The most overlooked game of Week 2 — heck, maybe the most overlooked game of the season — will probably be played Friday night in Pavillion.
Logically, the game between Wind River and Wyoming Indian won’t, and shouldn’t, get a lot of statewide attention. After all, no other Wyoming teams lost their Week 1 games by as many points as the Chiefs and Cougars did.
Wyoming Indian lost its season opener to Moorcroft 61-0. Wind River lost its season opener to Upton-Sundance 67-0.
On Friday, they play each other.
The statistical anomaly initially attracted me — the teams with the two biggest losses in the state playing each other seven days later doesn’t happen often. But thinking about this game got me thinking about the feeling that exists on the losing side of a blowout, especially in a season opener.
Week 1 is the litmus test for nine months’ worth of offseason preparation. When all that effort and time results in a huge shutout loss, it can’t help but sting.
The Cougars will host the game, trying to rebound from statistically the worst loss in program history. Entering the season, Wind River had never lost a game by more than 56 points; they lost in Week 1 by 67. How much does that hurt? Consider this: The Cougars spent all offseason preparing, knowing that the Upton-Sundance game would be their gauge for 2015. First-year coach Mykah Trujillo brought enthusiasm and energy to the program. Then came three weeks of preseason practice. All that mental and physical effort, and… 67-0. Oof.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, still fight hard. But they’ve lost 13 in a row dating back to September 2013, when the program was in its lone year of six-man play. The Chiefs haven’t won an 11-man game since 2011, when they beat… Wind River. In fact, that game is WIHS’s only 11-man victory in the 2010s. The reasons for Wyoming Indian’s football struggles are complex. That doesn’t mean the losing hurts any less for the guys in the Chiefs’ locker room.
When big victories seem out of reach, little ones become so much more important. Those little victories don’t happen on the scoreboard in a game that finishes 61-0 or 67-0. They manifest themselves as trust, as confidence; they show in effort, in improvement. In the best cases, the young men who play become better men, both mentally and physically, even if the Ws aren’t as consistent as they would like them to be.
Week 2 gives both teams a chance to overcome that sting, if even for an evening, or a moment. That evening and those moments won’t mean much around the state, but for the players in those helmets, and their coaches and parents and families, this evening and those moments have the potential to last a lifetime.
That is why the game between Wind River and Wyoming Indian deserves your attention.
That is why the game of football deserves your attention.
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Some other things I’m keeping an eye on in Week 2:
Kaycee and Guernsey playing this early in the season just doesn’t feel right. This game will go a long way in deciding the 1A six-man East Conference title, and that feels more like a Week 8 responsibility than a Week 2 responsibility. …
I’m really curious to see how Star Valley and Riverton stack up against each other. They both had impressive Week 1 victories, so this game should be good for both squads to improve and gauge their potential at a 3A title run. …
Upton-Sundance at Lusk could be spectacular, maybe the best game of the week. Both teams are coming off massive victories and want to stake their claim as contenders early. …
I’m curious to see how both Greybull and Riverside respond to taking Week 1 off. Greybull draws defending 2A champ Mountain View, while Riverside gets regional rival Burlington. First-game jitters? …
Don’t forget about NSI, either, which plays its first game against Rock River after taking Week 1 off. …
Kelly Walsh had to play my top two 4A teams (Sheridan and Gillette) the first two weeks of the season. I’m interested to see what happens when the Trojans play Rock Springs — which got a big W last week against Laramie — to see if the brutal start to the season was a blessing in disguise or a suicide mission. …
Since 1991, Pinedale has gone 2-0 to start a season just once (2002). A victory against Kemmerer would make the Wranglers 2-0 to start 2015. …
Moorcroft plays its first home night game with a 7 p.m. kickoff against Tongue River. And, of course, Tongue River played its first home night game last week. …
Snake River-Meeteetse is huge. Huuuuuge. Just like Kaycee-Guernsey in the East, this game will likely affect who finishes atop the 1A six-man West.
On to this week’s picks, where the team I think will win is in bold type. A bold font only makes sense for some bold picks:
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne East
Gillette at Cheyenne Central
Natrona at Laramie
Rock Springs at Kelly Walsh
Sheridan at Evanston
Class 3A
Buffalo at Powell
Cody at Douglas
Green River at Rawlins
Jackson at Lander
Star Valley at Riverton
Torrington at Worland
Class 2A
Big Horn at Lyman
Big Piney at Lovell
Burns at Newcastle
Mountain View at Greybull
Pinedale at Kemmerer
Wheatland at Thermopolis
Wright at Glenrock
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Riverside
Cokeville at Saratoga
Lingle at Pine Bluffs
Shoshoni at Rocky Mountain
Tongue River at Moorcroft
Upton-Sundance at Lusk
Wyoming Indian at Wind River
Class 1A six-man
Kaycee at Guernsey-Sunrise
NSI at Rock River
St. Stephens at Dubois
Snake River at Meeteetse
Interclass
Farson at Evanston JV
Interstate
Bayard, Neb., at Southeast
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Hanna vs. Hulett (at Midwest)
Midwest at Ten Sleep
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The resident brosephs, Tad and Homer, have their picks this week too:
Tad: Gillette over Cheyenne Central; Natrona over Laramie; Big Horn over Lyman; Newcastle over Burns; Mountain View over Greybull; Normative Services over Rock River; Bayard, Neb., over Southeast.
