Monthly Archives: October 2013

Normally, by this point in the season, a classification has established its hierarchy — we have a good idea of who’s at the top of the classification, who’s at the bottom and who’s in the middle.

Not in Class 2A this year.

Nine schools have winning records. Not included in that list are Newcastle and Greybull — Newcastle’s in-state losses have come to schools that are a combined 14-1, while Greybull’s losses have come to schools a combined 16-4.

In a classification where simply qualifying for the playoffs is a challenge, every game is critical.

This week, Class 2A has four standout games: Big Horn at Wheatland and Newcastle at Glenrock in the East, and Lyman at Mountain View and Thermopolis at Lovell in the West.

Every single one of those games could be the game that makes or breaks a season. Can former No. 1 Big Horn give streaking Wheatland its first loss? Will Newcastle fall further behind in the East race, or keep pace by beating the suddenly vulnerable Herders? Will Mountain View’s sudden losing streak continue against its Bridger Valley rival? Can Thermopolis come back from its first loss to beat the undefeated Bulldogs?

All four games have huge postseason implications.

The other four games in 2A could turn out to be just as big, too. But that’s what makes the classification a blast to follow this season.

This year’s 2A parity reminds me a lot of one of my favorite seasons: Class 2A in 2007. That year, every playoff game was decided by eight points or fewer, and Riverside won the state championship by winning games by two points, one point and one point.

I expect something similar in the 2A playoffs this year.

Predictability is boring. Class 2A is anything but.

Other things to watch this week: This may be the most unpredictable week of the year. I struggled with several choices. Look for lots of close games this week. … Star Valley-Cody will be interesting to watch. A Cody victory could add fuel to an already heated rivalry next week, but that also means the Broncs need to be careful of looking ahead. The Braves are way too good for anyone to look past. … Speaking of Lincoln County vs. the BHB, how about the long trip Cokeville has to make to Cowley to play Rocky Mountain? The Panthers and Grizzles are part of a three-way logjam atop the 1A 11-man West standings, and this game will help break it up. … I’ve been really impressed with Torrington’s improvement this year. I’m curious to see how the Trailblazers match up against last year’s 3A East champs, Riverton. … The most underrated game of the week might be Wyoming Indian-Snake River. Neither team has proven contender-worthy yet, but both teams are good enough to take seriously come playoff time. … Seems like kind of an off week in 4A, but don’t overlook Sheridan-Central. How will the Broncs bounce back after a tough loss, and can they rebound on the road against a game Indian squad? … Two teams are guaranteed to pick up their first victories of the season, as two games (Wind River-Burlington and Hanna-NSI) feature winless squads facing off against each other.

Here are this week’s picks. Projected winners in bold; projected spoilers in regular type:

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Laramie
Cheyenne South at Natrona
Gillette at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Evanston
Sheridan at Cheyenne Central
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander
Green River at Jackson
Rawlins at Douglas
Star Valley at Cody
Torrington at Riverton
Worland at Powell
Class 2A
Big Horn at Wheatland
Burns at Moorcroft
Newcastle at Glenrock
Lyman at Mountain View
Pinedale at Big Piney
Thermopolis at Lovell
Wright at Tongue River
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Wind River
Cokeville at Rocky Mountain
Pine Bluffs at Lingle
Riverside at Shoshoni
Upton-Sundance at Lusk
Class 1A six-man
Guernsey-Sunrise at Midwest
Hulett at Saratoga
St. Stephens at Dubois
Snake River at Wyoming Indian
Ten Sleep at Farson
Saturday
Class 2A
Greybull at Kemmerer
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Normative Services
Meeteetse at Kaycee
Interclass
Southeast at Natrona sophs

For a full schedule including kick times, check out the 2013 schedule and results page.

Last week: 26-5 (84 percent). This season: 142-30 (83 percent).

Now I call on you. What games draw your interest this week? What picks do you disagree with? Post a comment below and we can talk, and then later this week we can stop the talk and actually play, which is way better.

–patrick

Only two undefeated teams remain in Class 4A football.

They play each other on Friday.

The stakes are bigger than just staying undefeated. Then again, the Energy Bowl always has been more than just another game on the schedule.

When Gillette and Sheridan face off at Camel Stadium on Friday night, the two teams will pick up a rivalry that’s been going strong every year since 1970.

