Week 6 picks

Outside of Cokeville, little is certain in the Class 1A West Conference this season.

Every team has at least one conference victory, but only two of the eight teams have conference records better than .500.

If the playoffs started today, three schools (Burlington, Saratoga and Shoshoni) would be tied for two playoff spots.

One school (Rocky Mountain) has won a conference game by 50 points and lost one by 55. Another (Wind River) has its three conference losses by a combined 16 points but notched its lone league victory by a 47-point margin. Yet another (Burlington) has a combined margin of victory in its two league victories of 41 points and a combined margin of defeat in its two league losses of eight.

As mentioned, the lone exception in this league is Cokeville, which has won its conference games by scores of 48-0, 41-7, 49-0 and 55-0. The defending 1A champions are clearly the class of the conference.

Behind the Panthers, though, it’s a jumble. And that makes every game really, really exciting.

Every game means something now in the 1A West. There are absolutely no throwaways in this conference this year.

Such is the case this week, as three crucial conference games (and a Cokeville game) are lined up: Burlington at Wind River, Saratoga at Riverside and Shoshoni at Rocky Mountain.

The Burlington-Wind River game (6 p.m. Friday; series tied 7-7) is crucial for both teams; Burlington can jump to 3-2 in conference play with a victory, while Wind River, at 1-3 in league play, basically needs to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive in this competitive conference.

Shoshoni makes the trip to Cowley to play Rocky Mountain (4 p.m. Friday; Rocky Mountain leads series 10-6) in a game that may end up deciding the playoff fate of both squads. Rocky Mountain has lost three in a row after opening the conference slate with a 56-6 victory over Wyoming Indian, while Shoshoni has lost two in a row after starting conference play with narrow victories over both Wind River (29-20) and Burlington (41-36).

Saratoga, meanwhile, goes to Basin to play Riverside (6 p.m. Friday; Riverside leads series 2-1) in what might be the most intriguing game on the schedule in any classification. The Rebels, at 3-1, are the only team besides Cokeville to have a league record better than .500. Saratoga is one of the three teams in the conference at 2-2, but the Panthers have won two games in a row, including last week’s 22-21 thriller over Wind River.

Cokeville, the dominant force in an otherwise parity-filled league, travels to Ethete to face Wyoming Indian (6 p.m. Friday; Cokeville leads series 3-0).

What sets this conference apart is its parity. And I’m not talking about the kind of parity where every game is close, but in the end you know who’s going to win and you see final league standings that read 7-0, 6-1, 5-2, 4-3, 3-4, 2-5, 1-6 and 0-7. Nope. Not this year. This year, we’re talking about real parity, where every team has a chance to beat any other team (except if you’re playing Cokeville, of course). And we may see conference standings that end up something like 7-0, 4-3, 4-3, 3-4, 3-4, 3-4, 2-5 and 2-5. That makes every game, every victory and every loss, critical. No one game will define the season, but one game may make or break a playoff dream.

This week, I will keep my choices simple: Cokeville, Riverside, Shoshoni and Burlington. But, outside of Cokeville, by no means do I make any choice in the 1A West this year with confidence. There’s just too much parity between spots two and seven.

Yet, that is what keeps me so interested in this conference this year. I find myself anticipating the 1A West games more heavily than any other games on the schedule. I can’t wait to see who wins and what the margins look like. It’s strangely enthralling to not know who will win any given week.

Maybe that’s how it should always be. Maybe we’re just lucky to have the chance to see such interesting results come from the 1A West this fall.

Here are my other picks for the week, with my projected winners in the kind of type that makes it appear more thick than the other kinds of type on this page:

