School: Glenrock
Nickname: Herders
Colors: purple and gray
Stadium: Sheldon Henderson Stadium
State championships: 1958, 1960, 1977, 2002, 2003 and 2008
Times worth remembering: From 1964 to 1972, the Herders never had more than one loss in any given season. At one point, Glenrock won 22 consecutive games and went 26 games in a row without a loss. For those nine years, the Herders posted a 72-5-2 record; perhaps even more impressive, Glenrock didn’t post a losing record in any season for 21 years from 1960-80.
Times worth forgetting: The early 1990s were a struggle for Glenrock. Back-to-back 0-7 seasons in 1991 and 1992 were the start of a stretch of four consecutive losing seasons. The 1991 and 1992 seasons were part of an 0-18 stretch for the Herders, who didn’t post a winning season until 1995.
Best team: There are plenty of options — the Herders have had seven undefeated seasons in school history — but two teams more than any others stand out. The 1977 team, which went 9-0 and beat Evanston 39-14 for the state title, stands out because the Herders went unbeaten only four years after joining the Class A ranks. The 2008 team, too, stands out as the best because of who they beat. Not only did Glenrock mow through the playoffs (combined scoring margin of 122-8) on its way to the Class 3A title, the Herders also beat the two teams that ended up playing in the 2008 Class 4A title game in Buffalo and Douglas. Honorable mention to the 1972 team, which gave up only 12 points all season on its way to a 9-0 record.
Biggest win: It didn’t take long for Glenrock to establish credibility after its move from Class B to Class A before the 1974 season — but winning a championship took a bit longer. After three consecutive six-win seasons, the Herders finally copped a Class A title behind a talented group of players in 1977. That season was capped with a 39-14 win over Evanston in the championship game, but the win before that, a 14-7 road victory over Torrington on the regular-season finale, is what truly vaulted the Herders into a championship-caliber team. Joe Jackson scored both touchdowns for Glenrock, a one-yard sneak in the third quarter and the game-winning 21-yard run in the fourth quarter, as the Herders rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to prove their mettle and come into the championship game on an emotional high.
Heartbreaker: Losing in overtime is tough. Losing in overtime in the playoffs is doubly tough. Losing in overtime in the playoffs when you’ve got a team that had the potential to win it all – and after you’ve rallied from a 27-0 first-half deficit to force overtime – is heartbreaking. But that’s what happened to the Herders in 2001, who lost a 34-33 thriller to Big Piney in the 3A semifinals, where a missed extra point by the Herders in overtime was the difference. However, the core of that Glenrock team went on to win 3A titles in 2002 and 2003.