Hulett forfeits 2010 season

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Hulett will not field a varsity football team in 2010.

Micki Tucker, activities director at Hulett, said in an e-mail the Red Devils had trouble fielding a full team for the 2010 season. She also said a sub-varsity schedule for the Red Devils is still in the planning stages.

The Wyoming High School Activities Association will tally the games as forfeit losses for Hulett, Associate Commissioner Trevor Wilson said. Hulett is in the Class 1A 11-man East Conference.

The eight teams on Hulett’s schedule for this fall can fill the open week with another game, although the game will be a non-conference game and will not count toward playoff seeding. (When teams officially schedule new opponents, I will post that information here and will also update the 2010 schedule and results page.)

The Red Devils went 4-4 last season, but missed out on a playoff spot after losing their season finale to Pine Bluffs, 22-20.

Hulett had moderate success in the mid-1990s, finishing as state runners-up in Class 1A nine-man in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and in Class 1A Division II in 1996. The Red Devils advanced to the state semifinals as recently as 2008 in Class 1A.

The program last failed to field a team in 1982. The Red Devils also played a sub-varsity schedule in 1981.

–patrick

New ADM figures posted by WHSAA

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The Wyoming High School Activities Association this week posted the ADM figures for the next round of reclassification — decisions the group will make this fall to start in the fall of 2011. Click here to see them (Adobe Acrobat required).

Obviously, the ramifications of reclassification, and the new ADMs, go beyond football. The big change for fall 2011 will be the addition of Cheyenne South, which adds one more school into the jumble and presents some interesting new questions. I wrote at this time last year that the WHSAA has some tough decisions to make when it comes to South’s addition to football. The new numbers make it even more so….

Reclassification always causes some hang-ups along the line. This cycle, with South, makes it especially interesting.

For now, 4A football and conferences for the other 4A sports appear to be the most contentious subjects of reclassification this year.

In a nutshell, the WHSAA needs to decide on a number for 4A football, and every other classification decision can cascade down from there. Will 4A have 10 teams in it, like now, with South in 4A and Green River (now 12th in ADMs) bumped to 3A? Or will it have 11 — with Riverton (ADM 11th) forced in, or with Green River possibly opting up? Or will it have 12 with BOTH Riverton and Green River?

From there, deciding on the number of teams for 3A, 2A and 1A divisions will become much easier. Until then, we can’t really speculate on which teams will be in which classifications…

Oh, and one extra wrench for the WHSAA to deal with: South is not anticipating a varsity schedule in 2011, the first year of the new reclassification cycle.

This year is also the opportunity for 1A teams to decide if they want to play six-man or 11-man. Has anyone heard anything about current 11-man teams prepping for a move to six-man? Or vice-versa? Those decisions, too, will help guide the WHSAA’s decision-making for both classifications and conferences.

As for 4A conference  divisions — something that has dogged the WHSAA for the past four years, even though they try to stay out of it as much as possible and technically don’t even set conferences, only regions for regional tournaments — that gets fun with South coming in and Star Valley (ADM 13th) likely leaving to go back to 3A. It’s either really easy (Evanston, Riverton, Green River, Rock Springs and the two Casper schools in the West, Gillette, Sheridan, Laramie and the three Cheyenne schools in the East) or it’s really hard. Knowing how those discussions have gone over the past four years, it’ll be really hard.

Otherwise, everything else looks pretty straightforward for all sports except football. Star Valley with ADM 13 appears headed back to 3A for everything but football; Thermopolis, ranked 31st, will head back to 2A; and Lingle, hanging out in the 49th spot, will go to 1A for all except football.

For football, as explained earlier, the speculations about which teams might end up in which classifications is a little premature. But IF the WHSAA sticks with its 10-12-16 split for 4A, 3A and 2A, and IF no teams opt up or down, then it looks like Green River will move to 3A, Wheatland will go to 2A and Wyoming Indian will head to 1A.

(If you don’t know what ADM is, it stands for Average Daily Membership and it’s based on projected enrollment numbers. Check out the WHSAA front page to read up on that.)

