Class 1A 11-man preview: Old favorites take usual spots

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Each Wednesday, we’ll preview a classification of Wyoming high school football. Today, we’ll look at the second of a five-part season preview with Class 1A 11-man.

Four questions to answer
Can Cokeville win it all again? Yep. And it all starts with defense. One of my favorite numbers I discovered this offseason was this one: In the past four seasons, a span of 42 games, only three of Cokeville’s opponents have broken into double digits. Although the Panthers lose four of their top six tacklers from a year ago, they return several key players from the title runs of the past two years and should be the early favorites to win it all in 1A 11-man again.

Who will win the East Conference title? In short, either Southeast or Lusk. The conversation out east the past two seasons has begun and ended with these two programs, who have a combined 19-1 record against the rest of the conference the past two years and have outscored their conference foes in those 20 games 862-113. For what it’s worth, this year’s Lusk-Southeast game is in Lusk, where the Cyclones haven’t won since 2005.

Will the West Conference have just as much parity as it did a year ago? Probably. Last year, every team won at least one conference game, and six of the eight teams entered the final week of the season with playoff berths possible. And it wasn’t just that parity existed — it’s that the scores were unpredictable. It was always hard to tell when a game would be close or when it would be a blowout. That type of unpredictability was the hallmark of the conference a year ago and should help make at least the early parts of the conference schedule this year quite interesting.

How will the new co-op agreement between Upton and Sundance go? Pretty well, probably. They’ve already figured out a nickname (Patriots), a schedule and a coaching staff. However, the biggest problem might be out of both schools’ control — enrollment. If the combined enrollment figure for the two schools (figured on Upton’s total enrollment and Sundance’s male enrollment) tops that of the smallest Class 2A school (Big Horn at 139), the Patriots will be ineligible for the playoffs no matter how well their season goes. Those final tallies may not be available until the first day of school.

Four players to watch
Brigham Teichert, Cokeville. Defense makes the Panther machine go, and Teichert is Cokeville’s best defender. Already a two-time all-state choice, Teichert has led the Panthers in defensive points each of the past two years. His leadership will be critical as Cokeville goes for a three-peat.

Colton Stees, Southeast. Stees, who was the East Conference defensive player of the year as a sophomore in 2011, will again have to play an important part on the Southeast defense for the Cyclones to get back into the championship game. Already bigger and stronger than a year ago, Stees led 1A 11-man with 18 tackles for loss and eight sacks a year ago. If he puts up similar numbers, Southeast should again be in the championship chase.

Clint Getzfreid, Riverside. Getzfreid was by far 1A’s most prolific wide receiver last year. He had 56 catches (26 more than anyone else in 1A) for 737 yards (311 more than anyone else in 1A) and eight receiving touchdowns (more than anyone else in 1A). And he was a junior.

Colter Larson, Lusk. Quite simply, Larson is a tackler. He led the Tigers in defensive points last year, mostly racking up tallies through tackles, as he had more solo tackles (36), assists (54) and tackles for loss (17.5) than any of his teammates. He’ll play a key role again this year as the Tigers try to make it to Laramie.

Four key games
Wind River at Shoshoni, Sept. 7: Remember, it was a come-from-behind victory over Wind River last year that propelled Shoshoni to its best season since 2001 — and sent Wind River into a slide from which it could not recover. Similar fates may await the winners and losers of this game in a parity-filled West Conference.

Southeast at Lusk, Sept. 14: Let’s strip away the facade and call this game what it is: the East Conference championship game. This game has decided the East champ each of the past two years and figures to do so again this year.

Burlington at Riverside, Sept. 21: Both teams had numerous key players lost to graduation. Will either one of them step up as a threat to Cokeville in the West? This game might help determine if either the Huskies or Rebels are up for that challenge — and the loser will have to fight and scrap and claw just to make it into the postseason.

Saratoga at Shoshoni, Oct. 12: There has been very little scuttlebutt about Saratoga this offseason, but don’t forget the Panthers were a tough team to beat last year and gave Lusk a bit of a tussle in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out. This Week 7 game might end up being for a home playoff game.

