Laramie head football coach Ted Holmstrom has resigned his position leading the Plainsmen.

Holmstrom spent one year with Laramie and went 1-8 in 2012. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Lyman for three years, going a combined 18-12. The Eagles finished as Class 2A runners-up under Holmstrom in 2011.

He previously coached at the high school and college levels in Michigan.

Holmstrom confirmed his resignation with wyoming-football.com via telephone on Wednesday but did not comment further. He did say he would remain at the school as a social studies teacher through the rest of the school year.

He is the second Wyoming head coach to leave his position, joining Cody’s Cris Williams, who resigned in November after 13 seasons with the Broncs.

For an ongoing list of Wyoming football coaching changes, click here.

–patrick

The plan was outlandish — a new state, carved from the sections of three existing states.

Pieces of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana, together, would meld to form Absaroka, the 49th of the United States.

In 1939, a group of dreamers drew up their plans for the new state in the “capital” of Sheridan. The group, led by Sheridan’s A.R. Swickard, the self-proclaimed “governor” of the new state, drew borders for a 49th state that encompassed the region’s needs and identity: independent, self-resolved, frustrated with federal intrusion, separate from the identity of the states from which they were drawn.

The proposed state would have encompassed parts of 24 counties from northern Wyoming, western South Dakota and southeastern Montana. The entirety of northern Wyoming, from Yellowstone and Teton parks across along its southern border to Thermopolis, Kaycee and Newcastle, would have been part of Absaroka. Those areas would have joined the of the Black Hills area and surrounding counties of South Dakota, including Rapid City, and a chunk of ranch and coal lands, mostly along the Powder River basin and along the east side of the Bighorn Mountains, from southeastern Montana.

Proposed state of Absaroka. First published in The Sheridan Press, 1939. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Proposed state of Absaroka. First published in The Sheridan Press, 1939. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The new state had a good start — a “governor,” license plates, even a beauty queen. But the practical implications of seceding 60,000-plus square miles of land into a new state far outweighed the idea, and Absaroka remained in the brain rather than on the map. However, the idea had served its purpose, mostly as a message to state and federal legislatures that went something like, “Pay attention to us!”

While the state of Absaroka never got much past the theoretical stage, now, almost 75 years removed from the Absaroka proposal, I thought it might be fun to look at what Absaroka’s creation would have meant for the high school sports programs in the new state, as well as what it would have meant for Wyoming’s remaining schools.

In all, 58 current high schools — 27 from Wyoming, 24 from South Dakota and seven from Montana — would have been part of Absaroka. By county, those schools would have been (with current enrollments in parentheses; schools without football in italics):

Wyoming
Teton
: Jackson (654)
Fremont: Dubois (58)
Park: Cody (690), Powell (480), Meeteetse (33)
Big Horn: Rocky Mountain (117), Lovell (214), Greybull (167), Burlington (80), Riverside (97)
Washakie: Worland (378), Ten Sleep (39)
Hot Springs: Thermopolis (201)
Sheridan: Sheridan (922), Tongue River (145), Big Horn (140), Normative Services (60), Arvada-Clearmont (33)
Johnson: Buffalo (345), Kaycee (51)
Campbell: Gillette (2,216), Wright (178)
Crook: Hulett (64), Moorcroft (163), Sundance (113)
Weston: Upton (85), Newcastle (248)

Montana
Carter
: Carter County (Ekalaka) (38)
Powder River: Powder River County (Broadus) (112)
Rosebud: Colstrip (194), Lame Deer (125)
Big Horn: Northern Cheyenne (Busby) (80), Hardin (438), Lodge Grass (103)

South Dakota (South Dakota calculates enrollments on three-grade projections; numbers here reflect a calculated four-year enrollment)
Harding
: Harding County (Buffalo) (67)
Perkins: Bison (49), Lemmon (107)
Butte: Belle Fourche (397), Newell (117)
Meade: Faith (88), Sturgis (701)
Pennington: Wall (87), New Underwood (96), Rapid City Christian (57), Hill City (151), Douglas (Box Elder) (696), Rapid City Central (2,056), Rapid City Stevens (1,645), St. Thomas More (Rapid City) (260)
Shannon: Little Wound (Kyle) (316), Pine Ridge (541), Red Cloud (Oglala) (209)
Fall River: Oelrichs (56), Hot Springs (269), Edgemont (43)
Custer: Custer (256)
Lawrence: Lead-Deadwood (251), Spearfish (599)

++++

If we break down the Absaroka schools to classify them, some natural classifications emerge — eight schools with more than 600 enrollment, 12 schools between 225 and 600, 16 schools between 110 and 225, and the remaining 22 schools (20 football schools) with fewer than 110. The enrollment classification divisions are strikingly similar to those that already exist in all three states.