The ADMs, with two-year averages (of course, you can click here and see the full numbers all pretty-like):

1. Gillette, 2,216
2. Natrona, 2,023
3. East, 1,556
4. Kelly Walsh, 1,447
5. Rock Springs, 1,397
6. Central, 1,352
7. Laramie, 1,040
8. Sheridan, 922
9. South, 910
10. Evanston, 900
11. Riverton, 777
12. Green River, 767
13. Star Valley, 734
14. Cody, 690
15. Jackson, 654
16. Lander, 502
17. Douglas, 500
18. Powell, 480
19. Rawlins, 478
20. Torrington, 389
21. Worland, 378
22. Buffalo, 345
23. Pinedale, 310
24. Wheatland, 286
25. Newcastle, 248
26. Mountain View, 226
27. Lyman, 225
28. Glenrock, 219
29. Lovell, 214
30. Big Piney, 203
31. Thermopolis, 201
32. Kemmerer, 183
33. Burns, 183
34. Wright, 178
35. Greybull, 167
36. Moorcroft, 163
37. Tongue River, 145
38. Big Horn, 140
39. Wind River, 132
40. Wyoming Indian, 124
41. Rocky Mountain, 117
42. Southeast, 117
43. Sundance, 113
44. Lusk, 113
45. Pine Bluffs, 109
46. Shoshoni, 103
47. Riverside, 97
48. Saratoga, 97
49. Lingle, 92
50. Upton, 85
51. Burlington, 80
52. Snake River, 71
53. Hanna, 71
54. St. Stephens, 70
55. Fort Washakie Charter, 65
56. Hulett, 64
57. Guernsey-Sunrise, 64
58. Cokeville, 63
59. Farson, 61
60. Normative Services, 60
61. Dubois, 58
62. Midwest, 55
63. Kaycee, 51
64. Arapaho Charter, 51
65. Ten Sleep, 39
66. Encampment, 36
67. Rock River, 33
68. Meeteetse, 33
69. Arvada-Clearmont, 33
70. Glendo, 20
71. Chugwater, 18

I love seeing the enrollment figures come out every two years — partly because where these numbers fall have a huge influence on what schools do for two years, partly because I’m a reclass nerd. Granted, enrollment numbers aren’t everything, as success is also determined by hard work, attitude, community support, etc., etc., blah blah blah. But they’re a big piece of the puzzle.

Thoughts? Ideas? Concerns? Questions? Post ’em below. I’m always down for a reclass chat.

–patrick

Wyoming high school football preseason rankings: Maxpreps, Massey, Wyopreps

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Three preseason Wyoming football rankings are now out: the Massey Ratings (via highschoolsports.net), the Maxpreps.com ratings and the Wyopreps.com coaches and media poll. Massey and Maxpreps use computers to rank their teams regardless of classification, while Wyopreps uses votes from coaches and media (including me) to put together a top five in each class.

The Cliff Notes version: Both Massey and Maxpreps have Douglas in the top spot. Massey has Sheridan, Glenrock, Cheyenne Central and Gillette (in that order) rounding out the top five, while Maxpreps has Sheridan, Gillette, Thermopolis and Cheyenne Central in spots 2-5, respectively.

The top five in each 11-man class, in order, from Massey:

4A: Sheridan, Cheyenne Central, Gillette, Kelly Walsh, Green River
3A: Douglas, Buffalo, Cody, Lander, Worland
2A: Glenrock, Thermopolis, Kemmerer, Big Horn, Greybull
1A 11-man: Southeast, Lingle, Cokeville, Lusk, Wind River

Now the same from Maxpreps:

4A: Sheridan, Gillette, Cheyenne Central, Kelly Walsh, Green River
3A: Douglas, Buffalo, Cody, Worland, Torrington
2A: Thermopolis, Glenrock, Greybull, Kemmerer, Big Horn
1A 11-man: Southeast, Lingle, Cokeville, Wind River, Lusk

Obviously, last year’s final finishes have a lot to do with where a team starts ranked in the preseason, especially when a computer is involved. The humans involved in the Wyopreps poll had this to say:

4A: Natrona, Sheridan, Cheyenne East, Gillette, Cheyenne Central
3A: Douglas, Buffalo, Cody, Star Valley, Powell
2A: Thermopolis, Glenrock, Greybull, Big Horn, Kemmerer
1A 11-man: Southeast and Cokeville (tie), Lusk, Lingle, Wind River
1A six-man: Kaycee, Guernsey, Hanna, Midwest, Ten Sleep

Of course, I already made my choices.