Predicted order of finish
East: Lusk, Southeast, Lingle, Pine Bluffs, Upton/Sundance, NSI.
West: Cokeville, Saratoga, Riverside, Shoshoni, Burlington, Wind River, Rocky Mountain, Wyoming Indian.

Completely outlandish, way-too-early title game score prediction
Cokeville 20, Lusk 14

Trivia
Cokeville’s Todd Dayton is entering his 33rd year as the head coach of the Panthers, the longest tenure of any active coach in the state. Of the other schools in Class 1A 11-man, since 1980, every school has changed coaches at least once; most schools have done it many times. Here’s the question: Of the current 1A 11-man schools, which one has changed head coaches the most times? And as a bonus: How many head coaches has that school had since 1980?

–patrick

Class 1A six-man preview: Can anybody stop Snake River?

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Every Wednesday for the next five weeks, we will preview each classification of Wyoming high school football. We will start the series today by taking a look at Class 1A six-man.

Four questions to answer
Can anybody stop Snake River? Probably not. Even with significant losses to graduation, the Rattlers are still the odds-on favorite to win the six-man championship again this fall. With a 21-game winning streak in tow, and with an expected nine seniors on this year’s roster, the Rattlers will once again set the pace for the rest of the six-man schools to match.

Can anybody stop Snake River? Maybe Dubois. Last year’s state runners-up return a significant number of players, including all-state picks Cody Flynn and Jesse Hawk. And don’t forget that in last year’s championship game, the Rams played the Rattlers even, 33-33, in the final three quarters after Snake built a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

Can anybody stop Snake River? A host of other teams on the Rattlers’ schedule have the potential to pull a regular-season upset and stop the streak — but the best chance of that happening is away from Baggs. Snake River has a tough road trip to Ten Sleep in the opening week of the season and also has to travel to play an always-tough Kaycee squad in Week 6.

Can anybody stop Snake River? The gap between the top and the bottom of six-man appears to be shrinking a bit — and that will make it tougher for Snake River to run the table for a third consecutive year. Most of the teams at the bottom of the six-man standings last year appear to be better this year — Farson, Guernsey, Hanna, Hulett and Meeteetse should all be improved over last year, which will make every week a challenge, not just for the Rattlers but for everyone.

Four players to watch
James Caro, Kaycee. Football came to Kaycee at the perfect time for Caro, who has been the Buckaroos’ quarterback since their first snap in 2009. Potentially a four-time all-state selection, Caro threw for 1,108 yards and ran for 481 more and also intercepted eight passes on defense last season. Caro’s role with Kaycee has always been important, but it’ll be magnified in his senior season.

Cole Gourlay, Snake River. Last year’s co-defensive player of the year in six-man, Gourlay is one of the big reasons why Snake River is expected to win it all again this year. Gourlay led Snake River with 113 tackles last fall and will have to be just as active this year as the Rattlers go for three in a row.

Friscoe Erdahl, Ten Sleep. Erdahl has been one of Ten Sleep’s biggest threats the past two years. The returning all-state player is the type that never comes off the field. His job as Ten Sleep’s offensive playmaker will be showcased that much more on a team that will have little depth.

Jesse Hawk, Dubois. If the Rams want to make it back to Laramie, it will most likely be on the ability of Hawk’s legs. Hawk was the Rams’ best rushing threat last fall, as he piled up 1,135 yards and 15 scores; he’ll need to put up similar numbers for the Rams to stay in the thick of it in the North Conference.

Four key games
Dubois at Snake River, Sept. 7: Rematch of last year’s title game. Snake River’s biggest early test. Dubois’ reality check. This game has everything going for it.

Hanna at Midwest, Sept. 14: The South Conference opener for both the Oilers and the Miners will help dictate both teams’ directions for 2012. A victory could mean a home playoff game; a loss means a lot of fighting to simply stay assured of a playoff berth.

Midwest at Snake River, Oct. 12: Midwest gave Snake River its biggest regular-season scare last fall. And don’t think the Rattlers aren’t aware of that.

Ten Sleep at Kaycee, Oct. 13: These two teams always play well against each other. The scores of the four Kaycee-Ten Sleep games the past three years? 71-67, 48-43, 63-62, 54-52. In short, it’s gonna be fun.

