Wyoming’s biggest single-season turnarounds

The only perfect season in Guernsey Longhorn history had its roots in the most unexpected of places — a winless season.

From 0-7 in 1950 to 7-0 in 1951, the Guernsey squad had the most fantastic one-season turnaround any Wyoming high school football team has ever experienced.

Although the 1951 season was cut short — Guernsey was hit hard by polio, and one of the Longhorn players, Floyd Stellpflug, died the week before Guernsey was scheduled to play Huntley for the Southeast Conference’s six-man championship.

Guernsey also canceled its final scheduled game of the season against Lyman, Neb., but nevertheless finished unbeaten. The Longhorns beat Sunrise and Glenrock twice each and also beat Lingle, Albin and Manville that year; close scares against Manville (20-16) and Sunrise (25-24) nearly derailed perfection.

Guernsey’s feat has never been duplicated, although several schools have come close. In all, 28 Wyoming high school football teams have seen their winning percentages jump by at least .750 from one season to the next; 32 schools have had fall-offs of .750 or more.

And while no school has ever fallen from unbeaten and untied to winless and untied, only the Guernsey Longhorns jumped from a winless, tie-less season to an unbeaten, untied season.

(For full disclosure — Guernsey has one missing game in 1950, an Oct. 13 date with Glenrock. However, Glenrock beat Guernsey 34-6 on Sept. 15 of that season.)

Three programs, meanwhile, went the opposite direction just as fast. Those three programs went from a zero in the loss column one year to a zero in the win column the next year — Cokeville went from 9-0-1 in 1974 to 0-8 in 1975 (a .950 winning percentage decrease), Mountain View went from 7-0-1 in 1971 to 0-9 in 1972 (a .938 decrease) and Lander went from 7-0 in 1927 to 0-5-1 in 1928 (a .917 decrease). Two other programs had decreases of .900 or more in their winning percentage from one year to the next; however, Guernsey is the only program to see its winning percentage jump by more than .900 from one season to the next.

Some schools made both lists thanks to one wild swing. Cokeville had a quick bottoming out in 1975; the Panthers went from 9-0-1 in 1974 to 0-8 to 1975 back up to 6-2 in 1976. (Cokeville’s fall from 1974 to 1975 is statistically the most dramatic in state history, as lined out above.) Two other schools had astronomic rises followed by dramatic tumbles: Guernsey-Sunrise went from 2-6 in 2008 to 9-0 in 2009 back down to 1-8 in 2010, while Lander went from 2-6 in 1926 to 7-0 in 1927 back down to 0-5-1 in 1928.

Below are the schools that have either improved or fallen back by at least .750 in their winning percentage in consecutive years, with the most dramatic turnarounds listed first (minimum four games in each season):

Improvement

Guernsey, 1950-51, from 0-7 to 7-0 (1.00 improvement)

Lingle, 1989-90, from 1-7 to 10-0 (.875 improvement) (Lingle’s sudden fortune was precipitated by a move from 11-man to 9-man; Lingle returned to 11-man in 1991 and went 5-3, reaching the state semifinals)

Lusk, 1990-91, from 1-7 to 7-0 (.875 improvement) (Lusk was ineligible for the 1991 playoffs)

Big Horn, 1939-40, from 0-4 to 6-1 (.857 improvement) (1939 was Big Horn’s first season)

Powell, 1942-43, from 1-6 to 9-0 (.857 improvement)

Cowley, 1939-40, from 0-7 to 5-1 (.833 improvement)

Sunrise, 1937-38, from 0-6 to 5-1 (.833 improvement)

Sunrise, 1945-46, from 0-4 to 5-1 (.833 improvement)

Gillette, 1921-22, from 0-4 to 4-1 (.800 improvement) (1921 was Gillette’s first season)

Greybull, 1982-83, from 0-8 to 8-2 (.800 improvement) (this improvement coincided with Greybull’s move from Class A to Class B)

Hulett, 1956-57, from 0-5 to 4-1 (.800 improvement)

Superior, 1949-50, from 0-7 to 8-2 (.800 improvement)

Greybull, 1923-24, from 0-7 to 5-1-1 (.786 improvement)