Granted, these preseason rankings don’t mean much. They’re either based too much in the past (most computer rankings) or based too much in speculation (most human rankings). But these rankings are also part of what makes it so much fun to actually strap on the pads and prove just how good your team really is. That’s why I get a kick out of these rankings — they’re fun to talk about because we haven’t actually had anyone put their hands in the dirt just yet and truly figure out who is the best.

Can’t wait for Aug. 27! Fewer than 10 days now until that first whistle sounds….

–patrick

2010 predictions

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No need for superfluous introductions: Here are some predictions for the 2010 football season.

Class 4A

The overview: It’s not very often that two teams that finished with four combined victories the previous season are the odds-on favorites. But that’s the case this year with Natrona and East. The Mustangs were 2-8 last year and the Thunderbirds 2-7, but both teams relied heavily on underclass players to fill key roles on the varsity. That means this year, seemingly everyone is picking one of these two teams as a preseason Cinderella. And what a fairy-tale story it would be if these two teams could end up playing each other in Laramie in November.

But let’s slow down. There are eight other teams in this classification, including defending champ Sheridan, defending runner-up Central, fast-rising Kelly Walsh, scary Green River and always tough Gillette. Those are teams that finished with winning records last season, and while all five lost some talented players, all five also have enough talent returning to give any team a fight.

The picks: Right now, Cinderella is too pretty to ignore. You can’t deny that, on paper, Natrona and East have the most talented teams. Remember, East beat Central in the Capital Bowl last year, and Natrona lost six of its eight games by seven points or less. Despite the final records, these two teams were close to the top teams in the classification. Look for one of these two teams to turn it all around and win the title in November — and look for the other to come up a few points short. For now, I like East with its dangerous aerial combination of QB Trevon Hinker and WR Jeremiah Hunter.

The wyoming-football.com preseason top five: 1. East; 2. Natrona; 3. Central; 4. Gillette; 5. Sheridan.

Class 3A

The overview: In a word: Douglas. Winners of state titles in 2008 and 2009, the Bearcats are loaded again for 2010. Everyone else is chasing them. That’s really all you need to know. (Although 3A gets all kinds of fun after that, as Buffalo, Cody, Star Valley, Powell, Wheatland and Worland all appear to have the ability to be the team to face Douglas in Laramie in November.)

The picks: With the tradition behind them and the talent in the locker room, Douglas has to be the favorite in 3A. Behind them, teams are lining up for their chance. That’s the tough part about being on top — everyone is gunning for you every time you step on the field. Of course, the Bearcats have taken everyone’s best shot for the past 20 games and haven’t lost yet…. So the question now becomes who Douglas will play in the title game. In August, I can’t help but look to Buffalo; the Bison have some tradition, too, and some talented players return from last year’s semifinal team.

The wyoming-football.com preseason top five: 1. Douglas; 2. Buffalo; 3. Cody; 4. Star Valley; 5. Powell.

Class 2A

The overview: For the first time since 1999, a team not named “Big Piney,” “Glenrock” or “Kemmerer” won the state’s third division, as Thermopolis basically came out of nowhere with a wide-open offense (well, as wide open as you can be in 2A) and an underrated but incredibly tough defense to win it all. This year, Thermopolis has its QB back in Mitch Syverson, which helps give the Bobcats an early edge in what is — for the first time in years — a wide-open classification.

That’s not to say that the Bobcats will just walk down to Laramie and win it all again. Thermopolis lost a ton of talented players and needs some of last year’s reserves to step up quickly. If they don’t, several teams — including Greybull, Glenrock and Big Horn — have the capability to knock them off and be this year’s out-of-nowhere team.

The picks: This isn’t as easy as it used to be. For the past few years, all I’ve had to do here is say “Kemmerer vs. Glenrock,” and chances are that I’d be pretty safe. Actually, that’s not a bad pick this year, either, but it’s no certainty, either. I think Thermopolis and Greybull have, on paper, the most talent. I think Glenrock is always tough and always seems to find players to fit its unique offense. I think Big Horn could be incredibly tough to stop. I think Kemmerer is being overlooked. I think Big Piney, Lovell and Wright are all worthy of preseason mention. I think I don’t know who to pick….

For now, let’s say Thermopolis vs. Greybull in the title game. Just let me adjust my picks every week between now and then.

The wyoming-football.com preseason top five: 1. Thermopolis; 2. Greybull; 3. Glenrock; 4. Big Horn; 5. Kemmerer.

