Newsbreak: Kelly Walsh, Gillette, Natrona, Rock Springs, Burlington, Wind River, Riverside, Saratoga, Greybull, Kemmerer, Lusk, Sundance, Lovell, Wyoming Indian, Lyman, Mountain View

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Kelly Walsh-Gillette preview, Natrona-Rock Springs preview, playoff scenarios and games of the week (Casper Star-Tribune). … Gillette’s little QB impresses (Billings Gazette). … Burlington-Wind River recap and Riverside-Saratoga recap (Basin Republican Rustler). … Greybull-Kemmerer recap (Greybull Standard). … Greybull-Kemmerer recap (Kemmerer Gazette). … Lusk-Sundance recap (Lusk Herald). … Lovell-Wyoming Indian recap (Lovell Chronicle). … Lyman-Mountain View recap (Bridger Valley Pioneer).

–patrick

Week 7 picks

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Lucky No. 7 only turns up for half the teams this week.

The other half have some work to do next week.

So far, only eight of the 32 playoff spots available in the 11-man classifications have been claimed for certain — and four of those (Natrona, Sheridan, Gillette and Evanston) are in Class 4A. That means even though several games this week might look pedestrian at a glance, a ton of important stuff is on the line.

Can Burns stay alive in the playoff hunt in the 2A East by beating Glenrock — in Glenrock? Can Greybull keep pace with the 2A West rabbits and put Big Piney in a must-win spot in Week 8? Can Cody wrap up the 3A West championship by beating a wounded but dangerous Powell squad? Can Thermopolis go on the road and beat a Newcastle team primed for a monumental upheaval of the defending champs? Can the 1A 11-man conferences see some shifting of playoff orders as two teams currently set for playoff berths — Burlington and Lingle — make road trips to face teams that are right on their heels — Rocky Mountain and Pine Bluffs, respectively?

In a case like this, I look to history. And that’s why the Cody-Powell rivalry, which kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday in Cody, gets the extra attention this week.

These two old rivals are meeting on the field for (by my count) the 105th time. The two teams started play in 1924 and have only had one year in which they didn’t play. That was 1929, and they only didn’t play because Powell did not field a team.

Anyway, back to the history. Cody took an early lead in the all-time series and leads it 59-41-4; however, since 1937, the series is perfectly even at 38-38-2 (not including a forfeit win for Powell in 1940). Now THAT is some parity.

As for this year? Well, the advantage is decidedly Cody’s. The Broncs have been on a tear the past few weeks, winning six games in a row after dropping their Zero Week opener to Laurel, Mont.

Powell was on a tear, too — emphasis on was. Last week’s surprising 21-18 loss to previously winless Worland put a damper on Powell’s season to that point, which had included a 4-1 start with the only loss a road defeat in Buffalo.

Nevertheless, the stakes are still high for this game. Cody can secure the 3A West championship, and home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs, by beating Powell. Powell, meanwhile, can climb into a tie for first in the conference and stay alive for a home playoff game by pulling off the upset of the Broncs.

In a conference that’s normally full of parity, this is a game Cody can’t look past, even with Powell’s loss last week. The stakes, the opponent and, yes, the rivalry, should assure the Broncs’ focus.

And even though I think Powell bounces back with purpose this week, I still think Cody takes this one.

Here’s the rest of this week’s fun! Projected winners in bold:

