School: Lyman
Nickname: Eagles
Colors: blue and white
Stadium: Eagle Stadium
State championships: 1976, 1982 and 1999
Times worth remembering: The two best seasons in Lyman’s history were put together back-to-back in 1999 and 2000, when the Eagles went 9-1 and 7-1. The 1999 team won a state title, beating Mountain View in the 2A championship game to avenge a regular-season loss; the 2000 team went undefeated until the semifinals, when Mountain View reversed the previous year’s outcome and avenged its regular-season loss to Lyman.
Times worth forgetting: Back-to-back winless seasons in 1959 and 1960 were part of a larger stretch of eight consecutive losing seasons for the Eagles. The Eagles lost 17 in a row at one point over the course of four seasons (1958-61).
Best team: Of Lyman’s three championship-winning clubs, the 1999 team had the best sustained success. That season, the Eagles relied on defense, holding eight of 10 opponents to single digits. The offense was as good as it needed to be, with a powerful rushing attack setting the pace — especially in the championship game, a 16-6 win over Mountain View, in which the Eagles didn’t complete a pass but still won the 2A title.
Biggest win: Every fan in the Bridger Valley remembers Nov. 6, 1999. That’s when valley rivals Mountain View and Lyman met up with the state championship on the line. About 3,000 fans packed into Mountain View’s stadium to watch; about half, the Lyman half, went home happy, thanks to a solid Eagle defense that rose up at key times. The 16-6 win avenged Mountain View’s 15-13 win in the regular season — and, years later, became a key example in the argument against a neutral-site championship setup in Wyoming.
Heartbreaker: After winning it all in 1999, the Eagles appeared poised to do it again in 2000 — but rival Mountain View derailed those ideas in the 2A semifinals. Even though Lyman beat Mountain View 20-7 in the regular-season finale just two weeks prior on the same field, the Buffalos changed up their plans and shut out the Eagles 14-0 to advance to the championship. Big Piney — a team Lyman beat 35-19 in the regular season — went on to beat Mountain View in the championship game.