Class 1A 11-man

The overview: You can’t mention this division without mentioning Southeast. The Cyclones have won four consecutive state championships. But, man, oh, man, will they have a tough time making it five. Cokeville, Lusk and Lingle will make sure of that.

If the boys from Yoder want to make it five straight, they will need to put together their best effort to do so, as this classification is STACKED on the top side. Cokeville has some amazing talent coming back. Lusk has been pointing to 2010 for a long time and is poised for a playoff breakthrough. Lingle has some solid returners on both sides of the ball and now has experience and confidence going for it, too.

The picks: My goodness, the playoffs are going to be fun. For now, I think Cokeville — on paper — has 1A’s most talent, including RB Chance Maddock. I think Southeast has earned the title of perennial favorite. For now, I’ll go with those two teams. But, wow, Lusk and Lingle… how can you NOT like either of those teams to win it all, as well? I can’t wait for the first weekend in November and the semifinals.

The wyoming-football.com preseason top five: 1. Cokeville; 2. Southeast; 3. Lusk; 4. Lingle; 5. Ummm….. Burlington? Why not.

Class 1A six-man

The overview: No team will dominate the division the way Guernsey did last fall — and that’s a good thing. Teams like Ten Sleep, Midwest, Kaycee and Hanna all have to be considered in the preseason discussion. As the playoffs proved last year, six-man is anything but predictable, especially with the wide-open play and the loads of talent that seemingly each team carries. With the division moving to a one-conference format for playoff seeding this year, every game in weeks 1-7 will be a conference game, so that should create some interesting matchups in the postseason.

The picks: Although you have to respect Guernsey and what the Vikings accomplished last fall, I also think you have to realize that this division is no longer a one-team show. Kaycee and Ten Sleep, especially, have the talent and athleticism to make a run at the title this fall. I think this classification is the least predictable of them all, as teams are still working to establish their identities, but I also think that makes it fun. Right now, I’ll lean toward another Guernsey-Kaycee title game, with Kaycee winning it this time thanks to an athletic group led by back Shawn Straub.

But don’t be surprised to see some other teams step up and challenge that. And don’t be surprised if the team that wins it all come November has two or three losses along the way. I think there’s that much parity at the top.

The wyoming-football.com preseason top five: 1. Kaycee; 2. Guernsey; 3. Ten Sleep; 4. Hanna; 5. Midwest.

So, what do you think? Which teams will still be standing in November? Who are some of the top players? Which teams have the ability to come out of nowhere and win a title? Which favorites will capitalize on their expectations? Leave a comment below and let’s get this discussion started!

–patrick

All-time coaches records updated

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A few months ago, I posted a list of the winningest coaches in Wyoming high school football history. Since then, I’ve updated the list to include coaches from 1933 to 1945, and the list has shuffled a bit.

Here are the overall records for Wyoming coaches that have won at least 90 games, at least according to the listings I have:

Coach Wins Losses Ties
Dayton, Todd 242 49 0
Deti, John E. 204 94 8
Deti, John R. 188 102 2
Fullmer, Jerry 174 82 0
McDougall, John 156 115 2
Eskelsen, Joel 147 81 0
Hoff, Dallas 144 95 6
Gray, Walter 140 87 0
Moon, Mike 136 79 1
Scherry, Rick 133 84 1
Hill, Art 132 92 3
Bailey, Harold 128 92 0
Blanchard, Okie 126 36 4
Mirich, Carl 124 101 1
Keith, Bruce 117 82 0
Harshman, Steve 114 64 0
Dinnel, Don 113 61 0
Petronovich, Pete 113 102 5
Fackrell, Kay 111 79 0
Bartlett, Doug 102 73 0
Smith, Ben 101 33 0
Miller, Barry 97 83 1
Wiseman, Jim 97 50 1
Hart, Jerry 95 40 2
Gamble, Tony 93 55 2
Bullington, Mark 92 19 0
Steege, Rich 91 119 0

The big addition to this list from the 1933-45 era is Okie Blanchard, who posted a 126-36-4 record from 1933-52 with Rock Springs, Natrona and Cheyenne Central. His career record is probably better than that, as I believe he spent a few years prior to 1933 coaching, as well. It’s interesting to note that Blanchard was also the UW football coach in 1941, in between his three-year stint coaching Natrona and his 11 years at Central.

