Week 8 picks

Officially, the playoffs start next week.

But for eight Wyoming teams, the path to the playoffs starts — or ends — with Week 8.

Four games in the final weekend of regular-season play equate to pigtail games for those eight teams, where the winner moves on and the loser moves back in with the parents.

Two of those games — Powell at Lander and Riverton at Wheatland, both scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday — are in Class 3A. Powell and Lander are scrapping for the final playoff bid from the West Conference; Riverton and Wheatland for the last bid from the East.

In 2A, Wright hosts Burns at 7 p.m. Friday for the final playoff spot from the East Conference, while in 1A-11, Hulett makes the journey to Pine Bluffs to play a 4 p.m. Friday game that will decide the last spot out of the East.

Other games are just as critical this Friday, but for most teams, their playoff hopes have already been decided or don’t completely rest on how they play on Friday.

These four games, though, have simpler circumstances. The winner’s in, the loser’s out.

Two of the four games are essentially pigtail games for brackets that have more or less been set. The Powell-Lander winner is the No. 4 seed from the conference and plays at Douglas in the first round, while the winner of the Burns-Wright game is fourth from the East and travels to Kemmerer in the quarterfinals.

The Hulett-Pine Bluffs winner is almost assured of the No. 4 seed out of the East — to go any higher, Lusk has to lose to Upton, which isn’t likely but, given the nature of the sport of football, isn’t impossible. Even so, no one can blame the Red Devils and the Hornets for planning their trip to West top seed Cokeville next week (provided they win on Friday, of course).

The Riverton-Wheatland winner, meanwhile, doesn’t know quite as much. The winner is in the playoffs and will play on the road in the first round, but past that — seeding and location of the game — still depend on other outcomes on Friday.

So who wins these critical games that are more or less pigtails?

Well, both Powell and Lander have suffered their fair share of gut-wrenching losses this year. Both of them deserve a spot, but only one can move on. And even though Lander hasn’t had much success in its home conference games this year, I think the Tigers take the final step they need to take as Bill Bush Stadium karma finally shines on the green and white.

Riverton, meanwhile, has proven it can play with some of the better teams in the state, while Wheatland has just one victory — last week’s triumph over Rawlins. I’ll take the Wolverines on the road.

Both Burns and Wright have proven to be intriguing teams this fall, and with the stakes in this game, this could end up being the best game of the week. I will not be surprised to see either team win this game; I WILL be surprised if it’s by more than a touchdown either way. I’ll give my nod to Burns.

And, finally, Hulett has the chance to do something it has never done before — win below the 43rd parallel. The Red Devils have never won a road game south of that line, which roughly divides Wyoming in half… the closest Hulett has ever come is a 1994 victory over Wyoming Indian. Aside from that, Hulett’s “furthest south” road wins have come against Midwest. OK, geography nerd break aside, I think Hulett has the athleticism it’ll take to slow down the Hornets and create some big plays, which should be enough to keep the northern tier of teams from being shut out of the playoffs in the 1A East. I’ll take Hulett, but not by much.

As always, the playoff race comes to a hilt in the final week of the season — although, by now, it’s mostly for seeding. In all, 16 of the state’s 62 teams have been eliminated from the playoff race, leaving 46 teams alive for 40 playoff spots.

Here are the rest of my picks, as always, in fun, with projected winners in bold:

Thursday
Class 1A 11-man
Dubois at Shoshoni: It’s about time for the Rams to end this losing streak they’re on — and what better time to do that than in the season finale against the county rivals? 7 p.m.
Riverside at Wind River: The Cougars, even despite the loss last week, will still be a huge threat in the playoffs. Rebuilding momentum for that run is the key now. 7 p.m.
Sundance at Normative Services: Sundance was not that far away from being a playoff qualifier, so closing the season with a road victory might be the inspiration for more success next season. 5 p.m.
Interclass
Hanna at Green River frosh/sophs: Hanna had a week off last week, so this will be a good way for the Miners to get back in the swing of things before the six-man playoffs. 6 p.m.

