Week 4 picks

Little brothers always face unfair comparisons.

The older one, the one that came before, always sets the standard. The younger sibling, for better or for worse, has to face the fallout from that relationship.

Class 1A 11-man football has two big brothers: Southeast and Cokeville. This week, those two older brothers have to face some young, confident and, most importantly, undefeated little brothers from their respective conferences.

Southeast has to travel south to play the upstarts from Pine Bluffs, who have yet to allow a point through three games this season — the only team in the state that can claim that honor. Both teams are 3-0 and both want to use this game, which starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, to gain an important edge in the East Conference standings.

Cokeville, meanwhile, plays host to undefeated Shoshoni at 1 p.m. Friday. I’m not sure, but this may be the first time ever that Shoshoni enters a game with Cokeville when the Wranglers are undefeated and the Panthers are not. The Wranglers, who broke a long losing streak in the season opener, come in at 3-0, while the defending state champs enter at 2-1, lambasting a couple of conference foes after losing to Mountain View 6-3 in overtime in the season opener.

The problem with being a little brother is that you get beaten up a lot.

Southeast has beaten Pine Bluffs nine times in a row dating back to 2002 and 16 out of the past 17 meetings. (Southeast leads the all-time series 25-10.)

Shoshoni’s even got it worse against Cokeville: Just one victory in 20 tries all-time, with the only victory coming in 1997.

So is this the week the little brothers finally stand up to the guys who have been pushing them around all these years?

My guess is no — Cokeville and Southeast are year in and year out the teams to beat in 1A, and this year is no different. I will pick both the Panthers and the Cyclones to win. But little brothers everywhere should be rooting for the Wranglers and the Hornets, especially since victories in these games would place them firmly atop the standings of their respective conferences.

Here are the rest of this week’s picks, with projected winners in bold:

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Cheyenne South: The last game of the Capital Bowl Series could give the Thunderbirds the city championship. 7 p.m. (First meeting)
Evanston at Cheyenne Central: The Red Devils’ two losses have been gut-wrenchers. I think they may just be tired of losing those close ones. 7 p.m. (CC 6-4)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona: KW’s reward for playing undefeated Gillette so close last week? Undefeated Natrona this week. 6 p.m. (NC 37-11)
Laramie at Gillette: The Plainsmen have to be playing with a lot of confidence right now, but the Camels might be the toughest team Laramie has faced this year. 7 p.m. (Lar 18-13)
Rock Springs at Sheridan: The Broncs can’t get caught looking ahead to the Energy Bowl next week; the Tigers could make them pay if they do. 7 p.m. (She 12-4-2)
Class 3A
Douglas at Buffalo: There have been so many good games between these rivals the past few years. This will be another good game — I don’t think this one will be decided by more than a touchdown. 7 p.m. (Buf 34-25)
Green River at Cody: Even though they lost last week, the Wolves have still proven just how much respect they deserve this year. 7 p.m. (Cod 12-6)
Jackson at Powell: Quite honestly, the most impressive team thus far in 3A just might be the Panthers. 6 p.m. (Pow 16-11)
Riverton at Rawlins: The Outlaws are beginning to show that they’re no pushovers anymore, but the Wolverines are coming off a solid victory a week ago and really want to keep that momentum rolling. 7 p.m. (Riv 27-19-1)
Star Valley at Worland: No conference game is ever small, but this one is really, really big. If either team wants to keep pace with the likes of Green River and Powell, they have to win this one. 6 p.m. (SV 21-14)
Torrington at Lander: One of these teams hasn’t lost yet. One of them hasn’t won yet. That makes my choice easy. 6 p.m. (Lan 1-0)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Glenrock: Both of these teams have done everything possible to earn the title of East Conference favorite. The winner here DEFINITELY seizes that title. A huge game for playoff qualifying and seeding. 6 p.m. (tied 2-2)
Big Piney at Lyman: How will the Eagles respond after a tough loss? Were the flames stoked up or fanned out? I’d say stoked. 4 p.m. (BP 44-30-1)
Kemmerer at Thermopolis: Both of these squads have struggled with bouts of inconsistency this year. This game comes at the right time for both of them — to see just how well they stack up against a team of similar talent. 7 p.m. (Kem 14-9)
Lovell at Mountain View: This just might be Lovell’s toughest road trip of the regular season. A rrreeeeeaaaallllyyy long trip to play a team coming off a big victory…. But I think the Bulldogs are up to the challenge. 4 p.m. (MV 8-3)
Newcastle at Wright: Yup. I’m on the Dogie bandwagon. 7 p.m. (Wri 4-2)
Pinedale at Greybull: The Buffs have Lovell on the schedule for next week. That’s next week, though. No looking ahead. 7 p.m. (tied 2-2)
Wheatland at Moorcroft: The Bulldogs got humbled last week. They’ll probably come out more focused against the Wolves. 2 p.m. (First meeting)
Class 1A 11-man
Lingle at Lusk: Both of these schools suffered difficult losses last week; neither one wants to lose two in a row. This should be one of those games that comes down to the wire. 7:30 p.m. (Lus 38-10-3)
Riverside at Burlington: I mentioned it last week, but I’ll mention it again here: Every game is a big game in the 1A West this year. Too much parity for anyone to overlook anyone. 3 p.m. (Rsd 12-7)
Saratoga at Wyoming Indian: Let me be clear: I’m really impressed with what the Chiefs did last week. But I’m also surprised to see the Panthers at 0-3, especially when you consider that they really haven’t played all that poorly. 6 p.m. (Sar 6-2)
Sundance at Upton: The Bobcats picked up their first victory of the season last week. Now the Bulldogs will look to accomplish that same feat against the Bobcats. 7 p.m. (Upt 38-31-5)
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Midwest: The Oilers are quietly building a nice little winning streak. 7 p.m. (Mid 2-0)
Saturday
Class 1A 11-man
Rocky Mountain at Wind River: I didn’t expect either one of these squads to lose last week. That makes this game much harder to pick. 1 p.m. (RM 16-6)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Guernsey: Both of these squads are desperate for a victory, but only one of them actually took the field last week. 3 p.m. (Gue 22-9)
Kaycee at Dubois: The winner of this game takes the fast track to the top of the North Conference standings. Dubois is fortunate enough to get this one at home. 1 p.m. (First meeting)
Snake River at Meeteetse: The Rattlers are the six-man frontrunners this year. Everyone else is playing catchup. 2 p.m. (SR 2-0)
Ten Sleep at Hulett: The Red Devils were impressive to me when I got to see them in person last week. I think they rebound against the Pioneers. 3 p.m. (Hul 10-4)
Interclass
Natrona JV at Burns: Please tell me the Broncs can finally get in the win column. Please? 1 p.m. (NA)
Normative Services at Big Horn JV: The Wolves’ losing streak has gone on long enough — and after playing Upton tough last week, NSI may be able to pull this one out. 3 p.m. (NA)

Thoughts? You got ’em. You should post ’em below. And then I can reply and then we can start conversing about the midpoint of the high school football regular season.

–patrick