Big Horn’s new football field is progressing fast… but not fast enough to get today’s game against Glenrock at “home.” Today’s game has been moved over to the Normative Services field and the kickoff will be at 3 p.m. (I realize I’m making this post at 2:51 p.m., which may not do much good to the folks already on the road. Sorry!)

You can check out the progress of the field through our friends at Sheridan Media, who reported that the field’s new synthetic surface is still being transported.

Next week’s Rams game against Thermopolis, for now, is still scheduled for Big Horn, but that’s obviously dependent on the field getting there and getting installed.

–patrick

Gillette-Sheridan preview (Gillette News-Record). … Laramie’s Ontiveroz returns to field (Laramie Boomerang). … Kelly Walsh-Rock Springs preview, Natrona-Green River preview and games of the week (Casper Star-Tribune). … Worland-Star Valley preview (Northern Wyo Daily News, click today). … Burlington-Shoshoni recap and Rocky Mountain-Riverside recap (Basin Republican Rustler). … Greybull-Wyoming Indian recap (Greybull Standard). … Pinedale-Kemmerer recap (Kemmerer Gazette). … Lusk-Southeast recap (Lusk Herald). … Mountain View-Big Piney recap and Lyman-Lovell recap (Bridger Valley Pioneer).

–patrick

Every year for the past three years, this has been the 3A game for which everyone breaks out their cherry-flavored Mr. Sketch marker to mark it on the calendar.

On one side is Buffalo, 3A’s old team to beat, the hallmark of the classification throughout the mid-2000s, the program that won 27 games in a row and two state titles from 2004-06.

On the other side is Douglas, 3A’s new team to beat, the squad that has won the past two state titles and is riding its own current winning streak of 23 games.

When they meet at 7 p.m. Friday in Douglas, it promises to be another rock ’em-sock ’em round in a rivalry that’s grown to incredibly competitive levels the past few years.

All you really have to do is look at the state championship games the past seven years. One of these two teams has played in a state title game each of those seven years. Each team has won twice. Buffalo has lost three other title games, Douglas one. Yet the only time they played each other in the title game was in 2008, the game in which Douglas officially usurped control of the classification from the Bison.

Since then, the Bison have been fighting to wrest that control back from the Bearcats. And Friday is yet another chance to do just that — and based on how the Bison have started the season, there’s no reason to think they can’t do just that. Buffalo has whomped on Worland (41-0), Lander (41-6) and Powell (36-0) in its nonconference slate, and faces its most critical conference game of the season in the league opener.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, the only team that has been consistently more impressive than itself is Douglas. The Bearcats walloped three foes of their own — Belle Fourche, S.D. (38-6), Jackson (70-14) and Star Valley (40-6) — to serve notice that they, too, will be a tough team to beat this fall.

Something has to give Friday night. The winner likely wins the conference, the loser likely takes second. That’s a huge deal, because, most likely, it means one of these teams has to go on the road in the semifinals, something that helped keep Buffalo out of last year’s 3A championship game.

But more than just playoff seeding, this game will determine which 3A team the other ones look to as their model of the team they wish to become. These two teams have set the pace out of the gate in 2010, but only one gets to be the role model — the one, when it comes to wins and losses and the score on the scoreboard at the end of the game, that everyone else wants to be.

Obviously, both programs stand on their own merits. Both Douglas and Buffalo have plenty of which to be proud. Both programs have established themselves as perennial contenders and, more than that, as programs others want to emulate off the field, as well.

But you can’t deny the fact that a victory on Friday, for either squad, becomes a huge point in the season, as well as in the program.

It’s that way every year.

That’s why it’s so fun.

(Oh, you want a pick? Douglas.)

Here are the rest of this week’s picks, with projected winners in bold:

Thursday
Interclass
Kaycee JV at Hulett: After a week off, the Red Devils have their first chance to show off their new six-man game to the home fans. 3 p.m.