Predicted order of finish
North: Dubois, Kaycee, Ten Sleep, Hulett, Meeteetse.
South: Snake River, Hanna, Midwest, Guernsey, Farson.

Completely outlandish, way-too-early title game score prediction
Snake River 64, Dubois 50

Trivia
In the past three years, when two varsity six-man football teams from Wyoming have played each other, they have combined to match or break the 100-point barrier in 23 games, including 11 times last year. However, not all six-man games are shootouts. Some are defensive struggles. The question: In the past three years, when two varsity six-man football teams from Wyoming have played each other, how many times have they combined to score fewer than 50 points? And the bonus question to that: What common thread ties these games together? (That should give it away that there is more than one game….)

So what do YOU think about six-man this year? Will Snake River just run away with everything again and threaten the state record for longest winning streak? Or will someone else sneak into the mix and become the new favorite? Post your thoughts below and let’s start the conversation.

–patrick

State champions: Are September’s swooners November’s warriors?

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Last season, two Wyoming football teams — Lovell and Snake River — finished the season undefeated.

As it turns out, the 2011 season was dead-on average for producing state champions with goose eggs in the loss column — and, actually, pretty close to average in producing a state champion with several losses, too.

Since the first consensus state champion was recognized in 1921, a total of 271 teams have won state championships. Of those, 130 (48 percent) were undefeated and 109 (40 percent) were both unbeaten and untied, including Lovell and Snake River last year. (It’s worth noting here that numerous other teams prior to the development of statewide playoffs in 1975 finished unbeaten/untied but did not win state championships.)

It’s one thing to win a state championship by pure force — winning every time you step on the field. It’s another to win after going through some scoreboard adversity. And a handful of Wyoming football teams have won state championships in seasons when they have been far from perfect in the regular season.

In fact, of those 271 championship squads, one actually won a state championship and finished its season with a losing record. That was Upton’s 1961 team, which won the Class B state title despite finishing with a 3-4-1 record. The only playoff game Upton had that season was the state championship game. Upton’s three victories is also the fewest ever victories for a Wyoming state champion. (I’m preparing a blog post all about Upton’s 1961 team; check back here later to read it.)

The records here on wyoming-football.com show one team winning a state title with four victories — Cowley in 1955 — but, despite my best efforts, I feel like several games are missing from the records for Cowley’s 1955 season.

Also, one other team finished at .500 the year it won a state championship: Cokeville in 1987. The Panthers finished 3-5 in the regular season that year but won two playoff games to win the Class 1A championship with a 5-5 record. Cokeville’s five losses that season is the most ever for a Wyoming state champion; nine schools, including Upton in 1961, have won a state championship with four losses. (The other four-loss champions were Laramie and Natrona, which split the AA championship in 1951 at 5-4; Laramie in 1958 (AA, 5-4), Jackson in 1986 (3A, 6-4), Powell in 1987 (3A, 5-4), Star Valley in 1995 (3A, 7-4), Cheyenne Central in 2005 (5A, 7-4) and Big Piney in 2006 (3A, 7-4).)

Besides Cokeville in 1987, the two Laramie seasons of 1951 and 1958, Natrona in 1951 and Powell in 1987 are the only other teams to win state championships in seasons of five total victories.

Unbeaten? Sure, it’s nice and pretty and impressive. But finding a way to eke out a state championship with four or five losses? That’s just straight up rare, ugly and, well, impressive in its own right, too. Winning a title that way takes a lot of moxie and determination — and a little luck, too.

–patrick

The home/road record setters, part 4 of 4: Struggles on the road

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There’s no other way to say it: The 1970s were a rough time for the Hulett football program.

No one number demonstrates the struggles accurately; it’s the accumulation of statistical anomalies that make the Red Devils’ struggles stick out above all others.

In one seven-year stretch, the Red Devils had six winless seasons — 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, all winless.

Prior to its first game of the 1979 season, Hulett had lost 57 of its previous 58 games; the lone victory was a 3-0 slobberknocker over Sundance at home in 1974.

