School: Basin
Nickname: Bobcats
Colors: red and white
Stadium: Unknown
State championships: None
Times worth remembering: In a four-year stretch from 1972-75, the Bobcats won at least seven games every year, including a 9-0 campaign in 1972. Combined, the team went 30-5-1 in that stretch, culminating with a conference championship and a playoff berth in 1975, the first year state playoffs returned for the small schools.
Times worth forgetting: After re-earning admittance into Class A play in 1949, the Bobcats did more than just struggle. They cratered, failing to win a game for three consecutive seasons. In 1951, the final year of Class A conference play, the Bobcats went 0-9, failing to come within 30 points of any of their conference foes. Not surprisingly, this ended up being Basin’s final year in Class A; the team dropped to Class B play the next year.
Best team: Basin had two undefeated teams in its history, the 7-0-1 team in 1969 and the 9-0 team in 1972, but the lack of a tie gives the nod to the ’72 squad. That year, the Bobcats proved they could win close games, including a pair of road wins — a 32-26 victory over Byron and a 26-22 victory over Dubois — to close out the season.
Biggest win: Greybull had long treated Basin like a pesky little brother. The two teams, despite being separated by only eight miles, rarely played each other, but in 1975 the Buffs decided to try their luck. Bad move. The Bobcats won 12-6 in overtime, winning the south Big Horn County rivalry for the first time since 1939, and for the last time in school history. Greybull repaid Basin the next year, winning 67-6.
Heartbreaker: The 1975 Class B semifinal loss to Pinedale, a 6-0 overtime loss, is the kind that haunts people long after it’s finished. Four times during the game, the Wranglers produced goal line stands to keep Basin off the scoreboard and force the game into overtime. The fact that Pinedale went on to win the Class B championship, beating Saratoga in the title game the next week, makes this loss all the tougher to take.