It’s also interesting that Blanchard split time at three schools. That’s sort of a rarity for the list, which is dominated by guys who pretty much stayed at one school. Other coaches on the list who were head coaches at three schools are John R. Deti (Cody, Sheridan and Laramie), Art Hill (Glenrock, Riverton and Natrona), Don Dinnel (Mountain View, Rawlins and Evanston) and Kay Fackrell (Goshen Hole, Lyman and Evanston).

Well, now that I’m in the mood…

These coaches stayed (or have stayed, so far) at one school as head coach: Dayton (Cokeville); Fullmer (Lusk); Eskelsen (Big Piney); Gray (Tongue River); Moon (Buffalo); Scherry (Big Horn); Bailey (Shoshoni); Harshman (Natrona); Petronovich (Douglas); Bartlett (Torrington); Smith (Rocky Mountain); Miller (Goshen Hole/Southeast); and Bullington (Southeast).

The remainder were at two schools: John E. Deti (Meeteetse, Laramie); McDougall (Dubois, Cody); Hoff (Superior, Midwest); Mirich (Goshen Hole, Moorcroft); Keith (Sheridan, Kelly Walsh); Wiseman (Lingle, Torrington); Hart (Green River, Star Valley); Gamble (Guernsey-Sunrise, Wright); Steege (Burns, Pinedale).

Of course, this is an incomplete list. It doesn’t include coaching records prior to 1933 and doesn’t include coaches who are missing (you can find out which teams those are by checking out the list of missing coaches for the Coaches Project).

–patrick

The “Dead Era,” 1939-47 – recognition for the unrecognized

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For nine years, Wyoming had no official state football champions.

For nine years, teams postured, claimed, challenged and, occasionally, played.

For nine years, newspaper reporters debated, interviewed, intermediated and, eventually, chose.

For nine years, coaches proclaimed, skirted, complained and, sometimes, ignored.

For nine years, players played.

What is lost in nine years of mythical championships — nine years of saying “My team is better than your team” when, in many cases, the two teams had not played any similar opponents, let alone each other — is the contributions made by those players to what’s often called the “dead era” of Wyoming high school football.

I wrote about my desire to uncover the champions from the “dead era” a couple years ago. The champions in the years 1939-47 were no more or less worthy of recognition; they just happened to win the right games at the wrong time in Wyoming’s football timeline.

As a refresher, here are the champions from the “dead era” and how they won their respective titles:

1947: Rawlins. The Outlaws went 8-0-2 and were the Big Five champions; they refused all postseason game offers.

1946: Sheridan. The Big Five champions went 8-0-2 and beat Cody 20-19 in the first “Turkey Bowl,” the unofficial state championship game, played on Thanksgiving day in Casper. By the way, I think it was this particular game that really galvanized the effort for a state championship playoff system in later years….

1945: Cheyenne Central. Went 9-0, with victories over Torrington, Rawlins, Natrona, Laramie and five out-of-state foes.

1944: Cheyenne Central. Went 8-1, with the only loss to Alliance, Neb. Beat in-state foes Rock Springs, Torrington, Natrona, Rawlins and Laramie.

1943: Cheyenne Central. Went 8-0-1. First undefeated season in school history. Topped Rock Springs, Rawlins, Natrona and Laramie in in-state play. (A case could also be made for the team from the Heart Mountain Japanese internment camp, which went undefeated and un-scored upon. However, the Eagles were not allowed to fully participate in district play, and Powell — the team that eventually won the Northwest district — refused to schedule Heart Mountain. Powell beat Worland 19-13 in the district championship game on Thanksgiving.)

1942: Natrona — although the Mustangs needed some help. The Mustangs went 6-1-1, with the only loss a 20-14 Armistice Day defeat to Sheridan. That loss left the door open for unbeaten Green River to stake a claim to the title, but the Wolves lost their season finale on the same day, 13-7 to Rock Springs. No other large-school squads finished undefeated that season, so by default the mythical crown fell to the best one-loss team, that being Natrona.

1941: Cheyenne Central. Went 7-1-1, with the only loss to Fort Collins, Colo. Beat Rock Springs; Rapid City, S.D.; Natrona; Scottsbluff, Neb.; Torrington; Midwest; and Laramie, and tied Sheridan.