In fact, the Hulett graduating class of 1979 went all four years of high school without knowing what a victory on the high school gridiron felt like.

Partly, Hulett’s struggles were due to its inability to win on the road. Hulett, at one point, lost 33 consecutive games away from home, still the state record for a road losing streak.

The road woes came to an end on Sept. 21, 1979, when Hulett beat Sundance 16-6 on the Bulldogs’ home field. The last road victory had come more than eight calendar years prior to that, a 2-0 victory over Moorcroft on Sept. 17, 1971.

Glendo struggled nearly as much as Hulett did in the 1970s, though. At one point, the Eagles lost 29 consecutive road games and went 30 games without winning on the road (the 29-game streak was capped on the front end by a tie). However, the Eagles put a stop to those struggles when they beat Burns 20-6 on Sept. 15, 1978, in Burns, the school’s first road win in football since the final game of the 1970 season.

Hulett’s record is not in immediate danger; Rawlins has the longest active road losing streak at 16 games, a streak that dates back to a 10-0 victory over Pinedale on Sept. 12, 2008.

Here is a short rundown of the state’s longest all-time and current road losing streaks:

Longest road losing streaks
All-time
Hulett, 33 games, 1971-79
Glendo, 29 games, 1971-78
Wyoming Indian, 25 games, 1975-81
Greybull, 22 games, 1978-83
Newcastle, 22 games, 2001-06
Current
Rawlins, 16 games, 2008-current
Farson, 15 games, 1990-current (includes gap between 1990 and 2009 when team was not fielded; does not include four forfeit losses)
Longest road non-winning streaks (includes ties)
Glendo, 0-29-1 (30 games), 1971-78
Big Horn, 0-24-1 (25 games), 1957-66
Evanston, 0-24-1 (25 games), 1969-74
Gebo, 0-22-1 (23 games), 1933-37 (does not include one neutral site loss)

–patrick

The home/road record setters, part 3 of 4: Success on the road

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Sure, anyone can win at home.

But to go on the road? With the distractions of the bus trip, the unfamiliar locker rooms, the new fields, the hyped-up home teams?

Winning on the road takes some real gusto.

And several Wyoming high school football teams have put together impressive road winning streaks.

The all-time best goes to Rocky Mountain, which went 25 consecutive road games from 1994 to 2000 without a loss. That streak helped the Grizzlies win three state championships (1995, 1997, 1998) and 46 consecutive regular-season games.

The streak came to an end on Sept. 8, 2000, when Rocky lost to regional rival Lovell 12-0 on the Bulldogs’ home field.

Only one other school has put together a road winning streak of longer than 17 games. That’s Cokeville, which won 20 straight on the road from 1987-92.

The Grizzlies’ record appears safe for now, as the longest active road winning streak belongs to two-time defending six-man champion Snake River, which has won eight consecutive games on the road, not counting two neutral-site victories the past two years in the state championship games at War Memorial Stadium.

Here is a short rundown of the state’s longest all-time and current road winning streaks:

Longest road winning streaks
All-time
Rocky Mountain, 25 games, 1994-2000
Cokeville, 20 games, 1987-92 (one neutral site victory not counted)
Byron, 17 games, 1945-52 (one victory of unknown location not counted)
Laramie, 17 games, 1959-62
Several teams tied at 15 games
Current
Snake River, 8 games, since 2010 (two neutral site victories not counted)
Lovell, 6 games, since 2010
Longest road non-losing streaks (includes ties)
Worland, 18-0-1 (19 games), 1953-56
Byron, 17-0-1 (18 games), 1965-69
Worland, 15-0-1 (16 games), 1924-28 (one neutral site victory not counted)

Coming tomorrow: The longest road losing streaks.

–patrick

The home/road record setters, part 2 of 4: Struggles at home

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Losing is always difficult.

Losing at home, though, always seems to sting a bit more.

Losing in front of a sprinkling of fans on a road trip always seems like less of a mental train than losing on front of a stadium full of friends, family, neighbors and alums.

At times, though, several Wyoming high school football teams have struggled to win at the very place where winning is most common.

Two programs — Lander and Newcastle — put together streaks of 18 consecutive home losses, the longest in state history.

