Whenever Sheridan returns a kickoff for a touchdown, I think the same thing — man, no one does this better than the Broncs.
It happened again on Friday:
I swear no one does this more often than @BroncGridiron. https://t.co/39mBso6Vth
— Wyoming-Football.com (@WyomingFootball) September 17, 2022
But that was never more than just a hunch.
Until now.
In looking at the past four years (2018-21) of kickoff and punt return touchdowns, the only four years where such data is immediately available, the Broncs are indeed Wyoming’s return kings. And it isn’t even close.
With 14 such touchdowns, nine via kickoff and five via punt return, no other team has been able to match Sheridan’s efficiency with special teams touchdowns.
Only two other teams are in double digits, and they both played six-man in that time. Burlington had 11 return touchdowns, nine via kickoff and two via punt, while Guernsey had 10, with nine by kick and one by punt.
Big Horn, Riverside and Douglas are tied for the fourth spot with eight returns apiece; Big Horn and Riverside each had six kickoffs and two punts that they returned for touchdowns, while Douglas flipped that with six punt return and two kick return touchdowns.
Dubois, Mountain View, Snake River and Star Valley have had seven apiece.
Conversely, six programs — Cheyenne Central, Green River, Newcastle, Tongue River, Wyoming Indian and Ten Sleep — haven’t returned a kick or punt for a touchdown in the last four seasons. Ten Sleep, though, sat out three of those seasons, while Wyoming Indian missed one.
Check out the full spectrum of kick and punt return touchdowns over the past four years below. Note that the totals are taken from the official stat sheets, so there is a chance that something might be missing if original stats were off, and that these totals do not include the 2022 season:
| TEAM | PUNT | KICK | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Burlington | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Guernsey-Sunrise | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| Big Horn | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Riverside | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Douglas | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Dubois | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Mountain View | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Snake River | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Star Valley | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Meeteetse | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Hanna | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Buffalo | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Worland | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Upton-Sundance | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Kaycee | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Wheatland | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Cokeville | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| NSI | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Big Piney | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Wright | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Thunder Basin | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Pine Bluffs | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Midwest | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Lingle | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Natrona | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Glenrock | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Encampment | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Rocky Mountain | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Wind River | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Cheyenne South | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Pinedale | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Thermopolis | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Hulett | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Laramie | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Rock Springs | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jackson | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Lusk | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Burns | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Saratoga | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Kelly Walsh | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Evanston | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Torrington | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| St. Stephens | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Lander | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Greybull | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Farson | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Lyman | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Cheyenne East | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cody | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Powell | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Rawlins | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Riverton | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kemmerer | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lovell | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Shoshoni | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Moorcroft | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Southeast | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Campbell County | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cheyenne Central | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Green River | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Newcastle | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tongue River | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyoming Indian | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ten Sleep | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Got any statistical hunches you think might be true that you’d like for me to explore? Let me know in the comments!
–patrick