A short update to note that I’ve fixed the coach listing for Worland’s 1957 season. The Warriors’ coach that season was Joe Kienlen, not Carl Selmer. Coach Selmer was an assistant at the University of Wyoming by this time, and Kienlen was Worland’s head coach for two seasons (1957 and 1958), not just one. Thanks to Worland alumnus Denis O’Mahoney for his help with this!
–patrick
Wind River football coach Cullen Noffsinger will step down as the school’s head football coach after four seasons, Noffsinger said via email to wyoming-football.com last week.
The Cougars’ new coach will be Mykah Trujillo, Wind River AD Justin Walker said via email Tuesday.
Trujillo is an alumnus of Lander High School and was an all-state football player for the Tigers in 2003. He teaches elementary school in Lander and previously coached Lander’s middle school teams.
The Cougars finished 7-26 with Noffsinger as head coach. Wind River did not reach the playoffs but just missed last season after falling to Riverside in a triangular playoff qualifier. The Cougars’ 3-6 finish last season was the best for the Cougars in Noffsinger’s tenure.
–patrick
Kemmerer’s all-time winningest coach has stepped aside as the Rangers’ head coach.
After 12 seasons, Shawn Rogers resigned as the head football coach at Kemmerer. Jason Ferrarini, a Kemmerer native who was an assistant with the Rangers, has been named as Rogers’ replacement.
Rogers and Ferrarini verified the changes via emails to wyoming-football.com on Thursday.
Rogers finished his tenure as Kemmerer’s all-time winningest coach, going 63-51 in 12 seasons. He led the Rangers to state championships in 2005 and 2007 and also led the team to a school-record 14 consecutive victories in the 2007-08 seasons. However, Kemmerer has gone winless the past two seasons and enters 2015 on a state-worst 20-game losing streak.
Rogers’ 63 victories at Kemmerer is 20 better than any other coach in program history.
Rogers plans to stay at Kemmerer as the elementary principal, he said.
–patrick
Gillette’s Jordan Fischer was added to the North’s Shrine Bowl team on Thursday, executive director John Cundall said.
Fischer replaces Brandon Shelstad, who was Fischer’s teammate in Gillette.
The annual all-star football game is June 13 in Casper.
–patrick
Campbell County School District board members voted Tuesday to add a second high school in Gillette.
Sound familiar? It should.
I’ve written about this issue before: How the logic doesn’t outweigh the emotion of such a decision (December 2014); how reclassification might fall out if Gillette adds a second school (March 2011); and the ties between a third school in Casper and a second in Gillette (October 2010).
Like I wrote in 2011, the decision to add a second high school in Gillette affects much more than what happens on the playing fields and courts. From a reclassification standpoint, though, the decision could create ripples that will be felt throughout the state.
If the new school opened in Gillette today, for all sports except football Riverton would go to Class 3A, Lovell to Class 2A and Riverside to Class 1A to accommodate the new school. And for football, Evanston would go to 3A, Buffalo to 2A, Wright to 1A 11-man and Upton to 1A six-man. (Remember, right now Lingle and Cokeville fall below the 11-man/six-man cutline but opt up to 11-man.)
The moves for four-class sports (basketball, volleyball, track, etc.), three-class sports (wrestling, cross country, etc.) and two-class sports (soccer, swimming, etc.) are less of a struggle than the moves for football. Remember in 2007 when Riverton debated opting down to 3A? The Wolverines could make that switch pretty seamlessly for most sports.
Football, though, could present a challenge. If Evanston grows a little bit, the 11th school in the WHSAA listings will likely be Sheridan. Neither Evanston nor Sheridan will likely want to move down a classification. Wyoming could go back to an 11-school 4A and an 11-school 3A to accommodate, which complicates scheduling among other concerns.
The new school is tentatively scheduled to open in fall 2017 — right in the middle of a two-year reclassification cycle for the WHSAA. That will further complicate matters….
Like I said in 2011, we could see a completely new high school classification system develop, with the new school in Gillette as the impetus.
–patrick
Cheyenne Central’s Rhett Muchmore has been added to the South squad’s roster for the Shrine Bowl.
He will replace Laramie’s Andrew Pearson.
The annual all-star football game will be June 13 in Casper.
–patrick
Zack Rosette’s 16-catch performance for Rock Springs in the Tigers’ 2010 season finale against Evanston has been added to the individual records page for Wyoming’s best single-game performance.
Rosette’s 16 catches were for 153 yards — short of the yardage top 10 but the state’s (unofficial) best single-game performance as far as number of catches.
Thanks to Tony Yerkovich for the help with this record!
As always, if you think you have a single-game or single-season performance that should be listed with those individual records, let me know: pschmiedt@yahoo.com.
–patrick