Dan Gallas, a veteran coach who was formerly head coach at three different high schools in Colorado, was named the head coach at Cheyenne South on Tuesday, KGWN-TV and the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle reported.

Gallas was head coach at Smoky Hill High School in Aurora from 1999 to 2002 and again in 2014. Previously, he coached at Grand Junction High School from 1990-95 and at Northglenn High School from 1985-89. He compiled a 101-70 record, including a state runner-up finish in 1994, KGWN reported.

Gallas replaces Tracy Pugh, who coached the Bison for their first five seasons of varsity football. Pugh went 3-42.

–patrick

Ten Sleep head football coach Andy Ray has resigned under pressure, the Northern Wyoming Daily News reported.

Ray reluctantly submitted his resignation on April 11 after being notified his contract would not be renewed, the Daily News reported.

Ray had been Ten Sleep’s coach the past three seasons. The Pioneers, members of the Class 1A six-man West Conference, finished 4-18 in Ray’s three seasons and went 1-6 in 2015. Ray was also previously the head coach at Wind River, going 16-4 in two seasons as head coach of the Cougars.

A replacement has not yet been named.

Ray is the third coach in Wyoming to step down this offseason, joining Cheyenne South’s Tracy Pugh and Star Valley’s Chris Howell.

–patrick

I posed a simple question on Twitter on Friday:

I asked the question because, honestly, I didn’t know the answer.

But I had a plan to find out, at least unofficially.

Now, after a few hours putting together some estimates, I have an answer — well, the best answer I can surmise up to now.

Unofficially, the Wyoming high school football stadiums with the highest capacity are Cheyenne South (about 4,096), Kelly Walsh (about 4,077), and Natrona (about 3,924). Cheyenne East also has a capacity of 4,000 in its stadium; East and South are expandable to capacities of 4,360.

Estimated capacities for most other stadiums in the state (that I could get capacity for) is less than 3,000, down to the smallest capacity stadium at Meeteetse (seating capacity 115).

How I calculated the capacities: Using satellite images from Google Maps, I looked at the seating for every stadium. I calculated the length (in yards) of each seating area at the stadium; I multiplied that number by 36 (number of inches in a yard) to get the total number of inches; I divided that number by 20 to figure out the number of available seats per row (average seat size in most major college and pro stadiums varies between 18-22 inches, so 20 seemed like a good compromise); I counted the number of rows in that seating area; finally, I multiplied the number of available seats per row by the number of rows to get the seating capacity for that seating area. Most stadiums have more than one seating area, so I repeated the process as many times as necessary for each stadium before adding all the capacities together.

Obviously, this method has its limitations. Two schools (Big Piney and Farson) couldn’t be included because the satellite imagery fell short for one reason or another. The images were also subject to time differences — for example, some teams use portable seating that’s only put out during the season. If those portable stands weren’t out when the satellite took the image flying over the town, then that added capacity wasn’t added to my total. The seating totals also don’t account for variations in aisles or for the presence or absence of portals.

For example, Meeteetse uses portable stands behind its visitor bench during the season. Those stands do not show up in Meeteetse’s Google Maps view of the stadium. Therefore, they weren’t counted — and Meeeteetse’s capacity of 115 people, the state’s “smallest,” is likely off by at least a couple dozen.

Other stadiums — such as Lyman and Shoshoni — had stands that washed out in the satellite imagery, and I had to use my best guess (based on depth of seating) as to the number of rows in a particular seating area.

Other stadiums — such as Burns and Cheyenne Central — have undergone renovations since the last time the satellites passed over town. The capacities shown here are for the stadiums prior to renovations (although Central’s updated capacity has since been provided).

And, of course, these capacities don’t account for standing room alongside the seating.

In short, these stadium capacities are my best guess with what I had available to me at the time: Google Maps satellite imagery on April 23, 2016. At best, they’re educated guesses. For smaller stadiums, seating capacities could be off by a few dozen; for larger stadiums, capacities could be off by as many as a couple hundred. Capacities could be even higher than this if people squeezed into 18 inches per seat instead of 20 inches.