Thursday
Class 2A
Pinedale at Lyman: The Wranglers will make it a game, but the Eagles continue to impress. Anyone else gearing up for a Lyman-Thermop rematch in the 2A semifinals? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. 4 p.m.
Class 1A 11-man
Cokeville at Wind River: Cokeville games are so easy to pick. They probably will be until Nov. 13. 6 p.m.
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Evanston: Call me crazy, but I still like the T-Birds. If this game was in Cheyenne, I might even call for a bounce-back upset victory. As it is, in Evanston, I’ll take the Red Devils by a field goal. 7 p.m.
Kelly Walsh at Gillette: The chase for the No. 2 seed in 4A is quite interesting — and it’s a chase in which the Camels still want to have a say. 7 p.m.
Laramie at Green River: The Wolves’ sudden momentum should keep rolling against the improved, but still winless, Plainsmen. 7 p.m.
Rock Springs at Natrona: Mustangs are on a mission. 7 p.m.
Sheridan at Cheyenne Central: Some of the luster has worn off of this rematch of last year’s 4A title game, but it’s still critical for both teams’ playoff seeding hopes. 6 p.m.
Class 3A
Buffalo at Torrington: I think it’s safe to say the Bison are back on track. 6 p.m.
Rawlins at Wheatland: How well Wheatland responds to last week’s humbling will dictate the rest of their season — and whether they have the chance to do anything in the playoffs. 7 p.m.
Riverton at Douglas: The Bearcats just keep building on that winning streak. 7 p.m.
Star Valley at Lander: This is a big game for playoff seeding/qualifying, and both teams know it. You’ll get the best out of both teams in this one. 6 p.m.
Worland at Jackson: Now that Worland is awake, watch out. The Warriors have a lot going for them. 6 p.m.
Class 2A
Big Horn at Tongue River: The Eagles might get a bit of a Thunder Bowl charge and keep it close for awhile, but the Rams are just too much for anyone in 2A right now. 1 p.m.
Burns at Glenrock: This game stopped me dead in my tracks. If this was 1963, I might actually choose “tie.” As it is, they have overtime these days, and I think this game is destined for that. I’m anticipating something close; a missed extra point along the way might decide it. 7 p.m.
Greybull at Big Piney: It’s a long trip, and the Punchers have their pride, and they’ll keep it close. Maybe even win it. For now, though, I’m going with the Buffs in a critical West Conference showdown. 3 p.m.
Lovell at Kemmerer: The Bulldogs have the momentum in their favor right now, and they want to keep it that way. 3:30 p.m.
Moorcroft at Wright: Speaking of momentum, how about Wright? The Panthers just continue to build it. 7 p.m.
Thermopolis at Newcastle: Are the Dogies for real? We’ll find out in part when the defending champs roll into Schoonmaker. 7 p.m.
Wyoming Indian at Mountain View: Since pulling off that big comeback victory over Big Piney  four weeks ago, the Buffalos have scored just one touchdown. It’s time to make up for lost time. 4 p.m.
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Rocky Mountain: A playoff spot may be on the line in this one — and the players will play like it. 6:30 p.m.
Hulett at Sundance (six-man): The Bulldogs haven’t played a six-man varsity game in more than 50 years. Rusty? 2 p.m.
Lingle at Pine Bluffs: Yeah, this is a big one. A critical game for playoff seeding (and maybe qualifying) will probably come down to the last quarter. Maybe the last two minutes. Maybe more. 7:30 p.m.
Lusk at Normative Services: The Tigers win the East Conference and get home-field advantage in the first two rounds of the playoffs if they can beat the Wolves. Consider it done. 7 p.m.
Riverside at Dubois: The Rams have proven over and over again this fall that they’re legit contenders. That will continue to be the case, although the Rebels may keep it close for awhile. 2 p.m.
Saratoga at Shoshoni: The Frustration Bowl. Both teams are better than their records and will continue to get better, but for now it’s all about getting that first win and the monkey off the back. 6 p.m.
Upton at Southeast: The Cyclones have had two weeks to prepare for the Bobcats. Uh, oh. 7 p.m.
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Ten Sleep: The Pioneers set quite the offensive standard for themselves last week. Don’t count on 93 points, but do count on a Ten Sleep ‘W.’ 2 p.m.
Hanna at Meeteetse: The Miners keep holding up their end of the bargain to make a mess of the six-man seeding procedures. 2 p.m.
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Guernsey-Sunrise at Kaycee: The tables have turned a bit from the last time these two teams met. 3 p.m.
Midwest at Snake River: Technically, the Rattlers are already the top seed in the six-man playoffs. The question, then, is if that knowledge will change their approach against the Oilers. Probably not, but still…. 3 p.m.

