When Lyman faced Thermopolis in a Class 2A West Conference game last year, the game was about more than just the Eagles vs. the Bobcats — it was about brother vs. brother.
Lyman coach Dale Anderson and Thermopolis coach Rob Anderson are brothers, and they faced each other as opposing head coaches for the first time in Wyoming last year.
But this wasn’t the first time coaches with the same last name have faced each other. In fact, it wasn’t even the first time that brothers had met as opposing coaches.
In fact, at least four sets of brothers — the Fullmers (Jerry and Bill), the Sollars (J.C. and Bill), the Engstroms (John and Bill) and the Bashes (Howard and Homer) — have faced off as head coaches of opposing Wyoming high school teams. In addition, at least two father-son combos — the Detis (John E. and John R.) and the Miriches (Carl and George) — have met as opposing head coaches.
Of these, the Fullmers — who met 11 times, every year between 1994 and 2004 while Jerry was at Lusk and Bill was at Burns — have the longest on-field rivalry. The Miriches met nine times between 1994 and 2002 when father Carl was at Moorcroft and son George was at Upton. The Detis played each other three times from 1966-68 while son John R. coached in Sheridan and father John E. was at Laramie, while the Sollars brothers (Bill at Shoshoni and J.C. at Morton) faced off three times as well. The Engstroms and Bashes met once each.
In addition to the Andersons, the other current last-name rivalry is between Star Valley’s Chris Howell and Jackson’s James Howell. However, they’re not related.
Below, I’ve listed every time (to my knowledge) that coaches with the same last name have faced each other in a game as opposition. Outside of the ones listed above, I’m not sure of any relationships, either of their existence or non-existence. If you know, let me know and please leave a comment below!
Dennis Adams (Kemmerer) vs. Shaun Adams (Saratoga), 1991 (relationship unknown)
Dale Anderson (Lyman) vs. Rob Anderson (Thermopolis), 2013 (brothers)
Harold Bailey (Shoshoni) vs. Stephen Bailey (Meeteetse), 1996 (relationship unknown)
Homer Bash (Lingle) vs. Howard Bash (Torrington), 1934 (brothers)
Joe Bush (Thermopolis) vs. W.D. Bush (Lander), 1929 (relationship unknown)
John E. Deti (Laramie) vs. John R. Deti (Sheridan), 1966-68 (father-son)
Bill Engstrom (Superior) vs. John Engstrom (Rawlins), 1937 (brothers)
Bill Fullmer (Burns) vs. Jerry Fullmer (Lusk), 1994-2004 (brothers)
Chris Howell (Star Valley) vs. James Howell (Jackson), 2010-13 (not related)
Daryl Johnson (Sundance) vs. Walter Johnson (Moorcroft), 1965-66 (relationship unknown)
Carl Mirich (Moorcroft) vs. George Mirich (Upton), 1994-2002 (father-son)
Bill Sollars (Shoshoni) vs. J.C. Sollars (Morton), 1960-62 (brothers)
Cliff Wilson (Kemmerer) vs. Jesse Wilson (Star Valley), 1935 (relationship unknown)
–patrick
It was always kind of fun to play and coach against my Uncle Jerry also. We didn’t come out on the good end of some of those games but still fun. I know both my dad and my uncle didn’t want to lose to other! It was always a battle.
Jeff