St. Mary’s, 1971-72, from 2-7 to 10-0 (.778 improvement) (this improvement coincided with St. Mary’s’ move from Class A to Class B)

Meeteetse, 1986-87, from 0-7 to 7-2 (.778 improvement)

Moorcroft, 1958-59, from 0-4 to 7-2 (.778 improvement)

Newcastle, 1939-40, from 2-7 to 8-0 (.778 improvement)

Burns, 1988-89, from 1-7 to 9-1 (.775 improvement)

Lander, 1971-72, from 1-7 to 8-1 (.763 improvement)

Tongue River, 1961-62, from 0-4-1 to 6-1 (.757 improvement)

Cokeville, 1975-76, from 0-8 to 6-2 (.750 improvement)

Dubois, 1983-84, from 1-7 to 7-1 (.750 improvement)

Guernsey-Sunrise, 2008-09, from 2-6 to 9-0 (.75o improvement) (2009 was Wyoming’s return year to six-man football)

Hulett, 1980-81, from 0-7 to 3-1 (.750 improvement) (Hulett played a sub-varsity schedule in 1981)

Kemmerer, 1923-24, from 1-3 to 5-0 (.750 improvement) (1923 was Kemmerer’s first year)

Lander, 1926-27, from 2-6 to 7-0 (.75o improvement)

Pavillion, 1959-60, from 1-7 to 7-1 (.750 improvement)

Thermopolis, 1989-90, from 2-6 to 11-0 (.75o improvement)

Devolvement

Cokeville, 1974-75, from 9-0-1 to 0-8 (.950 decrease)

Mountain View, 1971-72, from 7-0-1 to 0-9 (.938 decrease)

Lander, 1927-28, from 7-0 to 0-5-1 (.917 decrease)

Midwest, 1991-92, from 10-1 to 0-8 (.909 decrease)

Saratoga, 1982-83, from 9-1 to 0-8 (.900 decrease)

Burns, 1983-84, from 8-1 to 0-7 (.889 decrease)

Byron, 1976-77, from 8-1 to 0-7 (.889 decrease)

St. Mary’s, 1946-47, from 4-0 to 1-8 (.889 decrease)

Guernsey-Sunrise, 2009-10, from 9-0 to 1-8 (.889 decrease)

Kemmerer, 1932-33, from 8-1 to 0-9 (.889 decrease)

Rawlins, 1999-2000, from 9-0 to 1-8 (.889 decrease)

Deaver-Frannie, 1971-72, from 9-0 to 1-7 (.875 decrease)

Meeteetse, 1993-94, from 9-0 to 1-7 (.875 decrease)

Ten Sleep, 1939-40, from 6-1 to 0-6 (.857 decrease)

Basin, 1939-40, from 5-1 to 0-6 (.833 decrease)

Pine Bluffs, 1944-45, from 4-1 to 0-4 (.800 decrease)

Riverton, 2004-05, from 8-2 to 0-8 (.800 decrease)

Sheridan, 1946-47, from 8-0-2 to 1-8 (.789 decrease)

Big Horn, 1968-69, from 7-2 to 0-7 (.778 decrease)

Cokeville, 1969-70, from 8-0 to 2-7 (.778 decrease)

Greybull, 1996-97, from 7-2 to 0-7 (.778 decrease)

Laramie, 1979-80, from 8-1 to 1-8 (.778 decrease)

Natrona, 1985-87, from 10-0 to 2-7 (.778 decrease)

Wheatland, 1966-67, from 8-1 to 1-8 (.778 decrease)

Worland, 1997-98, from 7-2 to 0-8 (.778 decrease)

Greybull, 1977-78, from 8-1 to 1-7 (.764 decrease)

Cody, 1987-88, from 6-2 to 0-8 (.750 decrease)

Hulett, 1961-62, from 7-0 to 2-6 (.750 decrease)

Jackson, 2007-08, from 11-0 to 2-6 (.750 decrease)

Manville, 1947-48, from 6-0 to 1-3 (.750 decrease)

Powell, 1923-24, from 8-0 to 1-4-1 (.750 decrease)

Southeast, 1980-81, from 9-0 to 2-6 (.750 decrease)

–patrick