Picks. Here they are. Agree? Disagree? Feel like ranting? Think I let my cat make my picks for me this week? Post your thoughts below, and then let’s watch it all unfold on Friday night.

–patrick

Newsbreak: Buffalo, Wheatland, Kaycee, Farson, Wright, Glenrock, Green River, Cheyenne Central, Riverside, Saratoga

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Buffalo-Wheatland recap and Kaycee-Farson recap (Buffalo Bulletin). … Wright-Glenrock recap (Glenrock Independent). … Green River-Cheyenne Central recap (Green River Star). … Riverside-Saratoga recap (Saratoga Sun). … Buffalo-Wheatland recap (Platte County Record Times).

–patrick

Newsbreak: Douglas, Rawlins, Ten Sleep, Guernsey, Worland, Powell, Sheridan, Evanston

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Douglas-Rawlins recap (Douglas Budget). … Ten Sleep-Guernsey recap (Northern Wyo Daily News, click today). … Worland-Powell recap (Powell Tribune). … Sheridan-Evanston recap (Uinta County Herald).

–patrick

Five Minute Introduction: Byron

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School: Byron
Nickname: Eagles
Colors: green and white
Stadium: Unknown
State championships: 1948, 1949, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1960
Times worth remembering: Byron has lots of good times to choose from, but it’s hard to ignore the three-year stretch the Eagles had from 1956-58. In that time, the Eagles went 27-0-1 and won three consecutive Class B championships. To boot, the Eagles added another undefeated season and state championship in 1960. (Honorable mention goes to the 40-plus-game winning streak Byron put together in the late 1940s, which at the time was a national six-man record.)
Times worth forgetting: Byron’s shortcomings are rare. In fact, from 1946 to the program’s end in 1982, the Eagles only had three losing seasons. Two of those came in 1977-78, though, including an 0-7 season in 1977 in which the Eagles only scored 24 points the entire season.
Best team: The Eagles had 15 undefeated teams from 1946-82. Of those, two stick out — the 1960 11-man team, which went 10-0 and notched eight consecutive shutouts and gave up only 13 points all season, and the 1970 eight-man team, which averaged 57 points per game and won eight of its nine games by at least 28 points.
Biggest win: Byron made the jump from six-man to 11-man in 1953, but didn’t make the playoffs again until 1956. Once there, though, the Eagles quickly proved they knew how to play the 11-man game, too. The Eagles beat Kemmerer 19-7 in the Class B title game that year, a victory that completed the transition from six-man to 11-man powerhouse.
Heartbreaker: The Eagles came up just one game short of a five-year run of championships, and the 1959 title-game loss to Shoshoni was all that kept the Eagles from a half-decade run at the top. The loss itself wasn’t all that surprising — Shoshoni had beaten Byron 13-7 earlier in the year, and the Wranglers were in the midst of building a powerhouse program of their own — but losing a title game that ended the run was certainly a tough one to swallow. Then again, that loss probably provided the motivation for the undefeated championship season that followed in 1960.

Byron team page.

Updates: Pine Bluffs, Big Piney, Snake River, Hanna, Rawlins, Kemmerer

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The microfilm has gone mostly unused the past couple weeks. Midterms, teaching, etc., are taking precedence right now. Nevertheless, I made it down to Coe’s basement a couple times in the past couple weeks and knocked a few games off the missing games list:

Found the score for Pine Bluffs’ 26-6 loss to the Cheyenne Central JV on Oct. 28, 1954.

Removed two games that were not played: the Oct. 11, 1952, game between Big Piney and Baggs and the Oct. 26, 1951, game between Hanna and Baggs.

I also added one game: Rawlins’ 72-0 victory over Kemmerer on Oct. 3, 1953. This game also showed that I had listed the wrong record for Rawlins in 1953; that has been corrected. This loss for Kemmerer also extended its losing streak over this period to 24 games, an update reflected on the streaks page.

