Week 4 picks: How Meeteetse became Farson’s measuring stick

The process of building a football program in Farson took time.

The Pronghorns’ program resurfaced for the first time in two decades in 2009 with the introduction of six-man football. Farson struggled its first four years; from 2009-12, the Pronghorns won just three games.

Farson’s first big breakthrough didn’t come until its third season, when the Pronghorns beat Meeteetse in the season opener for their first victory against another six-man varsity opponent.

Two years later, Farson started to find itself, winning three games and picking up a fourth victory by forfeit. And then in 2014, Farson had its best season yet, finishing 6-3 — its first winning record since coming back.

The 2015 season might be Farson’s best yet.

Farson is 3-0 for just the second time in school history. They’ve won games by 14, 33 and 68 points. They tied a school record last week with 70 points in a victory against Dubois.

The success, though, is balanced out by trepidation.

Farson won its first three games last year, too. Everything was going well. And then Meeteetse got in the way.

Remember that game? Folks in Farson — and Meeteetse — sure do. Meeteetse led 30-0 in the second quarter and 46-13 at halftime. Then Farson rallied. And rallied. And rallied. And lost, 62-61. (Video of that game is below, as produced by Wyopreps.)

The loss ended up costing Farson a shot at home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Pronghorns eventually fell to the Class 1A six-man West Conference’s No. 4 seed and had to travel across the state to play undefeated — and eventual state champion — Guernsey in the first round. The Pronghorns got thumped.

Meeteetse, meanwhile, finished as the conference’s No. 3 seed and drew a road date with Kaycee, a game the Longhorns won with surprising ease.

While the 2011 game may have shown Farson its worst days were behind it, the 2014 game against Meeteetse taught Farson it still had work to do.

Meeteetse has unintentionally become Farson’s measuring stick.

This year’s game, with both Farson and Meeteetse coming in undefeated, could loom even larger, especially as a gauge for Farson. Farson and Meeteetse are the only two teams remaining in the West Conference without a conference loss. And while Farson might be proud of its school-record 70 from last week, Meeteetse has been putting up points like crazy, scoring 81, 81 and 73 in three outings so far. This game — as it was last year — will be crucial in deciding the conference champion and the home-field playoff advantage that brings with it.

When the Pronghorns and Longhorns meet Friday night in Meeteetse, the final score will represent more than just who won and who lost. It will also measure how far a slowly building upstart program has come in seven years.

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Other games that I’m keeping my eye on, because Week 4 is bae:

Glenrock’s victory against Big Horn turned conventional wisdom about the 2A East on its head. The Herders’ game against Wheatland has a new dimension to it now, doesn’t it? The Herders have home-field advantage; the Bulldogs have a target. …

I’m curious to see how Burlington does after two weeks of forfeit losses. …

Apologies to Star Valley-Cody, but Rawlins-Buffalo might be the most intriguing 3A game this week. Buffalo appears to be much better than I originally thought. And Rawlins has had back-to-back tough losses. In a 3A East that looks as wide open as it’s been in years, this game is critical. …

And, yes, Star Valley-Cody. The Braves have been one of 3A’s most improved teams thus far, but defending champ Cody will present a stout challenge, especially in Cody. This one might be for a home playoff game when it’s all said and done.

With the news breaking last week about Lingle’s petition to move to six-man in 2016 and 2017, this week’s rivalry game between the Doggers and Southeast takes on special significance. This might be the last time these two squads meet, at least for the foreseeable future. …

The 2A West has a huge make-or-break this week with Lyman playing at Pinedale and Mountain View traveling to Lovell. All four teams have shown flashes of potential, but all four have also shown they have weak spots. This might be the week we see a couple of these teams patch up those weak spots and stay in the race for a home playoff game. …

Here, finally, are the picks for the week, with projected winners in the non-narrow typeface:

Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh
Cheyenne South at Gillette
Laramie at Cheyenne Central
Natrona at Evanston
Rock Springs at Sheridan
Class 3A
Green River at Powell
Lander at Douglas
Rawlins at Buffalo
Riverton at Torrington
Star Valley at Cody
Worland at Jackson
Class 2A
Big Piney at Kemmerer
Greybull at Newcastle
Lyman at Pinedale
Mountain View at Lovell
Thermopolis at Burns
Wheatland at Glenrock
Wright at Big Horn
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Upton-Sundance
Rocky Mountain at Cokeville
Shoshoni at Saratoga
Southeast at Lingle
Tongue River at Lusk
Wind River at Burlington
Wyoming Indian at Riverside
Class 1A six-man
Farson at Meeteetse
Kaycee at Midwest
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise
Rock River at Hanna
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hulett
Ten Sleep at Snake River
Open: Pine Bluffs, St. Stephens.