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Cheyenne Central: East has had the attention, but don’t underestimate the Indians. They are eager to dish out a little revenge for last year’s Capital Bowl. Nevertheless, I’ll take the T-Birds. Doctor, heal thyself, I guess. 5 p.m.
Gillette at Sheridan: Whatwhatwhat? Yep, I am picking the Camels over the unbeaten Broncs in what I see as a bit of an upset. Gillette has just been really, really impressive over the past three weeks and the Broncs have been fortunate to win a couple of recent games. That, plus the rivalry and revenge factors, have me calling for the Camels. 7 p.m.
Green River at Natrona: Talk about a trap game. If the Mustangs aren’t focused and serious this week, the Wolves have what it takes to pull the upset. Don’t let the records fool you. Of course, if NC IS focused and serious, the ‘Stangs could win by 40. 7 p.m.
Kelly Walsh at Rock Springs: It’s hard to believe, but by the time we play everything out, this game could end up being for a playoff spot. I’ll go with the Tigers, but only because they’re at home. 7 p.m.
Laramie at Evanston: Here’s a number for you: From 1933 (the beginning of this Web site) to 2009, Laramie gave up 50 or more points in a game just 10 times. In the past three weeks, it’s happened three times. Maybe four after the Red Devils get through with the Plainsmen. 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Lander at Cody: How impressive was Cody’s victory over Torrington last week? Well, the Broncs are now my favorites to win the West. Impressive enough? 7 p.m.
Powell at Jackson: After last week, Powell will probably have some frustration to take out on the Broncs. 7 p.m.
Rawlins at Riverton: Riverton has the historical edge in this series. More than that, Riverton has shown it is capable of giving any team on its schedule a hard-fought game. 7 p.m.
Wheatland at Torrington: The East has its two clear-cut favorites. But after that, it gets really, really interesting. It’s going to be fun watching that play out this season — and it starts with this big rivalry game. 7 p.m.
Worland at Star Valley: The more I think about it, the more I think this is an absolutely huge game. Then I realize, hey, it’s the 3A West. They’re always all big, all the time. It’s the parity that makes it fun. 6 p.m.
Class 2A
Burns at Tongue River: You know when you get a rock in your shoe, and you think you can ignore it, but then after awhile you notice that you just can’t stop thinking about it and you have to do something about it? Yeah, Tongue River’s kind of at that point. You can’t ignore the Eagles anymore. 3 p.m.
Glenrock at Big Horn: This is the first of two huge games in a row for the Rams (vs. Thermopolis next week, in Big Horn (my bad for posting the game in Thermop in my original post)). It’s put up or shut up time, and I believe the Rams will put up. 1 p.m.
Greybull at Pinedale: The Wranglers have been impressive the past two weeks, and they’ll be a tough team to beat at home. But I also know the Buffs are tough to beat, no matter where they play. 7 p.m.
Lyman at Big Piney: The Punchers’ quick start got derailed last week. How they bounce back against a tough Eagles team will tell us a lot about them. 4 p.m.
Moorcroft at Thermopolis: Thermopolis has scored 167 points in four games this fall. Moorcroft has scored 12 in three. Math favors the Bobcats. 7 p.m.
Mountain View at Lovell: This will be a better game than you think — but the Bulldogs, at home, will be ready for the Buffs. 7 p.m.
Wright at Newcastle: I just can’t put my finger on this game. I’ll go with the Panthers because I think Wright has more potential than what we’ve seen so far, and if they can’t get it moving now, they’re in a tough situation from here on out. More to lose, I guess…. 7 p.m.
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Riverside: The 1A 11-man West is always a fun conference to watch come together. This game will play a big part in deciding which teams go to the playoffs and which teams stay at home. 7 p.m.
Cokeville at Shoshoni: Lately, it hasn’t seemed to matter who, where, or when the Panthers play. They just win. 2 p.m.
Dubois at Saratoga: Sorry, there is no more room on the Dubois bandwagon. 3:30 p.m.
Lusk at Lingle: This is a game that a lot of people — mostly people in Lusk — have been pointing to since the end of last season. Lingle has what it takes to keep it close and maybe even win it, but Lusk has looked really sharp in the early goings this fall. 7:30 p.m.
Pine Bluffs at Southeast: The Cyclones have dominated this series recently, winning 15 of the past 16 matchups. But this year might be Pine’s best chance for a while — not only to beat the Cyclones, but to do some damage in the playoffs, as well. 7:30 p.m.
Upton at Sundance: The Bulldogs are better than what they showed last week. They should get back on track against the Bobcats. 3 p.m.
Wind River at Rocky Mountain: Two good teams. Should be a fantastic game. Playoff seeding, etc. Don’t know which one to pick. Flipped a coin and it went Grizzly-side up — although it spun on its edge for a long time, too. The coin couldn’t decide, either. 2 p.m.

Saturday
Class 2A
Wyoming Indian at Kemmerer: Both teams are eager to pick up their first win of the season. Because it’s in The Pit, I’ll go with the Rangers, but don’t be surprised if the Chiefs keep it close for awhile…. 1 p.m.
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Guernsey-Sunrise: Don’t let last week’s loss to Kaycee fool you — Hanna will be a team to reckon with in six-man this year. The Vikings will find that out the hard way. 3 p.m.
Kaycee at Ten Sleep: Can’t wait for this one. This is one of those games that should be one of those classic six-man games that comes right down to the final moments. Whoever has the ball last may win it. 1 p.m.
Midwest at Farson: The Oilers manhandled the Pronghorns by 77 last year. I don’t see that happening this year, but I still think Midwest gets the win in this one. 2:30 p.m.
Snake River at Meeteetse: Holy cow, did I just pick every single road team to win in the six-man classification this week? I guess I did…. Oh, that, and Snake River is good. 1 p.m.