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Laramie: Laramie knows it missed an opportunity last week against Green River. I don’t think the Plainsmen will let another one go. 7 p.m.
Gillette at Green River: This might be one of those games where the Wolves’ defensive troubles can’t be outweighed by their offensive firepower. 7 p.m.
Kelly Walsh at Cheyenne Central: KW will keep it closer than it did last week, but the Indians have the tacklers up front on defense and the athleticism on offense to pull this one out. 7 p.m.
Rock Springs at Evanston: The Tigers are finally playing up to their potential — and Evanston has no more playoff aspirations for which to play. 7 p.m.
Sheridan at Natrona County: The Broncs have won seven in a row for a reason. 7 p.m.
Class 3A
Buffalo at Rawlins: The Outlaws have had a rough go this season. The Bison will make sure Rawlins has no dream ending to the season. 6 p.m.
Douglas at Torrington: The Bearcats’ winning streak shows no signs of stopping… even against a Trailblazer team that wants to prove something before heading for the postseason. 7 p.m.
Jackson at Star Valley: Good fortune has been shining on the Braves in the second half of the season. After all, Star Valley deserves a little bit of that good stuff after the way they started the season. 7 p.m.
Worland at Cody: This has all the earmarks of a trap game for the high-flying Warriors… As if we needed another reminder, the 3A West reveals its parity once again. Should be a good one, close, and, given 3A West this year, it could be a shootout — maybe decided by some kind of kicking play in the fourth quarter. 7 p.m.
Class 2A
Big Horn at Newcastle: Big Horn is trying to build momentum for the playoffs. Newcastle is trying to avoid its eighth consecutive loss. Nod goes to the playoff-bound team. 7 p.m.
Greybull at Lyman: Greybull’s seed is assured — the Buffs will be the No. 2 seed out of the West — so this could be a trap game. Don’t count on it, though. 3 p.m.
Moorcroft at Glenrock: Three words: Herd. At. Home. Glenrock just keeps building momentum and victories on the way to the playoffs. 7 p.m.
Mountain View at Kemmerer: On the other side of the state, Kemmerer already has the West Conference championship in the bag, but the Rangers don’t want to do anything to slow that momentum. 3:30 p.m.
Thermopolis at Tongue River: On the verge of hosting their first playoff game in five years, the Bobcats don’t have it easy this week against the improved Eagles. 2 p.m.
Wyoming Indian at Pinedale: Hey, the Chiefs beat Mountain View for the first time in school history last week. How about two in a row? Wyoming Indian is 0-3 against Pinedale all-time… Look for that streak to end, too. 7 p.m.
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Cokeville: I’ve been thinking about this, and I don’t think it’s fair to call it the Panther Express anymore. It’s more the Panther Derailment Crew — they derail anyone in their path. This week, it’s Burlington that gets tossed in the ditch. 1 p.m.
Lingle at Southeast: The Cyclones might keep it close. But the way things have gone for the Doggers this fall, any final score within two touchdowns can be considered a success. 7:30 p.m.
Saratoga at Rocky Mountain: Not an easy a pick as you might think. Saratoga has been playing really, really well the last few weeks and has the ability to beat the Grizzlies… but, in Byron, I’ll take the brown and gold in a close one. 7 p.m.
Upton at Lusk: Think that double-OT loss to Pine Bluffs in Week 5 wasn’t a wake-up call for the Tigers? Last two weeks, Lusk 91, opponents 6. 7:30 p.m.
Class 1A 6-man
Meeteetse at Snake River: The stakes are high for this one — a home playoff game is a big deal. And for the Rattlers, who have never hosted a playoff game, it’s immense enough to inspire their best effort of the season. 3 p.m.

Saturday
Class 2A
Lovell at Big Piney: The winner goes to Thermopolis for the first round of the playoffs; the loser goes to Glenrock. Either way, it’s a tough draw. And this week is no cakewalk for either squad, either… Great Week 8 game, the type that prepares both teams for the intensity of the playoffs. For what it’s worth, I coin-flipped this one. 1 p.m.
Class 1A 6-man
Kaycee at Guernsey: The last thing the Vikings want to do is slow down all the momentum they’ve built up this season. 3 p.m.
Midwest at Ten Sleep: The Oilers and the Pioneers will be on the same side of the playoff bracket, so we may see this game as a rematch in two weeks — that is, if both teams can win in the first round. 1 p.m.

Week 8 open date: Farson.

What do you see coming next week in the playoffs? Or, if you’re the type that doesn’t like to look ahead as much, what Week 8 action strikes you as noteworthy? Post a comment below.

–patrick