We don’t get to see this often.
The preseason No. 1 and the preseason No. 2 don’t usually play each other in Week 1 of the regular season.
Yet that is exactly what has happened in Class 3A this year, where preseason No. 1 Powell travels south and east to play preseason No. 2 Douglas.
This is only the teams’ fourth regular-season meeting. They met in the 1983 and 1984 season openers, as well as the 2001 opener in the first year of WHSAA scheduling. Those three games were all kind of boring, and certainly gave no indication of the rivalry to come.
Since the slow start, we’ve had the meetings that, for the most part, have defined the Class 4A/3A landscape for almost a decade: the 2006 title game, the 2008 semifinals, the 2011 title game and the 2013 title game.
The past three meetings, in particular, have given shape and character not only to a rivalry, but to an entire classification of football in Wyoming. And they’ve all been decided at the goal line.
In 2008, the Bearcats earned a trip to the state title game (eventually their first of three straight championships) after Cody Bohlander scored on a two-point conversion in the second overtime. In 2011, Olie Olson intercepted Douglas’ two-point conversion attempt in the final minute to preserve a 15-14 victory. In 2013, the Panthers stuffed Douglas’ QB sneak attempt in overtime, then converted their own as Hayden Cragoe snuck over to help Powell win 19-13 in OT.
This week’s game will add another layer to a growing rivalry. The only remaining question is if Friday’s game will follow the template of the teams’ past playoff games or the teams’ past regular-season meetings.
Based on preseason expectations, I’d guess the former. So you’d better get your popcorn ready.
Other things I’m keeping an eye on this week:
Big Horn and Lovell have met in a couple epic semifinal games the past couple years. I really like the fact that they’re playing each other in Week 1. This is the first time the two schools have played each other in the regular season. … Shoshoni and Big Piney are also playing each other for the first time in the regular season, while the Upton/Sundance-Wind River and Moorcroft-Wyoming Indian games represent the first games ever between those programs. … The return of the Burns-Pine Bluffs rivalry is also nice to see. They’re facing off for the first time since 2008. … The best game of the week might be between Mountain View and Cokeville. The Buffalos beat the Panthers 27-21 last year, and both teams might be even better this year. … Think back to, oh, 2008. Back then, the sentence “St. Stephens will open its season by hosting Rock River” was the realm of high school football fanfic. Now it’s reality. It may not be the best game of the week, but it’s Rock River’s first varsity game and the opener to St. Stephens’ second season since its return to football last year. To the folks in those communities, this game means a bunch.
On to this week’s picks. As always, projected winners are in bold:
Thursday
Interclass
Gillette JV at Newcastle
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne Central
Gillette at Evanston
Natrona at Cheyenne East
Rock Springs at Laramie
Sheridan at Kelly Walsh
Class 3A
Buffalo at Cody
Green River at Riverton
Lander at Worland
Powell at Douglas
Class 2A
Big Horn at Lovell
Thermopolis at Pinedale
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Lusk
Lingle at Saratoga
Tongue River at Rocky Mountain
Upton-Sundance at Wind River
Wyoming Indian at Moorcroft
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Snake River
Rock River at St. Stephens
Interclass
Burns at Pine Bluffs
Cokeville at Mountain View
Greybull at Riverside
Kemmerer at Rawlins
Shoshoni at Big Piney
Torrington at Glenrock
Wright at Southeast
Interstate
Jackson at North Fremont, Idaho
Preston, Idaho, at Star Valley
Saturday
Class 2A
Wheatland at Lyman
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Guernsey-Sunrise
Kaycee at Ten Sleep
Meeteetse at Hulett
Midwest at Farson
Open: NSI.
Last week: 9-5 (64 percent). This season: 9-5 (64 percent).
I had trouble picking several games this week — Lander-Worland, Powell-Douglas, Rock River-St. Stephens, Burns-Pine Bluffs, Wheatland-Lyman and Midwest-Farson were the ones that basically turned into coin flips for me. How about you? What games do you see as the big ones in Week 1? Which team is poised to make the biggest statement this week? Or pull the biggest surprise? Leave a comment and let’s chat.
–patrick