Week 3 picks

One Class 2A game has center stage this week, and deservedly so. This is the game that may end up deciding the West Conference championship.

The game: Lyman at Lovell, 7 p.m. Friday.

The game is a contrast in styles — Lyman’s fast-paced offense isn’t afraid to go to the air, while Lovell’s more traditional offensive sets strike a “here we come, try and stop us” attitude.

So far, no one in the regular season has really succeeded at slowing down either one of these programs.

Lyman was supposed to have its big test last week when it faced Kemmerer. The Eagles came away 41-0 victors.

Lovell drew Wright and Pinedale in its first two games. Combined, the Bulldogs beat those two teams 99-8.

Eventually, yes, there are several other teams in the West Conference that will have a say in who wins the conference championship. But there is no denying that the two most impressive teams out of the gate are the two teams that are playing Friday night in Lovell.

My choice is Lovell, but the real winners are the people within driving distance of Lovell, the folks who have the chance to go watch what may be the state’s best game of the week. (tied 4-4)

Here are the remainder of this week’s picks, with projected winners in bold and projected teams plotting upsets in non-bold:

Thursday
Interclass
Cheyenne East sophs at Lingle: The Doggers might be the quietest 2-0 team in the state. Expect them to be 3-0 when they face Lusk in a big one next week. 6 p.m. (NA)
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Cheyenne East: The Indians showed they can compete with the best in the state in last week’s loss to Natrona. However, we already knew that about East. 5 p.m. (CC 41-18)
Gillette at Kelly Walsh: This one breaks down pretty simply: 3-0 vs. 0-3. But it won’t be a walkover; the Camels will have to earn this one. 7 p.m. (Gil 29-20)
Laramie at Cheyenne South: The Plainsmen have some momentum building. They need it with what they have coming after this trip to Bison Stadium: at Gillette, home vs. Central, home vs. Sheridan, at Natrona. 7 p.m. (First meeting)
Natrona at Rock Springs: The Mustangs are in the middle of a brutal stretch of games where they travel to four road games in five weeks — and the one home game is the Oil Bowl. Nevertheless, NC should win this one. 7 p.m. (NC 43-19-3)
Sheridan at Evanston: This may be the best game in 4A this week. This one won’t be a blowout either way. All I did was pick the home team. 7 p.m. (She 9-2)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Green River: Ooooohhhh. I love this matchup. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Bison win this one, but it’s hard to overlook what the Wolves have done so far this year. 7 p.m. (GR 1-0)
Cody at Riverton: Is this the game where Cody finally breaks through? Or is this the loss that demoralizes them for the rest of the season? Neither one of these teams wants to lose this one. 7 p.m. (Cod 33-32-2)
Jackson at Lander: Loving what Jackson has done so far this season. Loving what Lander has done so far this season more. 7 p.m. (Lan 21-10)
Powell at Torrington: It’s a long trip down, but the Panthers have the ability to make it a short trip home. 6 p.m. (Pow 2-0)
Star Valley at Douglas: The Braves may give the Bearcats some struggles, but Douglas appears to be back on track after winning big last week. 7 p.m. (Dou 4-1)
Worland at Rawlins: Once they get on a roll, the Warriors may be tough to stop. Look for Worland’s momentum to keep on growing. 7 p.m. (Wor 8-6)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Mountain View: An 0-2 start for the Punchers is surprising. What makes it worse is that they have to make back-to-back trips to the Bridger Valley the next two weeks. 4 p.m. (BP 38-32)
Burns at Newcastle: I never expected Burns to start 0-2. I still don’t expect them to be 0-3 — even against a tough Dogie squad at Schoonmaker. 7 p.m. (tied 1-1)
Glenrock at Wheatland: The West Conference gets most of the 2A attention this week, but don’t overlook this game in the East. The Herders and Bulldogs have been the East’s two most impressive teams so far. This one, too, may end up deciding the conference title. 7 p.m. (Whe 12-11)
Greybull at Thermopolis: Another big one in the West. The Greybull defense has been opportunistic all season long and if that continues, they could give the Bobcats fits. 7 p.m. (The 41-19-4)
Pinedale at Kemmerer: These two teams combined for zero points last week. Offenses need to get going early in this one, and the Rangers at home should get this done. 2 p.m. (Kem 21-6)
Wright at Big Horn: Don’t count out the Rams just yet. They proved last week they still have what it takes to be one of the East’s top teams. 1 p.m. (BH 7-4)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Shoshoni: Both these teams have been impressive in their respective 2-0 starts. This one will hinge on which run defense shows up to play. 6 p.m. (tie 14-14)
Cokeville at Saratoga: Just mark me down for Cokeville victories until we get to November. Then we’ll talk. 2 p.m. (Cok 19-5)
Lusk at Southeast: They don’t get much bigger than this in Yoder. The winner takes the fast track to the top of the East Conference standings; the loser is still in the hunt but has a lot more ground to make up. 7:30 p.m. (Lus 21-13)
Pine Bluffs at Sundance: Can the Hornets keep their shutout streak going? I remember watching Pine beat the Bulldogs 42-0 last year. … Really, I don’t think they’ll mind if the streak ends, as long as they come away with the victory. 3 p.m. (PB 6-2)
Rocky Mountain at Riverside: After a couple easy victories to start the season, now we have the chance to see just how good the Grizzlies really are. 7 p.m. (RM 16-4)
Upton at Normative Services: Both squads are aching to notch their first victory of the season. This will probably be the best chance for both teams. 7 p.m. (Upt 8-3)
Wind River at Wyoming Indian: The Chiefs have played the Cougars tough each of the past two seasons and may come away with the victory in this one. Yet I still pick the Cougs. Weird. 7 p.m. (WR 22-5)
Class 1A six-man
Midwest at Hanna: Which fossil fuel do you choose? Oil or coal? Well, coal is 0-2 so far this season and oil had a nice victory over ranchers last week…. 3 p.m. (Han 8-3)
Ten Sleep at Farson: The only nonconference game of the week in six-man is really intriguing and should help us sort out some of the hierarchy in the middle of the classification. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a toss-up. 3 p.m. (TS 3-2)
Interclass
Moorcroft at Natrona JV: This game for the Wolves comes in place of the game they lost when Tongue River canceled its season. 2 p.m. (NA)
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Meeteetse: A rough loss for the Rams last week shouldn’t affect them too much against the struggling Longhorns. 3 p.m. (Met 11-6)
Guernsey at Snake River: Did you hear? The Rattlers are good. Really good. 3 p.m. (SR 1-0)
Hulett at Kaycee: This is a huge game in six-man this week. Both teams are 2-0 and are trying to do their best to lock up some home-field advantage come playoff time. This game is a big step toward that. 3 p.m. (First meeting)

–patrick