And if we put those schools into conferences, those conferences might look a little something like this:

Class 4A East: Rapid City Central, Rapid City Stevens, Sturgis, Douglas (Box Elder).
Class 4A West: Gillette, Sheridan, Cody, Jackson.
Class 3A East: St. Thomas More (Rapid City), Lead-Deadwood, Belle Fourche, Little Wound (Kyle), Spearfish, Pine Ridge.
Class 3A West: Powell, Hardin, Worland, Buffalo, Newcastle, Custer.
Class 2A Northeast: Newell, Moorcroft, Sundance, Powder River County (Broadus).
Class 2A Southeast: Red Cloud (Oglala), Hot Springs, Hill City, Wright.
Class 2A Central: Tongue River, Big Horn, Colstrip, Lame Deer.
Class 2A West: Lovell, Thermopolis, Greybull, Rocky Mountain.
Class 1A Northeast: Faith, Harding County (Buffalo), Carter County (Ekalaka), Bison, Lemmon.
Class 1A Southeast: New Underwood, Wall, Rapid City Christian, Edgemont, Hulett, Oelrichs.
Class 1A Central: Upton, Northern Cheyenne, NSI, Kaycee, Lodge Grass, Arvada-Clearmont.
Class 1A West: Riverside, Burlington, Dubois, Ten Sleep, Meeteetse.

The conferences tend to split along the South Dakota-Wyoming border and the border along the Bighorn Mountain range, but nevertheless some interesting intermingling occurs. The theoretical Class 3A West and Class 2A Northeast draw schools from all three states; of the 12 proposed conferences, seven mix schools from at least two states.

This state would have been beset by many of the problems in the other three states today; a relatively low number of large schools and large distances between all schools would have given rise to disputes that would probably be quite similar to ones that Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota have had throughout the past 75 years.

++++

And, of course, the loss of 27 high schools to Absaroka would have been problematic to the 44 current schools still in Wyoming. The remaining schools and their current classifications — now strongly tied to the Union Pacific rail line and what is now I-80, would be something like this today:

Class 4A: Natrona, Cheyenne East, Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs, Cheyenne Central, Laramie, Cheyenne South, Evanston, Riverton, Green River.
Class 3A East: Douglas, Rawlins, Torrington, Wheatland, Glenrock.
Class 3A West: Star Valley, Lander, Pinedale, Mountain View, Lyman.
Class 2A East: Burns, Southeast, Lusk, Pine Bluffs, Saratoga.
Class 2A West: Big Piney, Kemmerer, Wind River, Wyoming Indian, Shoshoni.
Class 1A East: Lingle, Guernsey, Midwest, Rock River, Glendo, Chugwater.
Class 1A West: Snake River, Hanna, St. Stephens, Cokeville, Farson, Encampment. (Ft. Washakie and Arapaho Charter haven’t had varsity teams for several seasons.)

With so few schools, it’s interesting to consider that Wyoming may have not split to four classes. Instead, Wyoming may have gone the way of North Dakota and stuck with two classes — big schools and small schools — with four conferences each. If that were the case, maybe Casper would have actually gone to three high schools a couple years ago (or, most likely, three decades ago). … Nevertheless, as it is now:

Class A: Northeast: Natrona, Kelly Walsh, Douglas, Glenrock, Wheatland. Southeast: Cheyenne East, Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne South, Laramie, Torrington. Central: Lander, Riverton, Green River, Rock Springs, Rawlins. West: Star Valley, Evanston, Mountain View, Lyman, Pinedale.
Class B: Northeast: Midwest, Lusk, Glendo, Guernsey, Lingle. Southeast: Burns, Pine Bluffs, Southeast, Chugwater, Rock River. Southwest: Hanna, Encampment, Snake River, Saratoga, Kemmerer, Cokeville. Northwest: Big Piney, Farson, Wind River, Wyoming Indian, Shoshoni, St. Stephens.

++++

Three other implications to consider:

* In Absaroka, Gillette — halfway between the “capital” of Sheridan and the state’s biggest city, Rapid City — becomes the default site for state tournaments. The “Gillette Events Center,” a facility capable of handling indoor football championships as well as basketball state tournaments, opens in the late 1980s and is the showcase jewel of Absaroka high school sports.

* In Wyoming, Casper is deemed “too far north” for state tournaments and state basketball and wrestling stay in Laramie. In retaliation, the Natrona County schools petition to join the Absaroka High School Activities Association — the AHSAA — but the appeal is denied thanks to a strong Gillette lobbying effort.

* Casper’s consolation prize, though, is the annual Wyoming-Absaroka Shrine Bowl football game and the Wyoming-Absaroka all-star basketball series, which draw huge crowds annually because they’re held on the same weekend in the same city. Fans can watch both and players, if chosen, can participate in both. Gillette tries to bid for the games but is defeated thanks to a strong Casper lobbying effort.

Absaroka was never more than the plan of few overenthusiastic Sheridan County residents in the late 1930s. Even so, it’s fun to think “what if…” and consider just how different our sports scene would be — both in Absaroka and Wyoming — if this outlandish plan had been less outlandish and more plan.

–patrick

A quick update: I fixed the score of the Cody-Lander game played on Oct. 10, 1975. I had Lander winning 14-7; Cody actually won by that score. All the updates have been made on all the relevant pages.

