Jim Craig of Lusk has been a busy guy. His latest addition to the archives here is a copy of the 1952 Class AA all-state team. That year, state champ Sheridan landed seven of the 11 first-team selections. Thanks again to Jim for all his help!
See the team here.
–patrick
Calling Natrona’s 2013 season gut-wrenching is like calling the pope Catholic.
You’re right, but you’re still a long ways away from the truth.
The pope is the ultimate Catholic. And it turns out Natrona’s 2013 season was the ultimate gut-wrenching season in state history.
In 2013, Natrona went 8-4, and all four losses were by one point. No other team in state history has had as many one-point losses in a season. And it’s not even close.
Three Natrona losses — 42-41 to Cheyenne East, 24-23 to Gillette and 21-20 to Kelly Walsh — came in the regular season, while the fourth, 14-13 to East again, came in the 4A state title game.
That season-long run has only been challenged by schools in two other seasons.
In 1987, Kemmerer lost three games by a single point, falling 9-8 to Pinedale, 8-7 to Saratoga and 14-13 to Cokeville, en route to a 2-6 season. In fact, the Rangers’ first three games of the season were one-point games, as they beat Big Piney 7-6 before losing to Pinedale in the second week and Saratoga the following week.
And in 1991, Cheyenne East lost three times by one point, also finishing 2-6. East’s narrow losses came to Green River (15-14), Cheyenne Central (22-21) and Laramie (21-20), losses made more difficult because they came in three consecutive weeks. In the game before the three one-point losses, East fell to Rock Springs 17-14; the Thunderbirds’ four consecutive losses in this stretch were by a combined six points.
No other teams in state history have had more than two one-point losses in a season.
Alternatively, six teams have won three games by a single point in a season. The most recent? Cheyenne East in 2013 — the same team that beat the historically hard-luck Natrona team. That season, East had its two one-point victories against Natrona and a 28-27 victory against Sheridan in the 4A semifinals on its way to the 4A title and a 10-2 season.
The other teams that had three one-point victories in a season were:
Lander in 1945. The Tigers also lost a game by a single point, too.
Worland in 1951. The Warriors also won a game by two points and finished as Class A runners-up.
Newcastle in 1979.
Cheyenne East in 1983.
Cokeville in 1994. Cokeville won the 1A title this year, winning back-to-back 7-6 games in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
+++
The 1994 Cokeville team was part of an amazing streak for the Panthers: From 1985 to 2004, Cokeville won 15 consecutive one-point games.
And the 2013 Natrona and Cheyenne East teams were both part of some interesting ongoing streaks. East has won nine consecutive one-point games dating back to 2004, the longest such active streak in the state. Meanwhile, Natrona has lost nine consecutive one-point games, tied for the longest active such run. East’s last loss in a one-point game came in a 20-19 loss to Sheridan in the 2004 consolation playoffs; Natrona hasn’t won a one-point game since beating Gillette 29-28 on Sept. 28, 2001.
The other program with nine consecutive one-point losses is Midwest. The Oilers have not won a one-point game in 56 years, with their last coming in a 7-6 victory against the Natrona JV on Sept. 23, 1960.
Other long active streaks belong to Riverside, which has won five one-point games in a row, and Glenrock, which has lost eight in a row. Glenrock hasn’t won a one-point game since 1981.
On the flipside, several squads have gone decades since losing a one-point game. Hulett and Lyman have not lost one-point games since 1987; however, Hulett has had only one one-point game since 1987, while Lyman has only had two. Dubois hasn’t lost a one-point game since 1990, Hanna hasn’t lost one since 1991 and Burns hasn’t lost one since 1994.
After the long streaks of Midwest and Glenrock, the longest droughts without one-point game victories belong to Wyoming Indian (1993) and Rawlins (1994).
I don’t know how much we can glean from looking at one-point games. Usually, the winners and losers in these types of games arise from a little good fortune.
Natrona’s 2013 season, though, stands alone as the one season where fortune favored the opponent in close game after close game after close game after close game — more often than any other season in state history.
–patrick
The rosters for the 2016 Shrine Bowl were announced Friday. Rosters for the 43rd annual all-star football game are as follows:
SOUTH
Big Piney: J.D. Fear, William Shafer.
Cheyenne Central: Jake Brownell, Jacob Carbaugh.
Cheyenne East: Jack Danni, Quinn Happold, Baylor Hayes.
Cheyenne South: Marquez Jefferson.
Cokeville: Jackson Linford.
Douglas: Cody Hooker.
Evanston: Tucker Leland, Brett Lowham.
Glenrock: Alec Arnold, Elijah Stewart.
Green River: Brendan Hopkins, Gage Hunt, Tyler Vendetti.
Lingle: Colten Wunder.
Pine Bluffs: Kyle Jeffres.
Pinedale: Caleb Raney.
Rawlins: Brett Penman.
Rock Springs: Collin Chivers, Carter Rosette.
Snake River: Braden Duncan.
Southeast: Jeff Burroughs.
Star Valley: Kyler Battleson, Reese Hiibel, Sean Pittman.