For a full schedule including start times, click here.

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In making their picks this week, Tad and Homer actually came to a lot of agreement. They only disagree on four games. How cute!

The picks
Tad: Kelly Walsh over Cheyenne East; Worland over Jackson; Wheatland over Glenrock; Wind River over Burlington.
Homer: Cheyenne East over Kelly Walsh; Jackson over Worland; Glenrock over Wheatland; Burlington over Wind River.
Both: Gillette over Cheyenne South; Cheyenne Central over Laramie; Natrona over Evanston; Sheridan over Rock Springs; Powell over Green River; Douglas over Lander; Buffalo over Rawlins; Riverton over Torrington; Star Valley over Cody; Kemmerer over Big Piney; Newcastle over Greybull; Pinedale over Lyman; Mountain View over Lovell; Thermopolis over Burns; Big Horn over Wright; Upton-Sundance over Moorcroft; Cokeville over Rocky Mountain; Saratoga over Shoshoni; Southeast over Lingle; Lusk over Tongue River; Riverside over Wyoming Indian; Dubois over Hulett; Meeteetse over Farson; Midwest over Kaycee; Guernsey-Sunrise over Normative Services; Hanna over Rock River; Snake River over Ten Sleep.

The records
Class 4A
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh (tie 24-24 overall, East 12-10 at this location)
Cheyenne South at Gillette (Gillette 4-0 overall, Gillette 2-0 at this location)
Laramie at Cheyenne Central (Central 66-58-6 overall, Central 41-20-2 at this location)
Natrona at Evanston (Natrona 14-4 overall, Natrona 6-1 at this location)
Rock Springs at Sheridan (Sheridan 17-4-2 overall, Sheridan 10-2-1 at this location)
Class 3A
Green River at Powell (Powell 10-5 overall, Powell 5-2 at this location)
Lander at Douglas (Douglas 9-6 overall, Douglas 5-4 at this location)
Rawlins at Buffalo (Buffalo 18-3-1 overall, Buffalo 10-1 at this location)
Riverton at Torrington (Riverton 11-6 overall, Riverton 4-3 at this location)
Star Valley at Cody (Star Valley 18-9 overall, Star Valley 10-3 at this location)
Worland at Jackson (Worland 19-13 overall, Jackson 8-5 at this location)
Class 2A
Big Piney at Kemmerer (Kemmerer 23-19-1 overall, Kemmerer 14-7 at this location)
Greybull at Newcastle (Newcastle 5-2 overall, Newcastle 2-1 at this location)
Lyman at Pinedale (Pinedale 38-32 overall, Pinedale 21-16 at this location)
Mountain View at Lovell (Mountain View 9-6 overall, Mountain View 3-2 at this location)
Thermopolis at Burns (Thermopolis 4-0 overall, Thermopolis 2-0 at this location)
Wheatland at Glenrock (Wheatland 14-13 overall, Glenrock 8-6 at this location)
Wright at Big Horn (Big Horn 11-4 overall, Big Horn 4-2 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Moorcroft at Upton-Sundance (tie 1-1 overall, Upton-Sundance 1-0 at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Cokeville (Cokeville 10-0 overall, Cokeville 5-0 at this location)
Shoshoni at Saratoga (Saratoga 8-6 overall, Saratoga 5-2 at this location)
Southeast at Lingle (Southeast 25-11 overall, Southeast 14-4 at this location)
Tongue River at Lusk (Lusk 5-2 overall, Lusk 3-0 at this location)
Wind River at Burlington (Wind River 11-8 overall, Burlington 4-3 at this location)
Wyoming Indian at Riverside (Riverside 11-1 overall, Riverside 4-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Hulett (Dubois 5-2 overall, Dubois 3-0 at this location)
Farson at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 6-1 overall, Meeteetse 3-0 at this location)
Kaycee at Midwest (Midwest 5-4 overall, Midwest 3-2 at this location)
NSI at Guernsey-Sunrise (Guernsey-Sunrise 6-0 overall, Guernsey-Sunrise 5-0 at this location)
Rock River at Hanna (Hanna 1-0 overall, first at this location)
Ten Sleep at Snake River (Snake River 5-1 overall, Snake River 2-0 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.

Last week’s records: Patrick, 26-6 (81 percent); Tad, 20-12 (63 percent); Homer, 14-18 (44 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 85-21 (80 percent); Tad, 69-39 (64 percent); Homer, 54-52 (51 percent).

Like I said, Week 4 is bae. I had trouble making about a dozen picks this week. The schedule is full of what should be some great, close, competitive games. Which one stands out to you? Where did I go wrong with my picks? Post your thoughts and let’s talk Week 4!

–patrick