Off: Normative Services.

While the schedule isn’t quite as chock full of big games as it was last week, it is interesting to note now that 3A is into its conference swing that every team on the schedule (except Hulett and NSI) is playing a conference game this week. And that’s the way it will be from here to Week 8 when we wrap this bad boy up. So that means every game on the schedule is a big one — especially for those teams who have aspirations of playoff berths and making the trip to Laramie in mid-November. What games sticks out to you on that schedule this week? Are my picks on target or did I go astray somewhere? Post a comment below and let me know what you think.

(Now updated with correct Star Valley kickoff time.)

–patrick

Wheatland-Worland recap (Platte County Record Times). … Cody-Torrington recap, Lusk-Southeast recap and Natrona sophs-Lingle recap (Torrington Telegram). … Buffalo-Powell recap and Kaycee-Hanna recap (Buffalo Bulletin). … Thermopolis-Glenrock recap (Glenrock Independent). … Evanston-Green River recap (Green River Star).

–patrick

Douglas-Star Valley recap and Buffalo preview (Douglas Budget). … Evanston-Green River recap (Uinta County Herald). … Cokeville-Saratoga recap (Rawlins Times).

–patrick

School: Evanston
Nickname: Red Devils
Colors: red and blue
Stadium: Red Devil Stadium
State championships: 1951, 1985 and 1997
Times worth remembering: Starting in 1977, Evanston had nine consecutive winning seasons and reached state championship games five times, culminating with a Class 3A title in the 1985 season. In that span, Evanston tallied a record of 62-18.
Times worth forgetting: Two tough stretches have affected Evanston football — back-to-back winless seasons in both 1970-71 and in 2001-02. The 1970-71 stretch was part of a bigger streak that included 33 games without a win, encompassing 1969-72, one of the longest in state history. The Evanston teams in 2000-03, meanwhile, lost 26 consecutive games.
Best team: The 1964 Red Devils brought together the school’s best assemblage of defensive talent. The squad went 9-0 and gave up just 20 points all season, shutting out six of its opponents. The scary part about the ’64 squad was how similar every game was: the Red Devils’ nine wins were by scores of 19-0, 21-0, 14-0, 28-7, 25-7, 21-0, 13-0, 27-6 and 19-0. Talk about consistency…. Even so, in the final UPI poll, Evanston was ranked fifth in the state, behind both three-loss Sheridan and two-loss Natrona.
Biggest win: The 1985 championship game brought the Red Devils out of a frustrating streak of championship-game losses. Evanston had lost championship games four times in the previous eight years, including one in overtime, but with a 47-8 win over Torrington for the 3A title in 1985, the Red Devils earned their first state championship in 34 years and finally put to rest all the frustration of close calls of past title games.
Heartbreaker: Twice in the waning moments of the 1983 Class 3A title game, Evanston had the chance to put Buffalo away. Twice, the Red Devils came up short, and lost a chance at a state championship in the process. Buffalo kept Evanston from scoring on a first-and-goal from the 1-yard line in the final minute, and then stopped the Red Devils’ two-point conversion attempt in overtime to wrap up a 13-12 overtime victory.

Evanston team page.

Gillette-Cheyenne East recap (Gillette News-Record). … Greybull-Wyoming Indian and Rocky Mountain-Riverside recaps (Northern Wyo Daily News, click today). … Players of the week (Casper Star-Tribune).

–patrick

From doorstep to doorstep, it’s 358 miles from Spike Vannoy Field to Wiseman Field.

It’s a heck of a long way to go, one way, for a regular-season football game.

That’s why Cody hasn’t made that trip to Torrington that often in September. It’s a long trip that takes you through hot springs, malts, Oregon Trail forts and corn fields — and it’s much, much longer making that trip home if you’ve lost a football game.

Surely, the Broncs had other motivations for the thumping they gave Torrington, other reasons they unloaded 47 points while holding the Trailblazers scoreless, than just making the trip home a tad bit easier.

Like, oh, sending a message to the rest of the 3A classification — and, with conference play starting next week, especially their mates in the 3A West — that Cody is indeed a contender for a state championship this year.

