School: Big Piney
Nickname: Punchers
Colors: red and white
Stadium: Puncher Stadium
State championships: 1959, 1977, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006
Times worth remembering: Even with all the tradition and success the 1990s and 2000s brought Big Piney, the Punchers’ best stretch still came in the five-year span under Otto Low from 1959-63. In those five years, Big Piney lost only three games, compiling a record of 34-3-1. The 1959 team won the state’s Class B title and the 1963 team finished a perfect 8-0.
Times worth forgetting: There isn’t much to frown on for Big Piney, but given the success and tradition the Punchers are used to, 1969 had to have been tough. The Punchers went 0-7 that year (and also had Cokeville on the schedule for that year, a game for which I have not been able to find a result) and never climbed out of single digits. Their closest game was a 24-8 loss to Pinedale.
Best team: The 2001 team was the favorite from the outset and didn’t disappoint. A 14-13 loss to Cokeville aside, the team buzzed through the regular season and the first round of the playoffs, topped Glenrock 34-33 in overtime in the playoff semifinals, then kayoed Mountain View 24-14 in the title game. Seven Punchers, including repeats Kyle Gerik and Jake Greenwood, were chosen all-state, more Big Piney players from one season than any other in school history.
Biggest win: Previous state titles in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2004 were all unsurprising, if not expected, out of Big Piney. But not much was really expected out of the Punchers in 2006. After a less-than-stellar 4-4 regular season, the Punchers drew up-and-coming Newcastle in the opening round. The Punchers overcame the trek to Weston County and pulled off the 12-6 stunner, then beat Glenrock at home in the semis to set up another long trip, this one to northern Sheridan County and Dayton, home of favored and powerful Tongue River…. No problem for the Punchers, though, who pulled off the 21-18 upset on the Eagles’ home turf to win their fifth state title in nine years, and what ended up being the last title win for coach Joel Eskelsen.
Heartbreaker: Usually, in crunch time, the Punchers come through. In fact, in school history, they’re 8-2 in state championship games. And it could be argued that one of the school’s most crushing defeats — a 38-0 loss to Lusk in the 2A title game in 1986 — was only the first piece of the Punchers’ later success.