School: Lingle
Nickname: Doggers
Colors: red and blue
Stadium: Kirk Field
State championship: 1990
Times worth remembering: From 1954-59, the Doggers never had more than one loss in a season (according to my current research). In that span, the Doggers went a combined 32-4-2, with a 4-0 season in 1954 and a 6-0 season in 1956.
Times worth forgetting: The relief of 9-man football must have felt amazing in 1990 to the Doggers, who suffered through a tough stretch of seasons in the late 1980s. From 1985-89, the Doggers were 6-34, including winless seasons in 1985 and 1988 (both 0-8). Then, in the first year of 9-man in 1990, the Doggers went 10-0 and won a state title.
Best team: The Lingle team of 1969 went 9-0-1 and had perhaps the school’s best defensive team. The Doggers only gave up 43 points that season and only 13 in their final seven games. The lone smudge was a 6-6 tie with Glenrock, which went 7-1-1 in 1969. The Doggers finished second in the Class B-C UPI voting at the end of the season, just seven points behind 8-0 Cokeville for the mythical state championship.
Biggest win: It’s hard to pick against the school’s only state championship game victory, 1990’s 35-20 win over Dubois in the 9-man championship. The Doggers polished off an impressive season by winning both playoff games, a 14-8 thriller on the road against Meeteetse and the title game win in front of the home fans to cap thee undefeated season. Not bad for a team that was 1-7 the previous year.
Heartbreaker: In 1981, the Doggers put one of their most talented teams on the field. That season, Lingle went 7-1, outscoring its foes 295-58. But that one loss, a grueling 14-6 loss to Lusk at midseason, kept the Doggers from making the playoffs. Lusk went on to win the state championship. On the final all-state team, the Doggers’ four first-team choices were eclipsed only by Lusk’s five.