Five Minute Introduction: Cheyenne Central

School: Cheyenne Central
Nickname: Indians
Colors: red and black
Stadium: Riske Field
State championships: 1977, 1979, 1983, 1988, 1989 and 2005
Times worth remembering: For six years, from 1976-81, the Indians compiled a record of 51-5, and finished as undefeated state champions in both 1977 and 1979. Unfortunately for Central, three of those five losses came in one-loss seasons, and all three losses kept the Indians from competing in the state championship game.
Times worth forgetting: The 1990s weren’t kind to Central. For seven straight years that decade, from 1991-97, the Indians didn’t have a winning season. The team bottomed out in 1994 with an 0-7 season.
Best team: It’s a toss-up between the 1979 and 1989 seasons. The 1979 squad went 10-0 and won eight of its games by at least 28 points, including a 51-12 demolishing of Riverton in the Class AA championship. The 1989 team also went 10-0 on the way to the state championship, winning its two playoff games by a combined 62-0.
Biggest win: The 2005 Central team was an extremely average regular-season team. The Indians went 4-4 in the regular season and seemed destined for an early exit in the playoffs. But the Indians had other plans. They edged out Laramie in the first round of the playoffs, then beat favored Natrona in overtime in the semis. And then, in the championship game against crosstown rival Cheyenne East — a team that beat Central 31-7 in the regular season — the Indians completed their destiny with a 27-14 victory in front of close to 10,000 Capital City fans.
Heartbreaker: In 1990, the Indians were cruising toward their third consecutive state championship and cementing their status as a dynasty. But Sheridan was on its way to a dynasty of its own — and its first victim was Central in the 1990 Class 4A title game. Even though Central beat Sheridan 28-20 earlier in the year in Sheridan, the Broncs reversed the trend and beat the Indians 35-30 in the championship in Cheyenne. Sheridan went on to win four consecutive state championships and five in six years; Central needed until 2005 to win another title.