Well, this looks familiar.
Of the 10 semifinal games this weekend, seven are repeats from the regular season. Those games, in order from ugliest to most nerve-wracking, were:
- 1A-6: Snake River beat Dubois 56-0 in Week 5 in Dubois.
- 1A-9: Pine Bluffs beat Saratoga 63-7 in Week 7 in Pine Bluffs.
- 3A: Cody beat Douglas 49-0 in Week 2 in Douglas.
- 4A: Sheridan beat Natrona 29-7 in Week 2 in Casper.
- 2A: Mountain View beat Cokeville 14-6 in Week 3 in Mountain View.
- 2A: Big Horn beat Lovell 28-24 in Week 1 in Lovell.
- 4A: Campbell County beat Cheyenne East 29-26 two weeks ago in Gillette.
Of the remaining three games that aren’t rematches from the regular season, two are rematches from last year’s semifinals. Both games — Encampment at Burlington in the 1A six-man bracket and Big Piney at Lingle in the 1A nine-man brackets — aren’t just rematches; they’re also in the same locations as last year’s semifinal games. Last year, Burlington outscored Encampment 80-73 while Big Piney went on the road and thumped Lingle 51-27.
The only remaining game is 3A’s Cinderella, Riverton, traveling to Afton to face Star Valley. Those two last met in the 2023 regular season, with Star Valley winning 56-6.
So if this weekend has a familiar feeling to it, there’s a good reason.
Also, we’re seeing some familiar teams make it this far. Sheridan is in the semifinals for the 17th consecutive year. East and Cody are both in the semifinals for the eighth consecutive year.
But it’s not all familiar stuff. Three teams are in the semifinals for the first time in a while — Campbell County is in the semifinals for the first time in seven years, Riverton for the first time in nine years, Saratoga for the first time in 16 years.
Both Riverton and Saratoga are on the road for their semifinal games. Campbell County gets to host.
And of the remaining 20 programs, Riverton and Saratoga are the only two who have yet to play in a state championship game in Laramie.
In a weekend full of familiarity, a few threads of new will help keep it fresh.
+++
Picks, with a bit bigger breakdown of each game, with the predicted winners in bold. And, yes, in the seven repeat-from-regular-season games, I picked every team that won the regular-season game between the two teams. Does that make me boring? Maybe.
Friday
Class 4A
(3) Cheyenne East at (2) Campbell County: In Gillette on Friday? Or within a 100-mile radius? Then get your tuchus down to Camel Stadium and pay to get into this one. It will be worth every penny, and I’ll personally be envious of you. I’m taking the Camels, but I’m only about 51/49 on that decision. Game of the year?
Class 3A
(2W) Cody at (1E) Douglas: Douglas had a nice season. Cody is having a nice decade. And there’s that thing about 49-0 two months ago with these exact two teams in this exact place. It would be an all-time stunner to see the Bearcats make up that difference against a hot Bronc team with big goals.
(2E) Riverton at (1W) Star Valley: Dang, Riverton. Last week, you pulled off double-overtime playoff win at home for your first playoff win in like a decade. Sweet. The reward is a trip to Afton, where undefeated Star Valley is, um, better than average.
Class 2A
(3W) Cokeville at (1W) Mountain View: Watch out for the Panthers. They’re playing with confidence. The Buffalos are still the favorites, but Cokeville will not be a pushover. The one thing that Mountain View has going for it is that they know this fact and won’t be caught by surprise.
(2W) Lovell at (1E) Big Horn: This game epitomizes what the semifinal round of the playoffs is supposed to be. Two great teams, one spot remaining, gotta go through the other to get where they want to go. Big Horn has a slight advantage thanks to beating the Bulldogs by four on the road way back in Week 1, but Lovell has made huge strides and is absolutely capable of giving the Rams their first loss. Could be an all-timer.
Class 1A nine-man
(4E) Saratoga at (2E) Pine Bluffs: Saratoga earned a piece of my heart this season. What a great turnaround for a program that’s needed some good things to go its way. But Pine Bluffs has been scary good and scary consistent all season.
Class 1A six-man
(3S) Dubois at (1S) Snake River: Dubois has come on strong in the back half of this season, and the Rams’ quarterfinal victory against Riverside was super impressive. Snake River, though, had little trouble against the Rams a month ago in winning 56-0 and scored 71 in the first half (yes) last week. Whatever strides the Rams made, I don’t think it’s enough to make up 56 points.
(2S) Encampment at (1N) Burlington: If this game is anything like last season’s 80-73 semifinal shootout, fans will get their money’s worth. No team seems to be entering with any kind of advantage, at least that I can find on paper, so the only thing I can offer is that if you’re a fan of either team, be sure to bring your ibuprofen and Alka-Seltzer. You’ll need them.
Saturday
Class 4A
(4) Natrona at (1) Sheridan: I absolutely LOVE that these two teams agreed to meet on Saturday afternoon. There’s something about daylight football in November that’s just electric. Remember that Natrona is savvy and knows how to keep things interesting this time of year, and it’ll be Sheridan’s toughest test of the season because of that.
Class 1A nine-man
(2W) Big Piney at (1E) Lingle: If anyone thought unbeaten Lingle might overlook 5-4 Big Piney, your memory is failing you. The Doggers’ memory of their only loss in the past two seasons — a blowout loss to the Punchers in last year’s semifinals in Lingle — is certainly still there. If the Doggers can funnel that memory into focus this week and not let it overwhelm or over-excite them, they should be in good shape.
For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here.
+++
Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:
Last week: 15-5 (75 percent). This season: 227-56 (80 percent).
Who you got going to Laramie in a week or so? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.
If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship.
–patrick