Torrington: Colton Bustillos, Jace Canaday, Skyler Miller, Branton Samson.
Wheatland: Justis Borton, Josh Calvert, Daniel Chesser, Nathan Willis.
NORTH
Big Horn: Brice Beisher, Collin Powers.
Buffalo: Trey Schroefel.
Cody: Ethan Acton, Cameron Myers.
Gillette: Lane Barbour, Dalton Holst, Derek Hooker, Zack Taylor.
Greybull: Jordan Jackson, Lane Nielson.
Jackson: Theo Dawson, Dillon Hartranft.
Kelly Walsh: Alex Ferguson, Jacob Kostal.
Lovell: Beau Green.
Meeteetse: Carter Johnson.
Natrona: Caleb Hett, Wes Richner, Cody Wilkinson.
Powell: Teagan Cordes.
Riverside: Ethan Sherburne.
Riverton: Baylor Beers, Brayden Draper.
Sheridan: Davis Alden, Evan Coon, Dontae Crow, Blake Godwin, Riley Sessions.
Shoshoni: Patrick Forster, Connor Wilkinson.
Thermopolis: Tyler Cornwell.
Tongue River: Jaxn Kobza, Dillon Lyons.
Upton-Sundance: Rourke McPeters.
Worland: Mauricio Caballero.
The game will be June 11, 2016, in Casper.
–patrick
We have another early all-state team added to the site thanks to Jim Craig of Lusk, who sent me a copy of the 1951 Class AA all-state squad. Thanks to Jim for the help!
You can see the team here.
–patrick
One quick update: I’ve fixed the score for the 2011 game between Kaycee and Meeteetse; Kaycee won 70-12, not 62-6. The error was verified with a glance at the Maxpreps recording for the season. Thanks to @sykotyk on Twitter for the help with that one!
The eight extra points pushed Meeteetse’s 2011 season into eighth place all-time for most points allowed in a season. See those listings here.
–patrick
Big things are happening at the sister site, wyoming-basketball.com. Season records for every program in the state are now available! If you see any missing info you can provide, I would love the help!
For example, the Green River girls records are pretty much done…. the Sheridan boys records are about halfway there…. and the Dubois boys records are pretty much empty. Every program is in some state of completion, some more than others, and any help you can give to fill in any of the blanks would be greatly appreciated.
Information can be emailed to pschmiedt@yahoo.com.
–patrick
More than 100 Wyoming football players have been nominated for one of the state’s top student-athlete honors: the Top Football Scholar Athlete award from the Wyoming Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
In a release, Wyoming Chapter President Jeff Felton of Cheyenne noted that 101 athletes from 35 different schools have been nominated. A back and a lineman from all five classifications of high school football, as well as from the University of Wyoming, will be honored at the Wyoming Chapter’s annual banquet March 19 in Laramie. Finalists will receive $1,200 scholarships, while one winner will receive an additional scholarship and will be the state’s nominee for the Western Chapter Scholar Athlete of the Year; the winner of the Western Chapter award will be recognized at the national NFF banquet in New York City.
Academic achievement and football performance are weighted at 40 percent apiece in the group’s ranking system; community leadership makes up the remaining 20 percent. Nominees need a minimum GPA of 3.0.
The University of Wyoming nominees are Cameron Coffman and Rafe Kiely. High school nominees include:
Big Horn: Bruce Beisher; Maxon Lube; Collin Powers; Charlie Ringley; Travis Walker.
Big Piney: J.D. Fear; Justis Fisher; R.C. Pape; Jeramiah Riggan; William Shafer; Josh Willoughby.
Burlington: Nathan Carrizales.
Cheyenne East: Jack Danni; Hunter Ernst; Ricky Garnicia-Cole; Uriah Gracia-Salinas; Quinn Happold; Baylor Hayes; Joe Helsel; Austin Jacobson; Cole Jensen.
Cody: Cameron Myers.
Cokeville: Jackson Linford.
Douglas: Cody Hooker.
Gillette: Roo Aten; Lane Barbour; Zach Clark; Isaac Hamilton; Dalton Holst; Derek Hooker.
Glenrock: Alec Arnold; Tyson Buettgenback; Dillon Farley; Justin David Love; Elijah Stewart; Isaac Ritter.
Green River: Tyler Vendetti.
Jackson: Theo Dawson.
Kaycee: Hayden Fauber.
Lander: Landon Cleveland; Scott Keaton; Dylan Tschannen; Chris Williams.
Laramie: Noah Hammontree.
Lingle: K.C. Henry.
Lovell: Konner Davis; Beau Green; Nicholas Haskell.
Meeteetse: Carter Johnson; Shawn Shepperson.
Natrona: Lorenzo Andrade; Sam Airisa; Duke Beddes; Matt Bernardis; Keegan Berry; Daniel Bliss; Taylor Edwards; Mark Feraud; Bridger Helm; Caleb Hett; Joe Keating; Mark Kinder; Tristan Kutzer; Bryant MacMillan; William Rice; Weston Richner; Dawson Rivera; Dillon Vanetti; Cody Wilkinson.
Pine Bluffs: Kyle Jeffres.
Powell: Teagan Cordes; Jackson Griffin.
