Monthly Archives: August 2011

Each Friday for the next few weeks, wyoming-football.com will be checking in on each one of Wyoming’s five football classifications, looking ahead to see what might be coming this fall. Today, we look at Class 2A, the third preview in the series.

Four questions to answer
Who’s the team to beat? That seems to be the question no one can answer in 2A. Is it Lovell? Is it Lyman? Maybe Greybull? How about Wheatland? Or Burns? Maybe Big Horn? Or Thermopolis? The parity at the top of 2A this year seems to be what defines the classification. No team is the clear-cut favorite — and no team is out of it before the first snap.

Will Wheatland’s time in 3A pay off in 2A? Yes and no. The Bulldogs’ first year in Class 2A will certainly be different from its time in 3A, and experience against bigger, stronger and faster teams should help the team excel at the 2A level. But a bunch of the Bulldogs’ players from last year’s Class 3A playoff qualifying team were seniors. With a ton of new faces leading Wheatland this fall, the “dropping down” effect should be washed away by the time the postseason arrives.

What’s up in Lyman? If you watched the South team play in spurts in the Shrine Bowl this year, you got an idea of what the Eagles’ offense might look like this fall. Coach Ted Holmstrom is working with a fast-paced offense for his Eagles this fall, an offense where a 25-second clock is laughed at. It’s an offense that keeps things interesting and piles up points — if it works right. Nevertheless, the Eagles’ record has steadily improved and Lyman may host a playoff game for the first time in seven years if the offense performs at its expected capacity.

Can Thermopolis make it three in a row? There is surprisingly little off-season chatter about Thermopolis, which is weird because it’s the Bobcats who have won the last two Class 2A state championships. Of course, the engineer of those two titles, quarterback Mitch Syverson, is graduated, as well as five other all-state players. Receiver Chris Ryan is the only all-stater back for Thermopolis, but as the team proved last year, it’s silly to count out a team that knows how to win in the postseason.

Four players to watch
Wade Eyre, Lyman. Eyre was an all-state pick for his work at quarterback for the Eagles last year. He completed 74 of his 169 passes for 1,031 yards and had a 9-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but as the Eagles’ offensive pace picks up (see above), his numbers may grow.

Earl Hickman, Mountain View. Staying in the Bridger Valley, Hickman appears poised for a breakout year. His rushing numbers were solid last year (137 carries for 799 yards and six TDs), but it’s his abilities as a punt returner that should have other teams scared. On seven punt returns last year, Hickman tallied an astounding 162 yards, leading 2A with 23.1 yards per punt return.

Mitch Weigel, Newcastle. The Dogies’ stock is growing, and Weigel is a reason why. His 190 defensive points led his team last year, and his 21.1 points per game were third in 2A. He was in on 99 — yes, 99 — assisted tackles last year and also had two fumble recoveries and three interceptions. He also played a small role on offense (180 combined rushing and receiving yards), a role that will probably increase this fall.

Austin Frazier, Greybull. Frazier was the underrated star of the Buffs last season. He led Greybull with 11 rushing touchdowns, carrying 75 times for 692 yards, and also led the team in receiving yards (155), punt return yards (139) and kick return yards (332). He was also 31-of-38 on extra points, 3-of-3 on field goals and was second on the Buffs’ squad with 97 defensive points.

Four key games
Greybull at Big Horn, Week 1. Perhaps the  most intriguing nonconference game of the season, we will see quickly how the Buffs and the Rams — anticipated to be two of the top teams in 2A this fall — stack up against each other.

Thermopolis at Big Piney, Week 2. Thermopolis’ first West Conference game comes against an always-difficult Puncher team that will be looking for a chance to prove it, too, belongs in the discussion of 2A’s top teams.

Lyman at Lovell, Week 3. It’s too bad this game isn’t a Week 8 game; it may end up being for the West Conference championship.

Wheatland at Burns, Week 6. Wheatland has work to do this fall to maintain its status as de facto conference title favorites. The Broncs, an up-and-coming team in their own right, get the Bulldogs at home late in the season and may earn the conference title if they can find a way to KO the big guys.

Predicted order of finish
East: Burns; Wheatland; Big Horn; Newcastle; Glenrock; Wright; Tongue River; Moorcroft.
West: Lovell; Lyman; Greybull; Thermopolis; Mountain View; Big Piney; Kemmerer; Pinedale.

Trivia
Wheatland’s move to Class 2A is prompting a lot of schedule changes for the Bulldogs, who will play four schools this fall that they have never played before. But Wheatland is familiar with many 2A teams already, including a pair of schools that the Bulldogs have already played more than five times all-time. Today’s trivia: Which current 2A team has Wheatland played more than any other, all-time? Post your guesses below, or tell me your thoughts about the upcoming 2A football season.

–patrick