A tip for Thermopolis this week in its game against Pinedale: forfeit.
Don’t go. Save the money, the stress, the potential for injury, the wear on the bus tires.
Instead, take Friday night and go to Worland.
After all, the Bobcats’ postseason fate will be decided there — by two teams that aren’t Thermopolis.
In one of the most helpless situations a football team can be in, Thermopolis’ best efforts this season have granted them nothing more than what amounts to a spectator’s role in whether its season will continue.
Win or lose against Pinedale this week in the final regular-season game of the 2024 season, Thermopolis is in the exact same position for the playoffs — the Bobcats need help. The only way the Bobcats make the playoffs is by Kemmerer beating Worland up in Washakie County on Friday.
The scenarios are clear, if not a bit odd.
- If both Thermopolis and Worland both win, they tie for fourth place and the final playoff spot from the Class 2A West Conference; Worland wins that by the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage that it earned by beating Thermopolis 21-6 all the way back in Week 2. If Thermopolis loses and Worland wins, then Worland is alone in fourth place. So, no matter what, if Worland wins, Thermopolis is out.
- If Thermopolis wins and Worland loses, Thermopolis is in, alone in fourth. If Thermopolis loses and Worland loses, the three teams (Thermopolis, Worland and Kemmerer) tie for fourth place and the final spot, and Thermopolis wins the tiebreaker by having a victory against the highest-ranking non-tied team, thanks to last week’s 13-6 upset of previously unbeaten Mountain View. So, no matter what, if Worland loses, Thermopolis is in.
Both games — Thermopolis vs. Pinedale and Kemmerer vs. Worland — kick off at 6 p.m. Friday.
Forgive the Bobcats if they’re not totally focused on Pinedale.
What happens in Pinedale really doesn’t matter to Thermopolis’ playoff hopes. Maybe the efforts are better placed in the stands in Worland, rooting for Kemmerer.
About the only good thing that comes out of this for Thermpolis is that the Bobcats get to root for Kemmerer instead of having to root for Worland, its traditional regional rival.
I hope it’s clear that I’m only kidding. Thermopolis absolutely should play this week, and try to win.
If they do win on Friday, regardless of whether they make the playoffs, give the Bobcats credit for succeeding in a helpless spot that no team would envy.
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The final week of the regular season presents a multitude of games affecting playoff seeding, but two Fremont County teams play in the only two pure winner-in, loser-out games of the week. And they’re both at home. The first is Lander, which hosts Buffalo in a game that will decide the No. 4 seed from the 3A East. The other is Wind River, which hosts Rocky Mountain in a Thursday game that decides the No. 4 seed from the 1A nine-man West. Oddly enough, the winner knows who they’ll see in the first round — the Buffalo/Lander winner drawing Star Valley and the Rocky Mountain/Wind River winner taking on Lingle. …
Campbell County and Cheyenne East meet in a game that we well might see again in two weeks in the 4A semifinals. The only things at stake on Friday are the No. 2 and 3 seeds, which represent hosting duties and who the first-round opponents will be. Obviously, both teams want to win and have the opportunity to host in the semis (assuming they both win in the first round, which in the playoffs is always a big if), but is it worth it to empty the playbook and show all your secrets against a team that you could see again not too far away in the playoffs? It’s the eternal conundrum, and it’ll be fun to see play out Friday night in Gillette. …
Speaking of 4A, the multitude of playoff scenarios are dizzying for seeds Nos. 5-8. Right in the middle of the fun are Rock Springs and Kelly Walsh, who will play Friday in Casper to help settle much of the confusion. Based on score comparisons, which are fraught with their own problems but are still the best way to determine how teams match up, this one could be a doozy. …
Finally, we’ve reached the point in this week’s analysis where we talk about the only game matching up two undefeated teams, and they just happen to both be six-man teams in Carbon County. Snake River heads across the hill to meet Encampment in a game that’s quickly turned into one of six-man’s best rivalries. Although Encampment has won only one of the teams’ six matchups since 2020, the Tigers do get to host, and they have yet to be beaten at home since… well, Snake River two years ago. By the way, this WILL be the last game, guaranteed, between two undefeated teams this season. Entering this week, only Lingle (1A-9), Big Horn (2A), Star Valley (3A) and Sheridan (4A) remain undefeated, and those four teams, plus the winner of Saturday’s Snake River-Encampment game, are guaranteed not to run into any other undefeated team at any point in the playoffs. So enjoy it while you can.
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Here are my choices for winning teams in the final week of the regular season, with my choices in bold. Quick shout-out to all the seniors playing in their final games this week. Enjoy it, savor it, remember it:
Thursday
Class 1A nine-man
Rocky Mountain at Wind River
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Natrona
Cheyenne East at Campbell County
Cheyenne South at Thunder Basin
Rock Springs at Kelly Walsh
Sheridan at Laramie
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander
Cody at Jackson
Green River at Star Valley
Powell at Evanston
Riverton at Rawlins
Torrington at Douglas
Class 2A
Big Horn at Upton-Sundance
Cokeville at Lovell
Glenrock at Tongue River
Kemmerer at Worland
Lyman at Mountain View
Moorcroft at Burns
Newcastle at Wheatland
Thermopolis at Pinedale
Class 1A nine-man
Lusk at Wright
Saratoga at Lingle
Southeast at Pine Bluffs
Class 1A six-man
Burlington at Midwest
Meeteetse at Riverside
Saturday
Class 1A nine-man
Greybull at Wyoming Indian
Shoshoni at Big Piney
Class 1A six-man
Casper Christian at Dubois
Kaycee at Ten Sleep
Snake River at Encampment
Interclass
Hanna at St. Stephens
Open: Farson, Hulett.
For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here.
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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:
Last week: 28-4 (88 percent). This season: 186-47 (80 percent).
Thoughts entering the last week of the regular season? I know you’ve got ’em. Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.
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–patrick