Riverside: Scott Anderson; Cole Hills.
Riverton: Baylor Beers.
Saratoga: Thatcher Spiering.
Southeast: David Becker; Jeff Burroughs.
Sheridan: Davis Alden; Ed Arzy; Blake Baker; Zach Campbell; Blake Godwin.
Shoshoni: Patrick Forrester; Connor Wilkinson.
Star Valley: Reese Hiibel.
Thermopolis: Tyler Cornwell; Eric Herold.
Torrington: Skyler Miller.
Upton-Sundance: Cole Ingrahm; Rourke McPeters.
Wheatland: Justis Borton; Josh Calvert; Daniel Chesser; Preston Gunter.
–patrick
Shoshoni’s first-round playoff loss to Southeast last October came as a surprise to everyone but the Cyclones.
The Wranglers, after all, entered the Class 1A 11-man playoffs 8-0. They had won the West Conference with ease, giving up just six total points in six conference games (plus one forfeit victory), the closest game in conference play a 19-0 victory against perennial contender Cokeville. To top it off, Shoshoni’s closest victory — a 14-13 nailbiter against 2A Big Piney in the season opener — set the course for the season and, ultimately, allowed the Wranglers to start the playoffs unbeaten.
The Wranglers’ regular-season success, though, didn’t translate to the postseason. Southeast not only won, it controlled the game from kick to gun and ended the Wranglers’ dream season with a 21-3 thumping.
Shoshoni’s loss in the playoffs marked just the fifth time in an eight-team bracket that an undefeated team lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Wranglers joined Burns in 2013, Mountain View in 2006, Rocky Mountain in 2002 and Upton in 1992 on the list of teams with unbeaten regular seasons but no playoff wins in eight-team brackets.
Here’s a glance at the other teams who encountered the same problems Shoshoni did last year:
Burns 2013: The Broncs’ regular season wasn’t dominant — their biggest win was by 26, and only two of their seven on-field wins (plus a forfeit) came by more than 20 points. Still, Burns finished 8-0, only to fall to Thermopolis 20-12 in the first round of the 2A playoffs.
Mountain View 2006: The Buffalos won several close games, winning by scores of 8-0, 8-6, 22-16 and 12-9, on their way to an 8-0 regular season. But lightly heralded Glenrock, which had lost to Mountain View 41-7 in the season opener, surprised the Buffalos 7-0 in the first round of the 3A playoffs to end Mountain View’s season prematurely.
Rocky Mountain 2002: The Grizzlies were also a fortunate team, with victories of 14-6, 23-20 and 22-21 on their resume. That 23-20 victory came against Lovell, the team Rocky faced in the first round of the 3A playoffs. The second time around, the eight-seeded Bulldogs knocked out the second-seeded Grizzlies 18-15.
Upton 1992: The Bobcats swept through their regular season, winning seven straight games — a one-point victory against Bayard, Neb., and a two-point victory against the Gillette sophomores mixed into an otherwise impressive series of games — before the playoffs. However, 5-2 Riverside, whose two regular-season losses were by a total of six points, ended Upton’s season in the first round of the 2A playoffs with a 24-14 victory in Upton.
Oddly enough, beating an undefeated team in the first round has proven to be more of an upset anomaly than a predictor of future success: None of the teams that beat undefeated teams in the first round of the playoffs won their semifinal games.
Since the reinstitution of playoffs for all classes in 1975, 15 other teams had perfect regular seasons spoiled by a loss in the first round of four-team playoff brackets: Meeteetse in 1990, Greybull in 1989, Rock Springs and Lovell in 1988, Pinedale in 1987, Greybull again in 1986, Burlington in 1983, Moorcroft in 1982, Sundance and Byron in 1981, Midwest in 1980, Shoshoni and Big Horn in 1978, Guernsey-Sunrise in 1977 and Byron again in 1976. Seven other unbeaten seasons — Evanston in 1983 and 1979, Newcastle in 1981, Laramie in 1978, Cody in 1977, Buffalo in 1976 and Rock Springs in 1975 — also ended in the first game of the playoffs, but those losses came in state title games when playoffs were only the title games.
–patrick
The Star Valley Independent reported Friday that Braves coach Chris Howell has resigned to take a head coaching position in Utah.
Howell, who led the Braves to a 10-1 record and the Class 3A state championship last season, spent eight years as Star Valley’s head coach. His overall record with the Braves was 42-35, including a runner-up finish in 2012 to go with last year’s title.
Howell will take over as the head coach and will teach at Ridgeline High School in Millville, which is set to open and launch its football program this fall, the Independent report said.
A replacement has not yet been named.
Howell is the second Wyoming head coach to step down this offseason, joining Cheyenne South’s Tracy Pugh.
–patrick
The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle in Cheyenne reported that Cheyenne South head football coach Tracy Pugh has resigned.
Pugh is the only head football coach the varsity Bison have ever had. South, which started its varsity program in 2011 without a single senior on its roster, went 3-42 in Pugh’s five years.
The Bison went 0-9 last year.
The Tribune-Eagle report said a replacement has not yet been named.
–patrick