Lander’s streak ran from 1967-71. In between beating Lovell 20-0 on Sept. 29, 1967, and beating Green River 12-7 on Oct. 22, 1971, Lander actually won four games, but all four of those victories came on the road. Lander’s home losing streak ended against Green River in the Tigers’ final home game of the 1971 season, giving the squad its only victory of the 1971 season. In 1972, the Tigers went 8-1, narrowly missing a berth in the Class AA championship game.

Newcastle, meanwhile, lost 18 straight home games from 1999 to 2004. The victory that broke the streak — a 34-20 victory over Wheatland on Sept. 24, 2004 — was Newcastle’s only victory in the span of four seasons, 2002-05. However, in 2006, the Dogies turned it around to finish second in the 3A East Conference and host a playoff game.

Even so, the longest home streak without a victory belongs to Saratoga, which went 19 games (18 losses and one tie) between 1965 and 1970 without a home victory. The Panthers ended that streak in style, topping the Rawlins JV 54-0 on Sept. 19, 1970. By 1974, the Panthers had put together an undefeated season.

Those quick turnarounds should give this year’s team in Rawlins some hope.

The Outlaws’ current 15-game home losing streak is the longest active such streak in Wyoming. Rawlins’ last home win came on Sept. 5, 2008, a 7-3 victory over Mountain View.

Here is a short rundown of the state’s longest all-time and current home losing streaks:

Longest home losing streaks
All-time
Lander, 18 games, 1967-71
Newcastle, 18 games, 1999-2004
Glendo, 16 games, 1975-79
Hulett, 16 games, 1975-78
Rawlins, 16 games, 1992-95
Shoshoni, 16 games, 1971-75
Current
Rawlins, 15 games, since 2008
Tongue River, 11 games, since 2008 (two neutral-site losses not counted; no 2011 season)
Longest home non-losing streaks (includes ties)
All-time
Saratoga, 0-18-1 (19 games), 1965-70
Shoshoni, 0-17-1 (18 games), 1971-75
Basin, 0-16-1 (17 games), 1948-52

Coming tomorrow: The longest road winning streaks.

–patrick

The home/road record setters, part 1 of 4: Success at home

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Long before Under Armour made it trendy, Wyoming high school football teams understood the importance of winning at home.

Putting together a long winning streak is tough enough, given the short seasons and high turnover of high school football teams.

Putting together a long winning streak of only home games is tougher than that; such a streak relies on consistency of play not only from game to game, but also from year to year and sometimes from coach to coach, too.

In Wyoming, two schools have put together long home winning streaks that no other schools can claim to match.

Byron’s 30-game home winning streak from 1953-61 stands alone. The Eagles’ streak started at the end of a lackluster 1953 season in which Byron went 2-3.

Then the Eagles started to win. A lot.

Undefeated seasons followed in 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960. In between the 1953 and 1961 seasons, the Eagles won 30 consecutive games at home. (And maybe more — three games Byron won in which the location of the game could not be determined are not included in the tallies of this streak.)

Byron’s home streak ended with the opening game of the 1962 season, a 26-0 loss to Shoshoni.

Oddly enough, Byron had at least three different coaches in the nine seasons from 1953-61.

However, those 30 games do not represent the longest streak any one Wyoming team has put together in which there hasn’t been a loss at home. Instead, that streak belongs to Natrona.

For 40 consecutive games from 1934 to 1940, the Mustangs didn’t lose a single game at home, going 37-0-3 in Casper during that stretch. Oddly enough, NC never had an undefeated team in that span; however, all the losses came on the road.

The Mustangs’ streak came to a close in the final game of the 1940 season, in which Natrona lost 13-0 to Rock Springs; after that loss, NC went 14-0-1 in its next 15 games at home. In that 1940 season, NC beat teams from four different states — Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming — at home.

Natrona, like Byron, went through three different coaches during its nine-year run at home.

However, both the Byron streak and the Natrona streak might be in danger.

Douglas has won 24 consecutive home games since 2008. If the Bearcats can sweep their home games this year and win at least one home playoff game, they will tie Byron’s all-time state record winning streak.