The fix allowed me to post the final standings of the 1975 season.

Thanks to Nathan Meacham at the Cody Enterprise for his help in fixing this error!

–patrick

The two head coaches for the 2013 Shrine Bowl have assembled their coaching staffs for the annual all-star football game.

South head coach Mark Bullington of Southeast has named Cheyenne Central’s Brick Cegelski (4A), Torrington’s Mark Lenhardt (3A), Lyman’s Dale Anderson (2A), Snake River’s Michael Bates (1A six-man) and Southeast colleague Shawn Burkart to his staff.

North head coach Michael McGuire of Big Horn selected Natrona assistant Josh Anderson (4A), Worland’s Curt Mayer (3A), Upton-Sundance’s Andy Garland (1A 11-man), Dubois’ David Trembly (1A six-man) and Big Horn assistant Kirk McLaughlin to join him on the sideline.

The coaching staffs will now begin the process of selecting players for the game, which will be played June 8 in Casper.

–patrick

Two short updates:

I updated the all-America listings to include Howard Cook’s first-team mention on the Wigwam Wisemen team for 1954. Cook, from Worland, played in the national East-West all-America high school all-star game in 1955, playing for the West for coach Sammy Baugh (yes, THAT Sammy Baugh). Thanks to Howard for sharing that info with me!

I also updated the coach for Greybull’s 1960 championship season — it was Henry Eckroth, not Tony Vinnola. Thanks to Pat Schmidt (a different one, who spells his last name weird), who played for Eckroth that season in Greybull, for letting me know about the mistake!

–patrick

After the 2012 season, the top 10 list of Wyoming high school football coaches in terms of total victories has a new member.

Natrona coach Steve Harshman is now tied for eighth all-time on the victories list. The Mustangs went 12-0 in winning the Class 4A title, and Harshman jumped from 11th to eighth on the list in the process.

Coincidentally, Harshman, with 146 career victories, is now tied with his former high school coach, Dallas Hoff, for eighth all-time.

Harshman has been the head coach at Natrona since 1991.

Of course, current Cokeville coach Todd Dayton still tops the all-time list. He has 272 victories through the end of the 2012 season.

The list, through the end of last season:

Rank Coach Wins Losses Ties
1 Dayton, Todd 272 51 0
2 Deti, John E. 205 94 8
3 Deti, John R. 188 102 2
4 Fullmer, Jerry 174 82 0
5 McDougall, John 156 115 2
6 Blanchard, Okie 149 55 7
7 Eskelsen, Joel 148 81 0
8t Harshman, Steve 146 66 0
8t Hoff, Dallas 146 100 6
10 Gray, Walter 140 87 0

–patrick

Year-by-year conference standings have been added to the records available here at wyoming-football.com.

Conference standings are available back to 1967, although not all years between then and now are available. Regular-season power ratings are also available for the 2001-08 seasons.

To see the conference standings that are available, check out the results by year page.

–patrick

A film of the 1954 Class A championship game between Worland and Torrington has been digitized and posted online — and it’s pretty sweet.

The video, posted by RT Communications at rtcom.tv, can be viewed on this page (although the direct link to the file may be necessary on some browsers/systems).

Worland won the game 32-7, but as the film shows, the game was close until the fourth quarter. Both teams ran variations of the single wing offense.

The video was apparently posted in September, but I just now got around to noticing it. RT Communications has numerous other historical Worland football games posted on its website, including the 2002 4A championship game against Star Valley.

–patrick

I have been chipping away at several updates the past couple weeks. Here is what has changed:

All-state listings:

I added the 1967 Class B and 1968 Class AA all-state listings to the all-state page. The 1968 Class AA listing I found was quite grainy and distorted, so if you see any misspelled names, please let me know by posting a comment below or emailing me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com. At least two names in the listings need updated — one name from Cheyenne East that was illegible (it looked sort of like John Klocher on my distorted copy) and another player who was referenced with last name only, Eisenman (the original listing did not give this player’s first name or school, but I’m guessing Sheridan for obvious reasons… help!).

I’m still looking for the 1967 Class AA and A and the 1968 Class B all-state teams.

Updates:

Fixed the score of Thermopolis’ 20-7 victory over Newcastle on Oct. 13, 2000. I had the score transposed, with Newcastle winning instead.

Corrected four incorrect season records — Big Piney’s 2009 record (Punchers were 6-3, NOT 5-4), Star Valley’s 2001 record (Braves were 9-2, NOT 10-1), Tongue River’s 2001 record (Eagles were 3-5, NOT 4-4) and Upton’s 2001 record (Bobcats were 4-6, NOT 5-5).

Updates have been made on all relevant pages.

Coaches Project:

I added the first name for Cowley’s coach in 1939-40: Moyle Knudsen was the Jags’ coach.

As always, if you spot any errors or have info that can help fill out this site better, please let me know, either by email or by posting here. Thanks!

–patrick