
*2A Championship: #2 Lyman 13 #1 Lovell 21

*1A 11-man Championship: #2 Cokeville 28 #1 Southeast 13

1A six-man Week 2: #1 Snake River 66 #2 Dubois 24
*1A six-man Championship: #1 Snake River 54 #2 Dubois 33

2010
4A Week 6: #2 Campbell County 32 #1 Natrona 47
*4A Championship: #2 Sheridan 14 #1 Natrona 34

3A Week 4: #2 Buffalo 7 #1 Douglas 22

2A Week 5: #1 Thermopolis 7 #2 Big Horn 42
*2A Championship: #2 Thermopolis 13 #1 Big Horn 9

*1A 11-man Championship: #2 Lusk 6 #1 Cokeville 26

1A six-man Week 6: #1 Snake River 50 #2 Hanna 34
*1A six-man Championship: #2 Hanna 12 #1 Snake River 67

2009
4A Week 7: #2 Cheyenne Central 20 #1 Sheridan 28
*4A Championship: #2 Cheyenne Central 15 #1 Sheridan 40

2A Week 1: #1 Glenrock 26 #2 Kemmerer 6

1A six-man Week 3: #1 Guernsey 72 #2 Hanna 12
1A six-man Week 7: #1 Guernsey 63 #2 Midwest 20

2008
5A Week 0: #1 Green River 14 #2 Natrona 12

3A Championship: #1 Kemmerer 0 #2 Glenrock 18

2A Championship: #2 Big Horn 12 #1 Burns 41

1A Championship: #2 Southeast 12 #1 Burlington 0

2007
5A Week 5: #2 Cheyenne East 35 #1 Evanston 26
5A Week 8: #2 Cheyenne Central 3 #1 Natrona 27

4A Championship: #2 Buffalo 6 #1 Jackson 10

3A Championship: #2 Glenrock 0 #1 Kemmerer 22

2A Championship: #2 Riverside 21 #1 Big Horn 20

2006
3A Week 3: #1 Mountain View 8 #2 Kemmerer 0

2A Championship: #2 Southeast 8 #1 Riverside 6

1A Championship: #2 Guernsey-Sunrise 14 #1 Cokeville 12

2005
5A Week 6: #1 Campbell County 17 #2 Natrona 23 OT

4A Week 1: #2 Lander 20 #1 Buffalo 45
4A Championship: #1 Buffalo 17 #2 Star Valley 14

3A Week 4: #2 Big Piney 13 #1 Kemmerer 37
3A Championship: #2 Glenrock 12 #1 Kemmerer 37

2A Week 2: #1 Big Horn 0 #2 Wright 7
2A Week 6: #2 Big Horn 22 #1 Sundance 20

2004
5A Championship: #1 Green River 20 #2 Natrona 0

4A Championship: #2 Lander 10 #1 Buffalo 31

2A Week 6: #1 Upton 8 #2 Big Horn 24
2A Championship: #2 Upton 22 #1 Big Horn 52

1A SF: #2 Guernsey-Sunrise 24 #1 Burlington 21 OT

2003
5A Week 1: #2 Natrona 48 #1 Rock Springs 6
5A Week 5: #2 Campbell County 21 #1 Natrona 35
5A Championship: #2 Campbell County 3 #1 Natrona 28

4A Week 3: #1 Worland 3 #2 Star Valley 0

1A Week 6: #1 Guernsey 0 #2 Southeast 21
1A Championship: #1 Southeast 13 #2 Cokeville 14

2002
5A Championship: #2 Campbell County 14 #1 Rock Springs 36

3A Week 4: #2 Mountain View 28 #1 Glenrock 19

2A Championship: #2 Big Horn 0 #1 Lusk 31

2001
4A Week 1: #1 Powell 31 #2 Douglas 14
4A Week 2: #2 Star Valley 20 #1 Powell 21

3A Week 8: #2 Big Piney 21 #1 Mountain View 14
3A SF: #2 Glenrock 33 #1 Big Piney 34 OT

2A Week 8: #2 Lusk 7 #1 Southeast 21

2000
4A Championship: #1 Campbell County 28 #2 Laramie 7

3A Championship: #1 Powell 14 #2 Rawlins 39

2A Week 5: #2 Big Piney 19 #1 Lyman 35

1A-D1 SF: #1 Lusk 49 #2 Shoshoni 0

1A-D2 Championship: #1 Southeast 41 #2 Big Horn 20

1999
4A Week 7: #2 Campbell County 0 #1 Natrona 35
4A Championship: #2 Campbell County 10 #1 Natrona 13

3A Week 4: #2 Powell 15 #1 Riverton 29
3A Week 8: #1 Riverton 17 #2 Douglas 14
3A Championship: #2 Douglas 6 #1 Riverton 14

2A Week 5: #2 Lyman 52 #1 Big Piney 7
2A Week 7: #1 Lyman 15 #2 Mountain View 15
2A Championship: #2 Lyman 16 #1 Mountain View 6

1998 (no poll after Week 7)
4A Championship: #2 Laramie 7 #1 Campbell County 14

3A Week 6: #2 Wheatland 14 #1 Riverton 17

2A SF: #2 Big Piney 15 #1 Thermopolis 13

1997
4A Week 7: #2 Campbell County 16 #1 Natrona 13 2OT

3A Week 6: #2 Worland 0 #1 Star Valley 31

2A SF: #2 Buffalo 0 #1 Mountain View 18

1A-D1 Championship: #2 Lusk 20 #1 Rocky Mountain 32

1996
3A Week 3: #1 Lander 17 #2 Riverton 3
3A Week 7: #1 Lander 10 #2 Star Valley 14