All the updates have been made on all the relevant pages.

I also updated Coaches Project entries for four programs: Byron, Lovell, Cokeville and Star Valley. Check out those individual team pages to see what’s new.

–patrick

Scoring records blown up (Ten Sleep 93, Guernsey-Sunrise 56) plus some bonus trivia

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The score posted today for the six-man showdown between Ten Sleep and Guernsey-Sunrise — 93-56 Pioneers — sets a new state record for combined points for two teams. The 149 points scored between the two teams breaks the old record of 138, set in a six-man game last year between Ten Sleep and Kaycee; the 93 points Ten Sleep scored is second all-time (behind a 96-point performance by Deaver-Frannie in 1975) for points by one team in a game.

Click here to see the state’s all-time single game scoring records. (Remember, these records only cover the years 1933-2009. The records also come with the knowledge that at least two teams broke the 100-point mark in a game prior to 1933 and at least one more game included a 96-point performance by one team.)

The opposite end of the spectrum — the lowest scoring games — is something I don’t post anymore due to an excessive number of scoreless ties in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. But, as I was sitting at Deti Stadium last night and Kelly Walsh entered the fourth quarter with only a 3-0 lead on Laramie (KW eventually won 10-7), I got to thinking about some low scoring games, too.

I tried to remember the last 3-0 game in the state and I couldn’t remember it. That’s when I decided it would be a good trivia question. After I found the answer, I decided another trivia question was also apropos. So here it is, in two parts:

Name for me the last game involving a varsity Wyoming high school team to end 3-0… and then name for me the last big-school game (Class 4A currently, Class 5A 2001-08, Class 4A prior to 2001) to end 3-0. (Hint: It should be pretty obvious, but they’re not the same game.)

Then, as I thought about that, I thought, “Wait, 2-0 is lower combined than 3-0.” So, the third part of the low-scoring trivia triumvirate:

Name for me the last game involving a varsity Wyoming high school team to end 2-0. (Hint: It’s only been done twice since 1989. Bonus points if you can get them both.)

For every wrong answer, I’ll post a hint. Post your guesses as a comment on this blog post. Let’s see how many guesses it takes to get to the answer… if we ever get there!

Oh, and I’m still amazed at that 93-56 final. At 149 points for 40 minutes, that’s almost four points per minute combined. That is some crazy offense.

(By the way, anyone heard anything about Kaycee-Farson?)

–patrick

Week 6 Humble Pie: Tomes, logjams and positions for surprise

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Which county has the better Class 4A football teams — Sweetwater County or Laramie County?

The answer to that question seemed clear at about 6 p.m. Friday.

It also seemed clear at about 10:30 p.m. Friday.

The only difference is that, given what happened in the span of those four and half hours, the answer changed.

The teams from the capital city had the clear advantage on paper, but as it turns out, the squads from trona country had the clear advantage on the field.

Rock Springs thumped on East 37-20, sending the Thunderbirds’ season further into a tailspin while boosting their own playoff hopes, while Green River came back with 14 points in the final few minutes of the fourth quarter to beat Central 31-30 and win their second game in a row after an 0-5 start. And just like that, the Trona Bowl rivals are both in position to make the playoffs — maybe at the expense of one of the Cheyenne schools.

The victories are big for the Sweetwater schools, without a doubt. Green River, the team with the talent but with the knack for losing close games, has turned it around the past two weeks and is quickly becoming a team that all the other 4A squads want to avoid in the first round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Rock Springs broke a long five-game losing streak with its victory Friday, and although the Tigers have two tough games to end the season — at Natrona next week, then home against Evanston — at least the Tigers now enter that stretch with some confidence.

How these games were won should help, too. Green River got two special teams touchdowns in the final six minutes from speedster Kolby Kester — a 95-yard kick return and a 60-yard punt return — to erase a 13-point deficit; Rock Springs didn’t need the late theatrics, as they pretty much pushed around East all night.