Thursday
Interclass
Scottsbluff, Neb., JV at Southeast: The Cyclones are rolling right now, although I would anticipate the Bearcat JV will give Southeast a little bit of a tussle. 6 p.m. (NA)
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Rock Springs: One statistic that football nerds like to look at is points per yard. The lower the ratio, the more efficient your scoring is. Both these teams had pretty high ratios last week. Scoring when the chance presents itself will be key. 7 p.m. (CE 20-17)
Cheyenne South at Kelly Walsh: KW has too much to lose to let this one sneak up on it. 7 p.m. (First meeting)
Gillette at Cheyenne Central: The Camels probably won’t take too kindly to this losing thing; the Indians would love to make losing a trend for the purple and gold and will make it interesting. 7 p.m. (CC 23-22)
Natrona at Evanston: That’s a long road trip, but the Mustangs — especially the defense — have proven they are up for any challenge this season. 6 p.m. (NC 9-4)
Sheridan at Laramie: After a big win in the Energy Bowl, there is always concern about a letdown. If the Broncs do that, the Plainsmen have proven they have what it takes to pull off the upset. 7 p.m. (Lar 43-29)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Lander: Lander’s undefeated start came to an abrupt end last week against Douglas. Playing Buffalo the week after that just doesn’t seem fair. 7 p.m. (Buf 9-1)
Green River at Jackson: With Powell’s stunning loss last week, the Wolves may be 3A’s new team to beat. However, they have to prove they deserve that title in games like this one. 7 p.m. (GR 26-8-2)
Rawlins at Douglas: The last time Rawlins won in Douglas (2000), the Outlaws went on to win the state championship…. so if the Outlaws can somehow pull off the huge upset, go ahead and start engraving that state title trophy. Even so, I don’t think the Bearcats are keen on letting Rawlins pull off an upset that big, especially at Bearcat Stadium. 7 p.m. (Dou 19-9)
Star Valley at Cody: Looking for two squads that are improving rapidly? Look no further. The only problem is that one team will have its momentum abruptly paused once this game is done. 7 p.m. (SV 14-8)
Torrington at Riverton: The Trailblazers made up for a lot of lost time last week, but the Wolverines, especially at home, will probably be too much. 6:30 p.m. (Riv 7-6)
Worland at Powell: I’m sure the Panthers are ready to take the aggression built up by last week’s loss out on someone. 7 p.m. (Wor 39-29)
Class 2A
Glenrock at Wright: The Herders’ biggest tests are now behind them. 7 p.m. (Glk 14-2)
Lyman at Mountain View: Bridger Valley Bowl! This game has more playoff implications than it’s had since, oh, 2000. A huge game for these longtime rivals. Should be a great one, maybe the best game of the week in any class. 4 p.m. (MV 42-29)
Moorcroft at Big Horn: The Rams picked up a big victory last week over Wheatland and want to keep that momentum rolling. 1 p.m. (BH 24-20-1)
Pinedale at Big Piney: Somebody has to win this game in a matchup of two winless teams. Turnovers will probably swing this one in a game that looks close on paper. 4 p.m. (BP 54-42)
Thermopolis at Lovell: Every time a team has tried to push Lovell, the Bulldogs have pushed back. The Bobcats will push Lovell, too, but so far Lovell has responded to those challenges all season long. 7 p.m. (The 42-30)
Wheatland at Burns: As long as the Bulldogs don’t dwell too much on last week’s heartbreaker to Big Horn, they will be in good shape for a run at the postseason. 7 p.m. (tied 1-1)
Class 1A 11-man
Lusk at Sundance: Yes, the Bulldogs notched a nice victory last week against Lingle. But Lusk is not Lingle. 3 p.m. (Lus 21-3)
Normative Services at Lingle: The Doggers need this one if they want to maintain any hope of making it to the playoffs. 7:30 p.m. (Lin 3-0)
Pine Bluffs at Upton: After a couple tough losses in a row, the Hornets have a good chance to get back on track against the Bobcats. 5 p.m. (PB 3-1)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hanna: It’s a rough two-week stretch for Hanna: Snake River last week, Dubois this week. Oof. 3 p.m. (Dub 11-6)
Kaycee at Snake River: It will be interesting to see if the Buckaroos can push the Rattlers a bit. So far, no one in six-man really has accomplished that feat. 2 p.m. (SR 2-1)
Saturday
Class 2A
Greybull at Kemmerer: Long trip, Saturday game… The circumstances might be there for a Kemmerer upset if the Buffs take them lightly. Even so, I think Greybull players will have their heads in the right place for this one, a game they can’t really afford to lose. 2 p.m. (Kem 6-5)
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Hulett: One number to think about in this one: 405. That’s how many miles it is from Farson to Hulett, one way. The Pronghorns may want to think about leaving on Thursday just to make sure they get there in time…. 1 p.m. (First meeting)
Midwest at Guernsey: The Oilers have not-so-quietly been putting together a solid four-game winning streak. Win this one, and it’s five in a row heading into next week’s showdown with Snake River. 3 p.m. (Gue 9-5)
Ten Sleep at Meeteetse: It would be easy for Ten Sleep to overlook Meeteetse, especially with a big game with Kaycee coming up next week. If they do, they might pay. Don’t count on it, though. 2 p.m. (TS 27-21-1)
Open: Newcastle.

So am I on the mark this week? Or is my aim a little off? Let me know what you’re expecting out of Week 6 with a comment below.

–patrick