Together, the two Northeast corner rivals have won nearly half of the big-school championships in the past two-plus decades (11 of 23). Of those, Sheridan has seven; Gillette has four.

Often, one team has had to go through the other to find postseason success. Especially the past two years, the rivalry has been accentuated. Gillette and Sheridan have played each other in the state semifinals each of the past two years. In each case, the team that won the Energy Bowl won the playoff rematch.

While the series’ stakes are still high, the regular-season series has taken an odd turn: The past four years, the road team has won the Energy Bowl. This is the longest such streak in series history. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gillette coach Vic Wilkerson call up Sheridan coach Don Julian and ask to move the game to Sheridan… and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Julian say no.

Usually, we can attribute streaks like that to weird mixes of coincidence and timing. This year, though, with the stakes as high as ever (or at least as high as they can get in the regular season), both teams would love any advantage they can find.

When the game is over, only one undefeated team will remain in Class 4A. While we’ve seen 4A teams overcome a rivalry loss in the regular season to win a state title — Gillette won the state title in 2008 after losing the Energy Bowl — the recent success of both these programs forces some extra meaning onto this game.

And even though “Rivalry Week” is in full force in 4A with both the Oil Bowl and Capital Bowl, the Energy Bowl will be the one everyone in 4A will concentrate on this week.

No matter where it’s played.

+++++

Powell will play against more than just Star Valley on Friday; the Panthers will also play against history. Strange things happen when Powell comes to Afton to play Star Valley. I wrote about this phenomenon a couple years ago; Star Valley almost always beats Powell in Afton, no matter the circumstances. All-time, Powell is 2-15 in Afton, winning only in 1986 and 1999.

The state’s longest active winning streak may have its toughest test to date, and it may have little to do with the home team itself.

+++++

Other games I’d be interested in watching, if I had the chance: The best game in the state might be the six-man showdown between Saratoga and Kaycee. In a tight, competitive East Conference, every victory is valuable, and none more than this one. … BTW, the dividing line in six-man is pretty clear here: The East is 7-0 against the bottom five teams in the West (not counting Midwest’s forfeit loss to Farson) and is 0-3 against Meeteetse and Dubois. … To be a true contender, you’ve gotta win the big ones. Upton-Sundance finds out this week if it’s a contender, as the Patriots travel to Yoder to play Southeast. … The same goes for undefeated Thermopolis, which has its biggest test of the season on Friday when it goes south to face defending 2A champ Lyman. Thermop’s four victories this year are over teams that are a combined 2-14. … Let’s not forget Central-East and Natrona-Kelly Walsh in 4A. Two things tend to happen in rivalry games: weird stuff and blowouts. In-between rarely happens. Get ready for something.

My picks are below, with the teams I have determined to be the most likely teams to win their respective games represented in the boldface type:

Thursday
Class 1A 11-man
Shoshoni at Wind River
Interclass
Lingle at Natrona JV
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Cheyenne Central (moved from East)
Evanston at Rock Springs
Laramie at Cheyenne South
Kelly Walsh at Natrona
Sheridan at Gillette
Class 3A
Cody at Jackson
Lander at Douglas
Powell at Star Valley
Rawlins at Torrington
Riverton at Buffalo
Worland at Green River
Class 2A
Big Horn at Glenrock
Kemmerer at Big Piney
Lovell at Greybull
Mountain View at Pinedale
Newcastle at Wright
Thermopolis at Lyman
Tongue River at Burns
Wheatland at Moorcroft
Class 1A 11-man
Lusk at Pine Bluffs
Riverside at Cokeville
Rocky Mountain at Burlington
Upton-Sundance at Southeast
Class 1A six-man
Farson at St. Stephens
Kaycee at Saratoga
Snake River at Hanna
Wyoming Indian at Meeteetse
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Ten Sleep
Midwest at Hulett
Normative Services at Guernsey-Sunrise

For a full schedule including kick times, check out the 2013 schedule and results page.

Last week: 28-4 (88 percent). This season: 116-25 (82 percent).

We’re more than halfway through the regular season. What are you seeing that’s drawing your interest? What game do you want to watch this week? Post some thoughts below and let’s talk about it for a while.

–patrick