It goes without saying, but, just in case you tl;dr: These capacities are unofficial. They’re a lot of fun, though…

Class 4A
Cheyenne South: 4,097 (capacity provided by school officials gave a capacity of 4,000; expandable to 4,360)
Kelly Walsh: 4,077
Cheyenne East: 4,000 (capacity provided by school officials, not by Google Maps estimate; expandable to 4,360)
Natrona: 3,924
Cheyenne Central: 1,458 (prior to addition of north stands; capacity provided by school officials after addition of north stands is 3,222, expandable to 3,582)
Rock Springs: 3,024
Laramie: 2,916
Gillette: 2,790
Sheridan: 2,462
Evanston: 1,688

Class 3A
Rawlins: 2,988
Green River: 2,952
Buffalo: 2,700
Worland: 2,534
Lander: 2,255
Powell: 2,106
Douglas: 2,052
Riverton: 2,009
Cody: 1,757
Torrington: 1,593
Star Valley: 1,190
Jackson: 806

Class 2A
Glenrock: 2,187
Lovell: 1,647
Thermopolis: 1,370
Kemmerer: 1,237
Wheatland: 1,123
Newcastle: 1,089
Pinedale: 819
Greybull: 810
Mountain View: 792
Lyman: 720
Big Horn: 630
Burns: 594 (prior to renovation last year)
Moorcroft: 423

Big Piney’s capacity could not be calculated; satellite photos showed the current Puncher Stadium under construction.

Class 1A 11-man
Pine Bluffs: 918
Tongue River: 853
Wright: 742
Rocky Mountain: 706
Upton: 518
Shoshoni: 454
Saratoga: 450
Lusk: 425
Sundance: 414
Southeast: 328
Wind River: 324
Wyoming Indian: 202
Cokeville: 162

Class 1A six-man
Guernsey-Sunrise: 860
NSI: 617
Lingle: 612
Riverside: 504
Burlington: 490
Hanna: 464
Midwest: 313
Dubois: 297
Snake River: 288
Hulett: 270
Kaycee: 225
Ten Sleep: 175
St. Stephens: 162
Rock River: 158
Meeteetse: 115

Farson’s capacity could not be calculated; temporary stands used on the field were not present in the satellite photo.

Other interesting stadium seating notes: The longest stands in the state belong at Cheney Alumni Field at Natrona, where the stadium seating stretches from goal line to goal line — 100 yards. Natrona’s stadium is the only one in the state with seating stretching from goal line to goal line. Laramie’s 90-yard seating stretch, from one 5-yard line to the other, was the second-longest. Green River’s unofficially stretches 82 yards, while Kelly Walsh, Rock Springs and Cody have stands that stretch from the 10 to the 10, or 80 yards. … The tallest stands are those in Rawlins, which unofficially stretch 26 rows high. Worland unofficially goes 22 rows high; Gillette, Lander and Rock Springs unofficially go 21 rows high; Buffalo, Douglas and Green River go 20 rows. … The smallest 11-man stadium is at Cokeville, which measured out to a seating capacity of 162.

Which stadium is your favorite? Your least favorite? Is it because of the seating? Leave your comment and let’s talk locales.

–patrick

Updated 7:45 a.m. April 28 to add Cheyenne East information, as well as info for other Cheyenne school stadiums. Thanks to David Bartlett for the help!

No one knew it on the evening of Sept. 11, 1970, that this particular football game would represent something historic.

That night, Natrona played Lusk — the last time a school now in Class 4A played a school now in Class 1A.

Natrona won, 50-7, an unsurprising margin given the difference in size between the schools.

That’s been a common result when little guys try to take down the big guys.

Sheridan (16-0), Laramie (10-0-1), Cheyenne Central (9-0) and Rock Springs (1-0) are undefeated in their games against current 1A opponents. Natrona (17-1-1) only has one loss to a current 1A team in its history, a 12-0 loss to Midwest in 1926.

That Midwest victory is the only time a current 1A school has beaten a current 4A school not named Gillette. Gillette was once classified as a Class A school, but occupied the same conference as future Class B (and later, 1A) schools Midwest, Upton and Sundance. The Camels have extensive series with all three schools, playing Midwest and Upton 34 times apiece and Sundance 29 times. Gillette has also played Lusk, a former Class A East Conference rival, 17 times; Lusk actually leads that series 10-6-1, the only 4A-1A series in which the 1A team leads all-time. All-time, Gillette is 75-32-7 against current 1A teams.

The other four Class 4A schools (Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Evanston and Kelly Walsh) have never played any current Class 1A schools.

Of the current 1A schools who have played current 4A schools, the team with the most success to its name is Midwest. The Oilers, a Class A school through the 1940s and Class B/2A through the early 1980s, beat Gillette 12 times and Natrona once. However, Midwest also lost a lot, with just the 13 victories in 64 tries against 4A competition (13-48-3).