Homer: Cheyenne Central over Gillette; Laramie over Natrona; Lyman over Big Horn; Burns over Newcastle; Greybull over Mountain View; Rock River over Normative Services; Southeast over Bayard, Neb.
Both: Cheyenne East over Cheyenne South; Kelly Walsh over Rock Springs; Sheridan over Evanston; Powell over Buffalo; Douglas over Cody; Rawlins over Green River; Lander over Jackson; Riverton over Star Valley; Worland over Torrington; Lovell over Big Piney; Pinedale over Kemmerer; Wheatland over Thermopolis; Glenrock over Wright; Riverside over Burlington; Cokeville over Saratoga; Lingle over Pine Bluffs; Rocky Mountain over Shoshoni; Tongue River over Moorcroft; Lusk over Upton-Sundance; Wind River over Wyoming Indian; Hulett over Hanna; Guernsey-Sunrise over Kaycee; Ten Sleep over Midwest; Dubois over St. Stephens; Snake River over Meeteetse; Farson over Evanston JV.
The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne East (East 4-0 overall, East 2-0 at this location)
Gillette at Cheyenne Central (Gillette 26-24 overall, Central 17-8 at this location)
Natrona at Laramie (Natrona 48-34-1 overall, tie 18-18-1 at this location)
Rock Springs at Kelly Walsh (Kelly Walsh 15-10 overall, Kelly Walsh 7-4 at this location)
Sheridan at Evanston (Sheridan 13-2 overall, Sheridan 7-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Buffalo at Powell (Powell 20-18 overall, Powell 10-7 at this location)
Cody at Douglas (Douglas 6-1 overall, Douglas 3-0 at this location)
Green River at Rawlins (Rawlins 22-18-7 overall, Rawlins 12-9-2 at this location)
Jackson at Lander (Lander 22-13 overall, Lander 13-5 at this location)
Star Valley at Riverton (Riverton 10-4 overall, Riverton 5-0 at this location)
Torrington at Worland (Worland 8-5 overall, Worland 4-2 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Horn at Lyman (Big Horn 2-1 overall, Lyman 1-0 at this location)
Big Piney at Lovell (Lovell 8-4 overall, Lovell 5-1 at this location)
Burns at Newcastle (Newcastle 4-2 overall, Burns 2-1 at this location)
Mountain View at Greybull (Mountain View 6-3 overall, Greybull 2-1 at this location)
Pinedale at Kemmerer (Kemmerer 23-8 overall, Kemmerer 13-2 at this location)
Wheatland at Thermopolis (Wheatland 5-1 overall, Wheatland 2-1 at this location)
Wright at Glenrock (Glenrock 17-3 overall, Glenrock 8-2 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Burlington at Riverside (Riverside 14-11 overall, Riverside 6-5 at this location)
Cokeville at Saratoga (Cokeville 22-5 overall, Cokeville 10-2 at this location)
Lingle at Pine Bluffs (Lingle 39-22-2 overall, Lingle 19-9-1 at this location)
Shoshoni at Rocky Mountain (Rocky Mountain 12-8 overall, Rocky Mountain 6-3 at this location)
Tongue River at Moorcroft (Tongue River 31-21 overall, Tongue River 13-11 at this location)
Upton-Sundance at Lusk (Lusk 4-0 overall, Lusk 2-0 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Wind River (Wind River 24-6 overall, Wind River 12-2 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Hanna at Hulett (Hulett 6-3 overall, game will be at neutral location but Homer will go with the team listed as the official home team, in this case Hulett)
Kaycee at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 4-1 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 1-0 at this location)
Midwest at Ten Sleep (Ten Sleep 10-7 overall, Ten Sleep 6-2 at this location)
NSI at Rock River (NSI 1-0 overall, first at this location)
St. Stephens at Dubois (Dubois 2-0 overall, Dubois 1-0 at this location)
Snake River at Meeteetse (Snake River 6-1 overall, Snake River 2-0 at this location)
Interstate
Bayard, Neb., at Southeast (Bay 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Weekly reminder: Tad picks the series leader; Homer picks the location leader; when a series is tied, both Tad and Homer pick the home team. New rule this week: They always pick the varsity team when it plays a sub-varsity team.
Last week’s records: Patrick, 27-5 (84 percent); Tad, 24-8 (75 percent); Homer, 18-14 (56 percent).
Season records: Patrick, 34-8 (81 percent); Tad, 30-12 (71 percent); Homer, 24-18 (57 percent).
What game in Week 2 is on the top of your list? Any potential upsets coming this week? Post your thoughts via a comment and we can chat! It’s the magic of the internet!
–patrick