1940: Rock Springs and Sheridan split the claim to the title. Rock Springs went 10-0, shutting out its final eight opponents while giving up just 13 points for the season. Sheridan finished 7-0-1, the lone tie coming against Billings, Mont. The schools did not play each other, but had three common opponents in Cheyenne Central (Rock Springs 19-6; Sheridan 7-6), Laramie (Rock Springs 13-0; Sheridan 7-6) and Natrona (Rock Springs 13-0; Sheridan 7-0). (Powell, which lost to Sheridan in the opening week of the season but later claimed to have won the game by forfeit, also laid an unofficial claim to the state title.)

1939: Natrona. Went 8-1, with the lone loss to Billings, Mont.; beat previously unbeaten Sheridan on Armistice Day to win the unofficial title. NC also beat Midwest, Laramie, Cheyenne Central and five out-of-state opponents.

After much thought on the subject, I have decided to add these schools to my list of state champions. The list had long included both official and unofficial champions, and now I feel like these schools can earn the credit they deserve.

Of course, this wasn’t easy for me. It took a ton of time to consider the accomplishments of each team in each season, examining my own records and cross-checking them with the newspaper rankings and reports of the time. In each season, I have maintained the original “consensus” mythical champion, the one chosen by the most newspapers. In years like 1940 and 1942, that was difficult, but in most other years this was a straightforward, if somewhat time-consuming, process on my end.

Part of the confusion of the “dead era” recognition comes with the other championship “dead era” in Wyoming’s history, that from 1962-67 for all schools and from 1968-74 for all but the largest schools. Those years, teams were awarded mythical championships through a statewide poll, usually conducted by United Press International. The winner of that poll, taken after the final regular season game of the year, was generally regarded as the mythical state champion for that classification.

However, such a statewide poll did not exist between 1939 and 1947. Instead, newspaper reporters published their own rankings at the end of the season. Sometimes they agreed. Sometimes they didn’t. Sometimes, they bickered back and forth at each other in print.

Sports reporters stood in one of three camps: those who shouted loudly for a playoff; those who said the WHSAA should form a committee of sportswriters and coaches to pick a champion (a committee that, of course, would include that particular sports writer); and those who said the current system was fine, especially because schools couldn’t bear extra expenses for playoffs during wartime.

It didn’t help reporters that any coach could stake a claim to a state championship. At the end of the year, most teams that were undefeated claimed a mythical state title. For example, in 1947, teams claiming the state championship included both big-shot Rawlins (8-0-2) and tiny Manville (6-0). No fewer than six teams claimed the mythical championship in 1942.

For now, we can’t look to the WHSAA for clarification. the WHSAA Web site. The WHSAA mishmashes which mythical champions they list and which they don’t on the football champions listing on its Web site. Their list of champions includes two unofficial champions, 1939 (Casper) and 1940 (Rock Springs and Sheridan) as well as the mythical champs from 1962-67, but not those from 1941-47 nor the unofficial title-holders from small schools from 1968-74. The WHSAA’s decision to list the 1939 and 1940 champs doesn’t make much sense to me, as the 1939 and 1940 champions seem just as valid, at least as far as the WHSAA should be concerned, as those championships won from 1941-47. The champs from 1962-67, especially at the small-school level, also seem just as valid as those earned from 1968-74.

Nevertheless, all those mythical championships weren’t the WHSAA’s to award anyway. They were a newspaper brainchild. Deciding a champion helped sell newspapers — something many columnists admitted to during this era. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, deciding a mythical state title-holder would have been all but impossible without the help of the newspapers.

What underlines not recognizing the champions of these nine years is that it somewhat undercuts the contributions of the players who played during this era. Other years have three, four or even five champions listed; now, the players from this era can at least look back and point to one team as the best, even if it is “mythical.”

–patrick

The 1930s: How the WHSAA got in – and out – of the playoffs

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It’s no coincidence that the Wyoming High School Activities Association and Wyoming’s statewide football playoffs were both born in the same year, 1931. It wasn’t until the WHSAA (then known as the Wyoming High School Athletic Association) stepped up to organize a playoff that schools, together, took the steps they needed to take to determine a state champion.

However, organizing the state’s football programs into one cohesive playoff system proved much tougher than anticipated.

It shouldn’t have been that hard. Four districts, four champions, semifinals that determined a northern and a southern champion and then a state championship game. But after starting playoffs in 1931, the WHSAA dropped them after the 1938 season — mostly because the districts had trouble deciding which teams to send on to the playoffs, but partly because the WHSAA was tired of dealing with all the drama.