Lusk has 10 victories against 4A schools, while Sundance has nine and Upton five. All of the victories for those three schools came against Gillette. All-time, Lusk is 10-17-2 against 4A competition; Sundance is 9-24-2; Upton is 5-27-1.

Hanna (0-5), Sunrise (0-1), Lingle (0-1) and Saratoga (0-1) are winless in their attempts against 4A competition.

The other 21 Class 1A 11-man and six-man schools (Pine Bluffs, Southeast, Tongue River, Wright, Cokeville, Rocky Mountain, Shoshoni, Wind River, Wyoming Indian, Hulett, Kaycee, NSI, Rock River, Burlington, Dubois, Farson, Meeteetse, Riverside, St. Stephens, Snake River, Ten Sleep) have never played any 4A competition.

Here’s a breakdown of series involving current 4A schools against current 1A schools:

Cheyenne Central vs Lingle: Central leads 1-0-0
Cheyenne Central vs Lusk: Central leads 1-0-0
Cheyenne Central vs Midwest: Central leads 7-0-0
Gillette vs Lusk: Lusk leads 10-6-1
Gillette vs Midwest: Gillette leads 20-12-2
Gillette vs Sundance: Gillette leads 18-9-2
Gillette vs Upton: Gillette leads 27-5-2
Laramie vs Hanna: Laramie leads 4-0-0
Laramie vs Lusk: Laramie leads 6-0-1
Natrona vs Hanna: Natrona leads 1-0-0
Natrona vs Lusk: Natrona leads 4-0-0
Natrona vs Midwest: Natrona leads 11-1-1
Natrona vs Sunrise: Natrona leads 1-0-0
Rock Springs vs Saratoga: Rock Springs leads 1-0-0
Sheridan vs Midwest: Sheridan leads 10-0-0
Sheridan vs Sundance: Sheridan leads 6-0-0

–patrick

The football champions list at the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s website underwent some significant changes last year.

The 2015 state champions were not the only champs added to the WHSAA’s list: So were 40 other programs who had long struggled for recognition from Wyoming’s statewide high school athletics organizers.

For the first time, champions from 1921-30, 1941-47, 1962-67 and the Class A and B/C champions from 1962-74 are now recognized by the WHSAA. Those champions, previously unofficial, are now considered official state champions, WHSAA Commissioner Ron Laird said via email to Wyoming-football.com at the beginning of the school year.

Laird said the decision to officially recognize 40 previously unofficial champions state champions, including three shared championships, was controversy-free.

“(W)e have not heard any rebuttal since we have posted them, so as far as we are concerned, they are official until proven otherwise,” Laird said via email.

The WHSAA has existed since 1931. Prior to 2015, the organization did not recognize champions crowned prior to the organization’s founding. It also did not recognize champions from eras in which the WHSAA, or certain classifications, did not sponsor postseason playoffs. That rule had two notable exceptions: the Class AA champions between 1948 and 1961 (which were decided by conference standings, not by playoffs or a championship game) and the 1939 and 1940 state champions were also recognized by the WHSAA prior to 2015.

Programs gaining official WHSAA recognition for championships include:

Byron (1965, 1968)
Cheyenne Central (1929, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1965)
Cokeville (1969)
Glenrock (1968, 1971)
Laramie (1962, 1964)
Natrona (1928, 1942, 1963)
Pinedale (1970)
Powell (1966, 1967)
Rawlins (1947)
St. Mary’s (1972)
St. Stephens (1962)
Sheridan (1921, 1922, 1923, 1930, 1946)
Thermopolis (1928, 1929)
Tongue River (1966, 1967, 1973, 1974)
Worland (1924, 1925, 1926, 1927)

The AA (large-school) champions between 1939 and 1968 were decided by conference standings, not by playoffs or a championship game. All champions listed between 1962-67 and Class A, B and C champions from 1962-74 were decided by statewide poll, not by state playoffs or a state championship game. Champions listed for those eras are consensus champions (Class AA/one class champions from 1939 to 1961), AP ballot champions (1962) and UPI ballot champions (1963-74). Champions listed prior to 1931 are consensus champions based on press reports from those years.

This site’s state championship listings are unchanged, but the status of the championships has been updated to reflect WHSAA recognition of the schools’ championships. State champion listings are available here.

–patrick