1A-D1 SF: #2 Moorcroft 34 #1 Rocky Mountain 20

1A-D2 SF: #2 Lingle 0 #1 Cokeville 16

1995 (no poll after Week 7)
4A Week 4: #1 Laramie 27 #2 Green River 14
4A Week 6: #2 Evanston 22 #1 Laramie 36

3A Week 8 (final poll in week 7): #1 Lander 27 #2 Cody 31
3A ½ playoff: #1 Lander 13 #2 Cody 10 (at Riverton)

2A Championship: #2 Buffalo 0 #1 Mountain View 27

1A-D1 Championship: #1 Rocky Mountain 32 #2 Lusk 20

1A-D2 SF: #2 Cokeville 28 #1 Burlington 13

1994
4A Week 3: #1 Green River 0 #2 Natrona 7
4A Championship: #2 Laramie 30 #1 Natrona 9

3A Week 7: #1 Lander 6 #2 Star Valley 15

2A Week 4: #1 Lovell 14 #2 Thermopolis 28
2A Championship: #2 Kemmerer 16 #1 Thermopolis 6

1A 11-man Week 3: #2 Burns 12 #1 Lusk 13
1A 11-man SF: #1 Lusk 6 #2 Cokeville 7

1A nine-man Championship: #2 Hulett 20 #1 Burlington 36

1993
4A Week 5: #1 Sheridan 44 #2 Laramie 21
4A Week 6: #1 Sheridan 15 #2 Campbell County 22

3A Championship: #2 Lander 12 #1 Star Valley 14

2A Week 6: #2 Lovell 0 #1 Buffalo 21

1A 11-man Championship: #1 Rocky Mountain 22 #2 Cokeville 40

1A nine-man Week 7: #1 Meeteetse 22 #2 Burlington 14
1A nine-man Championship: #2 Hulett 20 #1 Meeteetse 23

1992
4A Week 3: #2 Kelly Walsh 18 #1 Sheridan 47
4A Week 6: #2 Campbell County 15 #1 Sheridan 18
4A Championship: #2 Campbell County 9 #1 Sheridan 27

3A Championship: #1 Star Valley 34 #2 Torrington 13

1A 11-man Championship: #2t Wind River 7 #1 Rocky Mountain 10

1A nine-man Week 7: #2 Dubois 41 #1 Meeteetse 22

1991
4A Week 6: #1 Sheridan 35 #2 Campbell County 13

1A nine-man ½ playoffs: #1 Big Horn 22 #2 Hulett 0 (at Gillette)

1990
4A Week 1: #1 Cheyenne Central 35 #2 Natrona 7
4A Week 5: #1 Cheyenne Central 28 #2 Sheridan 20
4A Championship: #2 Sheridan 35 #1 Cheyenne Central 30

3A Week 5: #1 Star Valley 31 #2 Jackson 7
3A Championship: #1 Star Valley 6 #2 Torrington 20

2A Week 4: #2 Thermopolis 46 #1 Glenrock 20
2A Week 6: #2 Lovell 20 #1 Thermopolis 28
2A SF: #2 Buffalo 19 #1 Thermopolis 20

1A 11-man Championship: #1 Sundance 6 #2 Cokeville 20

1A nine-man Week 1: #1 Meeteetse 29 #2 Hanna 7
1A nine-man SF: #2 Lingle 14 #1 Meeteetse 8

1989
4A Week 5: #1 Cheyenne Central 13 #2 Natrona 0
4A Championship: #2 Rock Springs 0 #1 Cheyenne Central 32

2A SF: #2 Cokeville 35 #1 Greybull 11

1A nine-man Week 3: #1 Meeteetse 37 #2 Ten Sleep 20

1988
4A Week 6: #1 Rock Springs 14 #2 Green River 6
4A SF: #2 Cheyenne Central 30 #1 Rock Springs 0

3A Championship: #2 Worland 0 #1 Torrington 6

1987
4A Week 8: #2 Campbell County 15 #1 Laramie 21
4A Championship: #2 Rock Springs 14 #1 Laramie 13

3A Week 8: #2 Jackson 28 #1 Star Valley 7
3A SF: #1 Jackson 0 #2 Wheatland 14

2A Week 6: #2 Lovell 22 #1 Greybull 14 OT
2A SF: #2 Pinedale 7 #1 Lovell 20

1A SF: #2 Big Horn 14 #1 Meeteetse 20

1986
4A Championship: #1 Sheridan 44 #2 Rawlins 13

3A Week 8: #1 Torrington 35 #2 Glenrock 0

2A Week 3: #2 Greybull 20 #1 Shoshoni 7

1A Week 8: #2 Midwest 14 #1 Big Horn 21 OT

1985 (poll taken before championship games)
4A Week 4: #1 Natrona 17 #2 Sheridan 13

3A Week 9: #2 Evanston 15 #1 Star Valley 14
3A Championship: #1 Torrington 8 #2 Evanston 47

2A Championship: #1 Shoshoni 18 #2t Seton 7

1A Week 7: #2 Wright 6 #1 Big Horn 25
1A Week 8: #1 Big Horn 14 #2 Midwest 12
1A Championship: #2 Wright 6 #1 Big Horn 7

1984 (poll taken before 4A/3A championship games)
3A Championship: #1 Evanston 21 #2 Wheatland 35

1A Championship: #1 Midwest 8 #2 Cokeville 12

–patrick

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