Meanwhile, the Cheyenne squads now have to face the consequences of their losses. Central was in the race for a home playoff game at one time, but the loss to Green River almost assures the Indians of taking to the road if they want to get back to Laramie again in November. And East, the team many (including me) thought would be a contender for a state championship, lost its fourth in a row. Next week, the T-Birds face Evanston in a critical game, then finish with Laramie at home — a game that, after Friday, doesn’t look like the penciled-in “W” like it did on Thursday.

It also creates a logjam at the bottom of 4A, with three teams at 2-5 tied for the final two playoff spots: East, Green River and Rock Springs.

See now why these games were so critical? See why the Sweetwater schools felt the urgency? See why they got the job done?

Teams trying to save their seasons are immensely more dangerous than those teams that aren’t. That type of pride ran deep in those two Sweetwater County teams on Friday.

Second mad props to Worland, which pulled the upset of the week — maybe, by the time we’re all done, the upset of the season — by beating Powell 21-18 in Worland. This game was one on paper that looked like a monumental mismatch: Worland was 0-5, Powell 4-1. But that’s why they play the game. Worland took advantage of every one of Powell’s mistakes and cashed in on every opportunity. The Warriors grew up before our eyes on Friday. A young team with a lot of potential finally made good on it. That will pay off not only for the remaining games this season — which, now, might include a playoff berth if the Warriors can continue to roll — but for the next season or two, as well. In short, a huge win for a growing program.

Third mad props to Big Piney, which beat Pinedale 15-7 in a weird rivalry game. Weird, why? Well, both teams had a fumble return for a touchdown, accounting for two of the game’s three touchdowns. There’s nothing weird about the playoff implications of this game, though. In trying to keep pace with Lyman, Lovell and Greybull in the 2A West, Big Piney improved to 3-2 in league play and grabbed a solo hold on the conference’s final available playoff spot. Pinedale fell to 2-3 and now has to count on a Puncher crash in the final two weeks of the season to have any kind of hope of a postseason berth. It’s a huge victory for the Punchers and a tough loss for the Wranglers in a game that may have set the postseason fate for both of them.

Some other things that I noticed this week:

Remember defense? Yeah, me neither. In all, 18 teams broke 40 points this week; 14 broke 50; six broke into the 60s (update: now counting Saturday’s six-man games). That’s gotta be some kind of record. I just don’t have the time to look it up right now. …

Any more Natrona doubters? The Mustangs continued their perfect season by beating Gillette 47-32 in a game that pretty much assured NC of hosting in the first two rounds of the playoffs. What becomes interesting in 4A now is the chase for the No. 2 spot between Sheridan, Evanston and Gillette. Of course, Sheridan beat Evanston on Friday in a critical game, as well. Isn’t it just about time to break out the tiebreaker rules? …

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one: Buffalo 63, Wheatland 7. …

Snake River: still unbeaten. Every other team in six-man: at least two losses. I expected some more parity in six-man this year, but I did not expect the Rattlers to emerge as the lone dominating team. That program in Baggs has really whipped up a solid program in a very short amount of time, and it’s great to see… unless you’re from Hanna, or Ten Sleep, or Kaycee, or Midwest, or ….

Don’t forget about Newcastle. The Dogies are an OT loss away from being unbeaten in the 2A East, and with Thermopolis and Big Horn on the schedule coming up the next two weeks, the orange and black are in a spot to surprise the conference’s two top dogs. …

I think it’s safe to call it now: Lusk-Cokeville, 1 p.m. Nov. 13 in Laramie. Ye gods, can anyone stop either one of these teams — except for maybe the other? …

How about you? What did you see this week that sparked your attention? Any teams rise up that surprised you? Based on what you saw Friday, are there any teams poised to make late-season runs here in the final two weeks of the season? Post your comments below and we’ll talk about it.

As for me, here’s how I did, not that I’m bragging or anything:

This week: 26-4 (87 percent). This season: 161-41 (80 percent).

–patrick