Here is a short rundown of the state’s best all-time and current home winning streaks:

Longest home winning streaks
All-time
Byron, 30 games, 1953-61 (three victories of unknown location are not counted)
Natrona, 28 games, 1936-40
Cokeville, 27 games, 1993-97
Sheridan, 25 games, 1920-24
Shoshoni, 25 games, 1976-81
Current
Douglas, 24 games, since 2008
Southeast, 14 games, since 2009
Longest home non-losing streaks (includes ties)
All-time
Natrona, 37-0-3 (40 games), 1934-40
Cody, 25-0-2 (27 games), 1929-35

Coming tomorrow: The state’s longest home losing streaks.

–patrick

All-time Wyoming Shrine Bowl selections by school

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The 39th annual Wyoming Shrine Bowl all-star football game is coming up quick — on June 9 in Casper, to be exact.

And with 38 years of history behind it, the Shrine Bowl has had a bunch of players sport the brown and white jerseys.

But which school has had the most Shrine Bowl players? And has a school ever had a player chosen for every Shrine Bowl?

Using the archived rosters available at the Shrine Bowl’s official site, I tallied up two lists: the total numbers of players per school and the number of years every school has had at least one player selected.

Natrona County, with 137 total players, has had more Shrine Bowl selections than any other school. Also, Natrona is one of just three schools to have at least one player selected for every Shrine Bowl game; Riverton and Sheridan are the only other schools that can claim that honor.

Not counting 2012’s selections, here are the tallies, both by total number of players selected and the number of years in which at least one player was chosen:

Total players selected
Natrona: 137
Sheridan: 108
Gillette: 103
Kelly Walsh, Laramie: 102
Cheyenne Central: 100
Rock Springs: 91
Evanston: 86
Cheyenne East, Riverton: 82
Green River: 78
Star Valley: 74
Buffalo: 70
Cody, Douglas: 65
Worland: 63
Powell: 61
Kemmerer, Wheatland: 60
Torrington: 58
Lander, Rawlins: 51
Jackson: 45
Lovell: 42
Big Piney, Glenrock: 40
Mountain View: 39
Thermopolis: 37
Cokeville, Newcastle: 36
Southeast: 34
Pinedale: 32
Big Horn: 31
Lusk: 29
Rocky Mountain, Tongue River: 27
Guernsey-Sunrise: 26
Lyman: 24
Upton: 22
Wright: 20
Greybull: 18
Lingle, Saratoga: 17
Burns: 16
Dubois, Midwest: 15
Wind River: 14
Moorcroft, Shoshoni: 13
Pine Bluffs: 12
Sundance: 11
Basin, Meeteetse, Riverside, Ten Sleep: 7
Hulett, Normative Services, St. Mary’s/Seton: 5
Burlington, Byron, Hanna: 4
Cowley: 2
Bow-Basin, Deaver-Frannie, Kaycee, North Big Horn, Snake River, Wyoming Indian: 1

Total years in which at least one player was selected
38: Natrona, Riverton, Sheridan
37: Kelly Walsh
36: Cheyenne Central, Gillette, Laramie, Rock Springs
35: Buffalo, Star Valley
34: Torrington
33: Cheyenne East, Evanston
32: Green River
31: Cody, Douglas, Wheatland
30: Powell
29: Kemmerer, Lander
27: Big Piney, Worland
26: Glenrock, Lovell, Pinedale, Rawlins
25: Thermopolis
24: Cokeville, Jackson, Mountain View
23: Newcastle, Southeast
22: Tongue River
21: Guernsey-Sunrise
20: Lyman
18: Big Horn, Upton
17: Lusk
16: Rocky Mountain
15: Wright
14: Greybull
13: Burns, Dubois, Lingle, Saratoga
12: Pine Bluffs
11: Midwest, Moorcroft, Wind River
10: Shoshoni, Sundance
7: Meeteetse
6: Riverside
5: Basin, St. Mary’s/Seton, Ten Sleep
4: Burlington, Byron, Hulett
3: Hanna, Normative Services
1: Bow-Basin, Cowley, Deaver-Frannie, Kaycee, North Big Horn, Snake River, Wyoming Indian

–patrick

State championship coaches: The most, and the most diverse

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Any Wyoming high school football fan who has more than just a passing interest in the history of the sport in the state knows that Wyoming’s all-time winningest coach is current Cokeville coach Todd Dayton, who has 263 career victories.