Back then, there was only one classification of football in Wyoming, and only four teams qualified for the playoffs. One team each qualified from the northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest districts. The northeast and northwest champions played each other in the first round, as did the southeast and southwest champions. Those winners then faced off in the championship game, usually on Thanksgiving.

The trouble with the system went deeper than just deciding which four teams went to the playoffs. Problems also arose even after the four teams won — or, perhaps more accurately, were chosen — as their district’s champion.

Understanding the system relies on understanding the WHSAA in the 1930s. The organizing group was in its infancy and consisted of only four board members. Unlike today, there was no commissioner, no associate commissioner, no 20-member board of directors. In fact, there was no staff at all. The WHSAA was simply those four board members, one from each district, usually from larger schools.

In reality, the WHSAA stayed out of the regular season as much as possible. But rarely did a year pass between 1931 and 1938 where the WHSAA did not, or was not asked to, intervene.

For example, in 1932, Cody won the northwest district championship, but the Broncs refused to make the journey to Buffalo, the home of the northeast champions, to play the Bison in the semifinals. Cody officials asked for the game to be played in Cody, or for Buffalo to help defray the Broncs’ travel expenses. Buffalo was willing to do neither. The WHSAA intervened and threw Cody — which was 8-0-1 — out of the playoffs. Thermopolis, the northwest runners-up who were willing to make the trip to Buffalo, replaced Cody in the bracket on the Thursday before the game on Saturday. Thermopolis went on to win the state championship, beating Buffalo in the semifinals before topping Kemmerer in the title game.

The WHSAA didn’t make any friends in Sheridan during that 1932 season, either. After Buffalo beat Sheridan 6-0 on the final day of the regular season to win the northeast district crown, Sheridan appealed the game to the WHSAA, claiming the Bison used an ineligible player — perhaps not coincidentally, a player who had played at Sheridan the year before. The WHSAA agreed that Buffalo should not earn credit for the victory. But rather than force Buffalo to forfeit, the WHSAA scheduled a rematch between the two schools the Tuesday before the playoffs. Sheridan refused to play the game, saying the forfeit of the game that had already been played should give Sheridan the title. The WHSAA disagreed, and since Sheridan didn’t play the rematch, Buffalo moved into the playoffs.

The 1935 season was even more confusing, as it closed with problems in three of the four districts.

The northwest crown was confusing to decide in 1935 as well, but at least the WHSAA didn’t have to be involved in it. Worland and Thermopolis tied for the southern half of the district title, and since they tied each other during the regular season, they played another game shortly after the end of the regular season. Thermopolis won that game 20-0, but lost to Powell, the team that won the northern half of the district championship, in the annual district championship game.

Deciding the northeast crown was even more confusing, as Sheridan, Newcastle and Midwest all staked their claim to the top spot. To settle the confusion, Newcastle and Sheridan scheduled a game — on their own volition — to decide the title. After Sheridan beat Newcastle, though, the WHSAA ruled that Midwest’s claim was just as valid as Newcastle’s and forced the Broncs to play the Oilers on the Wednesday before the playoffs started. Sheridan won that game, as well, then somehow managed to beat Powell on just one day’s rest in the semifinals before losing to Rock Springs in the title game. The Broncs finished the season by playing five games in 17 days.

In the southeast, Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne all tied at the top of the district (each went 1-1 against the others) and played the state’s first triangular playoff. Although that playoff was won by Casper, Torrington and its perfect league record was never even considered as a possible playoff team — the WHSAA said that since the Trailblazers had not played any of the “Big Three,” they were not eligible to win the district crown.

The end of the 1935 season exemplified the problem faced by smaller schools, especially those in the southeast district dominated by Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie. With the playoffs set up as they were, the smaller schools rarely had realistic chances at claiming district titles. In addition to Torrington’s claim to the district championship in 1935, Douglas was given a similar short shrift in 1936. The Bearcats had beaten seven district foes without a loss but hadn’t played any of the “Big Three.” Therefore, their claim to the district championship was tossed out by the WHSAA. According to an article in the Casper Tribune-Herald, the four-member board also told Douglas “the Bearcats had not shown themselves of championship caliber, having been decisively defeated by the Midwest Oilers, an eleven defeated 47-0 by the Indians and 30-0 by the Mustangs.” More than any of the seven district victories, the WHSAA had looked at the Bearcats’ one out-of-district loss to determine if Douglas was truly worthy of the playoffs.