Both Cody and Torrington came into Friday night’s showdown with decent credentials, but both teams also wanted to prove that they belonged in that discussion of 3A’s upper echelon that, before Friday, only really included Douglas and Buffalo.

Now, you have to include Cody in that talk. Especially when you look at three numbers: 358, 47 and 0.

The Broncs shouldn’t have sneaked up on anyone this fall. They returned several key members of a team that played for the 3A championship last year.

And, yet, through the first couple weeks, the Broncs faded into the background of the 3A discussion, with a 1-1 record in a pair of forgettable games against Montana foes followed up by an expected blowout of Rawlins.

After what the Broncs did on Friday, that won’t happen again.

Second mad props to Pinedale, who once again proved how much old ways of thinking about the 2A classification aren’t going to get you anywhere in 2010. Pinedale not only beat Kemmerer, the Wranglers shut out the Rangers 24-0. It’s the first time EVER (at least according to my records) that Pinedale has shut out Kemmerer. When you frame it in the context of the 2A West playoff race in 2010, it’s a huge win for the Wranglers, but when you frame it in terms of series history, it’s the type of win that can give a program overflowing amounts of confidence.

Third mad props to another 2A West team, Mountain View, which finally broke a couple years of frustrating finals by nudging Big Piney 21-18. I said on Thursday that Mountain View had what it took to give Big Piney a game if the Punchers overlooked them. I think that’s part of what happened on Friday — but I also think part of it is that Mountain View, after a couple years of frustration, are back. Right now, the Buffs are definitely contenders for one of the conference’s four playoff spots. The next three weeks (Lovell, Pinedale and Lyman) will be telling — but don’t be surprised to see the Mountain View program fully assert its potential the next few weeks and show everyone that, more than just one victory over Big Piney, they are back.

Fourth mad props to the Natrona sophomore team, which beat Lingle 39-37 on Thursday.

Saturday edit: Fifth mad props to Ten Sleep, which made the trip to Midwest and came away with a 39-26 victory. This game has helped, in a big way, to set the hierarchy in six-man football this year, a hierarchy that differs quite a bit from last year. With this win, Ten Sleep went a long way to setting up at least one home playoff game. In six-man, where distances can be huge, that’s a big deal.

More: Sixth mad props to Kaycee, which ended Hanna’s perfect season with a 47-33 victory over the Miners in southern Johnson County. Kaycee is looking more and more like the team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason, and I think they’d love another shot at Snake River….

More: Seventh mad props to Meeteetse, which smacked defending champ Guernsey 48-19. It’s a good win for the Longhorns and it further gives depth to the forming 1A six-man rankings. Now the question across the classification is if anyone will shake it up, or if we’ll see 7-0, 6-1, 5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 2-5, 1-6 and 0-7 by the end of week 7.

Here’s some other stuff that drew my attention on Friday:

I went over the hill on Friday afternoon to take in the Pine Bluffs-Sundance showdown at Wyoming’s easternmost football field. And the Hornets looked good. I walked away from that game thinking that 42-0 score was somewhat misleading, as Sundance actually looked pretty good. Then I thought more about it and said, nope, it’s not misleading at all. Pine Bluffs is one of those rare 1A teams that has both a rushing and a passing game. They’re a fun team to watch, and although they’ll have their work cut out for them in a conference that includes Lusk and Lingle, they won’t be a pushover, either.

On my way home, I stopped in and watched a possession of Newcastle-Burns (trust me, I wanted to stay longer, but the trip was cut short by, oh, wanting to go to sleep). The one possession I watched, Burns scored. Of course, Burns lost to Newcastle 10-6…. Now I’m thinking Burns should pay me to hang around its games as the official good luck mascot.

Then, as I drove home, I tuned in to listen to the Cheyenne Central-Laramie game. You know what happened in that one. 56-7. Yeah, it was bad, but it’s more than that when you realize it’s the worst beat down, on either side, in the history of that series — 105 games over the past 87 years. It’s even more amazing when you consider it was 56-0 at halftime and the running clock was used in the second half. Wow.

Eight shutouts this week. Seems abnormally high. And all of them seemed like blowouts. There weren’t any, like, 7-0 slugfests. The closest shutout this week 21-0. Just a little weird, that’s all. … Additionally, there were only seven games decided by seven points or fewer. Maybe we’re starting to see some separation in some of these classifications. … OK, now we can officially start talking about Douglas-Buffalo. … Cokeville. That’s all. Just Cokeville.

Thoughts? Post ’em below. We’re almost at the halfway point of the regular season, and there is plenty to talk about.

This week: 23-7 (77 percent). This season: 84-26 (76 percent).