But another record Dayton holds has gone less heralded — he also holds the Wyoming record for most state championships, with 18. In a 33-year career (so far), that’s not a bad ratio.

I recently compiled a list of Wyoming coaches with the most state championships (both official and unofficial). The coaches that have at least four titles are listed in order below:

18 titles, Todd Dayton, Cokeville
14 titles, John E. Deti (John Sr.), Laramie
7 titles, Mark Bullington, Southeast; and Okie Blanchard, Cheyenne Central (4), Natrona (2) and Rock Springs (1)
6 titles, Bruce Keith, Sheridan; Don Julian, between Riverton (4) and Sheridan (2); and Joel Eskelsen, Big Piney.
5 titles, Carl Selmer, Worland; and Jerry Fullmer, Lusk.
4 titles, shared by nine coaches (Ben Smith, Carl Rollins, Fred Chez, Jim McLeod, John Scott, Lew Kelly, Robert Linford, Steve Harshman, Walter Gray).

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While compiling the above list, I also put together another, shorter list — the list of coaches who have won championships at more than one Wyoming high school.

The leader of that pack is Okie Blanchard, who, as noted above, won seven total championships at three different schools. He won four titles with Cheyenne Central, two with Natrona and one with Rock Springs. He is also the only coach to win state football titles at three different Wyoming high schools.

In all, only seven coaches in state history have pulled off the double-championship feat. Other coaches who have won state titles with two different schools include:

Don Julian, 6 total: 4 with Riverton, 2 with Sheridan
John Scott, 4 total: 2 with Gillette, 2 with Kemmerer
Kay Fackrell, 3 total: 2 with Evanston, 1 with Lyman
Al Peyton, 2 total: 1 with Shoshoni, 1 with Tongue River
Eddie Talboom, 2 total: 1 with Evanston, 1 with Rock Springs
Walter Dowler, 2 total: 1 with Cheyenne Central, 1 with Rock Springs

And that’s what I’ve got for you today….

–patrick

The greatest hits: WHSFB HQ

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It’s Friday afternoon, and you’re like me — you’re avoiding doing real work. Well, allow me to fill your afternoon with a look back at some of what I think is the most insightful, informational and (most important) fun stuff I’ve written here the past couple years:

In defense of Guernsey (Dec. 2, 2009)

Shutout (or shut out) for the season? Not in Wyoming. (March 26, 2010) AND Perfection and imperfection (May 3, 2011)

It’s time for Jerry Hill to get his due (April 22, 2010)

Home-field advantage in Wyoming high school football (May 28, 2010) AND Statistics and home-field advantage…. (December 1, 2010)

The “Dead Era,” 1939-47 – recognition for the unrecognized (July 29, 2010)

Top 20 games of the past 10 years (December 31, 2010)

Picking state champions: 1921 to 1925 AND 1926 to 1930 (December 16, 2010 and February 17, 2011)

Coaches with most victories — by letter (February 21, 2011) AND Winningest coaches by school (April 7, 2011)

Wyoming high school football program totals by year (June 23, 2011)

The playoff brackets we missed: 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974 (June 27-July 9, 2011)

Wyoming’s top football coaches: A timeline (September 12, 2011)

10 most important football games in Wyoming state history (March 26, 2012)

Most-played football opponents for each Wyoming high school (April 16, 2012)

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And, of course, I spent more than a year writing Five-Minute Introductions for each school in the state — the basis, in part, for the book A Century of Fridays.

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I’d be ashamed if I didn’t make it clear that the work here is not done. I still have a lot of work left to do: Look at all the names I’m missing for The Coaches Project and all the games on the missing games list. If you can help me, that would be awesome! And I’ll give you all the credit for the help, because you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you.

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For those of you looking for a REAL trip down my football memory lane… and an even BIGGER Wyoming football distraction… click here.

–patrick