From 1962 to 1967 in all classes, and from 1962 to 1974 in Classes A and B-C, postseason football was shut down in Wyoming. No playoffs, no state championship games, nothing. Only an unsatisfying mythical championship that, in the end, was just opinion. The next several days, wyoming-football.com is taking a look at the title games and playoff brackets we missed out on in the “dead era” of the 1960s and 1970s.
Today, we examine the year 1974.
Class A: Torrington (9-0) vs. Kemmerer (9-0). By far the two best Class A teams in the state, the two teams both relied on defense. Kemmerer gave up just 35 points all season and had five shutouts, while Torrington had eight shutouts and gave up just six points ALL SEASON.
Class B East: Tongue River (9-0) vs. Saratoga (8-0). Tongue River was riding the tail end of its late 1960s/early 1970s dynasty, but had allowed only 30 points through nine games. Meanwhile, the only undefeated season in Saratoga school history was also built on defense, as the Panthers, like Torrington, had given up just six points all season — and that score was allowed on a kickoff return.
Class B West: Basin (7-1-1) vs. Cokeville (9-0-1). An early tie with Big Piney was the only mar on Cokeville’s schedule (the Panthers beat the Punchers 35-12 later that season), while Basin’s only loss in the 1974 season was a 15-8 heartbreaker to unbeaten Tongue River.
(Note: Playoff brackets were formed using the system that was adopted statewide in 1975. Class AA brackets, when posted, will pit the AA North champion against the AA South champion, as that is how the classification was divided at that time.)
–patrick