The second Wyoming Sports Preview Guide magazine is being produced as we speak.
Since starting the project in mid-May, I talked with a coach from all but one team in the state, and in doing so I drew together some interesting tidbits, things I couldn’t highlight as much in the magazine as I would have liked:
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Upton-Sundance will continue its co-op for the 2014 and 2015 football season. The two schools have a four-year co-op agreement in place, after which the two schools will evaluate their prospects. The school also doesn’t have to go through the rigmarole of wondering if they’ll be playoff eligible this year; by virtue of falling under the enrollment ceiling last year, the Patriots are playoff eligible this year, too.
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Glenrock will be without running back Jordan Millay this season. Millay led the Herders in rushing last year and had more than 1,700 rushing yards his first two seasons, but has been forced to give up football due to chronic injuries, coach Ray Kumpula said.
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On the other side of injuries, Lander and Hanna may be the two programs most affected by having returners from injuries. The Tigers will return senior running back Jack Mazurie, who was a big part of the team’s offensive plans a year ago — he led the team in rushing yards as a sophomore in 2011 — but injured his knee in the first game of the season against Cody and never returned. Hanna, meanwhile, gets back senior tight end/linebacker Quade Palm, who injured his shoulder in the opener against Kaycee last year and had to miss both the football and basketball seasons. At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Palm could be a dominating force on a six-man field.
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The biggest Week 3 game may be a six-man game in Fremont County. That week, St. Stephens will host Wyoming Indian in a game that’s big for two reasons — it’s St. Stephens’ first varsity home game since 1965 and it’s the first game of a reservation football rivalry that was born originally on the basketball floor. “Our kids are really looking forward to playing it,” St. Stephens assistant coach Paul Smith said. “We’ve had that date circled on our calendar, well, since we got our calendar, and I know Wyoming Indian has (done) the same thing.”
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Rocky Mountain and Cody landed the two of the biggest in-state transfers since last season. Rocky added former Lovell lineman Jacob Price, who will give immediate girth to an otherwise undersized offensive line. “Jacob will be a big addition,” Rocky coach David Hayes said. “We haven’t had a guy like that in at least three years.”
Cody, meanwhile, added former Torrington lineman Jorden Schulte; he was Torrington’s starting center a year ago.
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Greybull may have the most decorated assistant coach in the state this year. The Buffs will benefit from the presence of Kasey Peters, a former NAIA all-America quarterback at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Mont., who now plays professionally with the Tri-Cities Fever of the Indoor Football League. Peters will coach at Greybull with Justin Bernhardt, who was an assistant coach at RMC before coming to Greybull. Peters has already visited Greybull and made a big impression with the players. “He’s a guy the kids look up to,” Bernhardt said.
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Lyman and Thermopolis will have an added twist in their rivalry this year: new Thermopolis coach Rob Anderson is the brother of Lyman coach Dale Anderson.
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At least two programs — Cheyenne South and Green River — are adding artificial turf to their stadiums this fall. And Southeast may be the next school to put in artificial turf. Coach Mark Bullington said preliminary funding has been set for the Cyclones to upgrade to turf, to be done next summer at the earliest. He said the school has had to redo its grass field numerous times the past decade, and the grass has never taken.
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The second edition of the Wyoming Sports Preview Guide should be out soon. The 2012 edition of the magazine is available online; a link to the 2013 edition will be posted as soon as it’s available.
–patrick
Cokeville should return Jace Petersen the starting quarterback for the 2011 state championship team who was out all of the 2012 season to injury.
Great point! Jace should be a great boost for the Panthers. I mentioned him a bit more in Cokeville’s preview in the mag, but I’m glad you brought him up here.
Patrick