By 1937, the WHSAA was trying to step out of the way . By 1938, the group decided all the grief wasn’t worth it.

In 1937, a controversial set of rule interpretations gave Lovell the northwest district championship over Worland, even though the two teams never played each other. Worland appealed. However, this time, the WHSAA put the onus on the district to decide the champion, and a three-member board of northwest district overseers kept the title with Lovell.

Even so, the WHSAA still continued to catch heat for the northwest’s decision, and midway through the 1938 season, the WHSAA ended its sanctioning of a postseason football tournament.

An Associated Press story on Oct. 22, 1938, explained the WHSAA’s decision, and the WHSAA made it crystal clear why the playoffs were abolished: “Association officials explained it was the general sentiment of the association members that the tournament be abolished. Disagreements, they explained, occurred frequently over team classifications and teams participating, and it was believed better to let the tourney go and permit the various districts to make their own decisions as to what should be done.”

The 1938 district races and playoffs were completed without incident. It was another 10 years before schools put aside the hard feelings and organized statewide playoffs again, although by 1948 the postseason was organized in a much different fashion… and, to get there, the state had to go nine years’ worth of discussions and nine football seasons without an official state champion.

Check back next week for the second part of a look back at history, Wyoming’s playoff “dead era” from 1939 to 1947.

–patrick

Updates: 1933 through 1945 (almost 3,000 games)

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Wow. Nearly 3,000 more games over the course of 13 seasons — the newest site update was a massive one. However, now, every season from 1933 to 1945 is posted here for you to check out.

The late 1930s and early 1940s were definitely an interesting time in Wyoming’s high school football history. From the playoff structure to school infighting to six-man football to World War II, this was a time of change. I don’t think any other time period saw as much change in Wyoming high school football as the 12 years from 1934 to 1946… but I’ll fill you in on all that later.

For now, check out your favorite team’s page to see how they did in the 13 years from 1933 to 1945, the newest additions to this site. Also, take time to check out the pages I added for the seven programs in this era that disbanded for good before the end of World War II: the Carpenter Coyotes, the Fort Laramie Pioneers, the Fort Washakie Indians, the Gebo Miners, the Hawk Springs Hawks, the Heart Mountain Eagles and Monarch.

Check out the all-time standings for every program, either by winning percentage or by number of victories. Adding 13 years to these standings shook them up quite a bit!

Look at the school timeline (at the bottom of the page) and see when the state has seen its most movement of teams.

Scour the missing games list and the Coaches Project listings to see if you can help me fill in some missing information!

Most of all, take the time to browse at your own pace, looking at what you want when you want. Enjoy what I’ve posted. After all, that’s why it is there in the first place.

Meanwhile, for me, the research continues. I’ve been slowed down by life a bit this summer, but hopefully within the next 10 months, my research will be “done.” Coe Library awaits….

(By the way, the latest update helped me reach an interesting milestone for this site. I have now logged 20,014 games, finally breaking that 20,000 barrier! If you’re interested, I keep a running total after each site update on the front page of the site.)

–patrick

Sorry, Westville… you weren’t first

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It’s with much regret to the citizens of Westville, Illinois, that I write this post. After all, they’re going to have to change their sign. Because it’s wrong.

Westville claims the nation’s first lighted high school football game. It came in 1928, on Sept. 21 of that year, in a game against Milford, according to the IHSA (scroll down about 1/3 of the way down the page). Westville even won the game, 26-6.

There’s just one little problem with that claim: It’s inaccurate. Midwest, Wyoming, hosted the first night football game in November 1925.

A full four years before the first professional night game, and three years before Westville, the Oilers hosted Casper High School (now Natrona) on Nov. 19, 1925. Casper won the game 20-0; Midwest won style and novelty points. About 400 people turned out to watch the game, played under floodlights installed by the Midwest Refining Co. at the location of Midwest’s current community softball field. The game was played in cold temperatures (after all, it WAS nighttime in late November) and with a football that had been painted white.

Now, nearly every high school in the state has lights. Only about a dozen schools in Wyoming are without them.

And, of course, the tradition of Friday night lights did not remain solely a Wyoming tradition. It is now Americana — a tradition for tens of thousands of communities across the country. (Never mind that Nov. 19, 1925, was a Thursday…)

Even though Mansfield University has everyone beat, Wyoming CAN claim the first high school football game under the lights.

–patrick