What’s unique about this year’s Wyoming high school football playoff brackets isn’t who’s new. It’s who’s out.

Three schools — Cheyenne Central, Cody and Lusk — broke long strings of playoff qualifications. Central’s out for the first time after 11 consecutive qualifications, while Cody and Lusk are out after nine consecutive years of postseason berths.

And while most of the usual suspects still qualified for the playoffs (Gillette qualified for the 26th year in a row, Natrona the 24th and Cokeville the 23rd), seeing brackets without Central, Cody or Lusk feels a bit weird.

Even so, the loss of some venerable programs doesn’t necessarily mean the brackets had a lot of room for playoff neophytes.

Of the seven qualifiers this year that didn’t qualify last year — Buffalo, Glenrock, Green River, Hulett, NSI, Rock Springs and Southeast — six have reached the playoffs at least once in the past three seasons. Only six-man NSI, who is in the playoffs for the first time in six years, can truly be called a playoff newcomer. The Wolves were the only one of Wyoming’s 11 programs with playoff droughts of four years or longer who broke through to qualify for the postseason in 2015.

The repetition breeds familiarity: Five games (Laramie/Gillette, Douglas/Star Valley, Lyman/Wheatland, Rocky Mountain/Upton-Sundance and Tongue River/Cokeville) are rematches of quarterfinal games from last year.

What is a little bit different about the 20 quarterfinal games is who gets to host them. Seven of the 20 hosts this week are hosting their first playoff games in at least four years.

Torrington will break the longest home postseason drought, as it will host its first playoff game since 1996. Shoshoni will host its first since 2001; Wheatland its first since 2005; Hulett its first since 2008; Buffalo and Greybull their first since 2010; and Glenrock its first since 2011. And Upton-Sundance will host a playoff game for the first time in the co-op’s four-year history.

+++

Coaching milestones

How about this? Cokeville coach Todd Dayton will go for career win No. 300 this week. I outlined Dayton’s storied coaching career prior to this season. …

Also, Gillette coach Vic Wilkerson will go for win No. 100 on Friday. Wilkerson started as the Camels’ head coach in 2004 and enters Friday’s game against Laramie with a career record of 99-32. …

+++

Here’s some picks. Bold teams are the ones I think will one; non-bold ones will just need to be bold in person rather than on this blog:

Class 4A
(8) Laramie at (1) Gillette: The Camels have just been doing Camel-like things all season long. That should keep right on happening. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(5) Rock Springs at (4) Cheyenne East: These two teams met to start the regular season, so it only seems right that they meet to start the postseason, too. The Tigers have to be eager for revenge after falling 13-7 in the season opener. This might be THE best game of the quarterfinals. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals).
(7) Evanston at (2) Sheridan: One: It’s a long ways from Evanston to Sheridan. Two: Sheridan’s really, really good. (First playoff meeting since 2008 quarterfinals.)
(6) Kelly Walsh at (3) Natrona: I’m always weary when rivalry games happen again in the postseason. The emotions stir for a week — and that either leads to amazing results or to fantastic frustration. And remember: This was a 20-14 game in the regular season. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
Class 3A
(4W) Powell at (1E) Torrington: I’ve got no reason to think the Trailblazers won’t keep rolling along. (First playoff meeting since 2013 quarterfinals.)
(3E) Douglas at (2W) Star Valley: The Braves already beat the Bearcats once this year, and it wasn’t pretty. It’ll be closer this time, but still, Star Valley’s the favorite. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4E) Riverton at (1W) Jackson: The Broncs need to be careful. The emotional high of beating Star Valley last week could lead to a lull this week. If that’s there, the Wolverines have the ability to win this one. (First playoff meeting.)
(3W) Green River at (2E) Buffalo: OK, really now, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. I’ll give the Bison the nod, just because they’re at home, but this one should be a great game. (First playoff meeting since 1976 Class A championship game.)
Class 2A
(4W) Lyman at (1E) Wheatland: Bulldogs 47, Eagles 0 in Week 1. Two months probably can’t cover that gap. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(3E) Big Horn at (2W) Greybull: Big Horn just won the biggest game of its season. Greybull just lost its biggest. The emotional reaction to those games more than anything will determine which way this one goes. And it could go to the final seconds. (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(4E) Thermopolis at (1W) Lovell: The Thermopolis we saw last week was the Thermopolis I thought we’d see all season. They will give the Bulldogs some trouble in the opening round… (First playoff meeting since 2010 semifinals.)
(3W) Mountain View at (2E) Glenrock: The Buffalos will be game. But the Herders have the clear advantage in this one. (First playoff meeting since 2006 quarterfinals.)
Class 1A 11-man
(4E) Southeast at (1W) Shoshoni: The Cyclones’ first trip to Fremont County won’t be a fun one; the Wranglers have been a buzzsaw all season, especially on defense. (First playoff meeting since 2012 quarterfinals.)
(3W) Rocky Mountain at (2E) Upton-Sundance: The Grizzlies’ run game has been on fire lately, and that might cause the Patriots some problems. Probably not enough problems, though. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(4W) Riverside at (1E) Lingle: The Rebels are plucky, but they’ve also suffered two consecutive confidence-crushing defeats. Lingle, meanwhile, bounced back big time last week. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(3E) Tongue River at (2W) Cokeville: OK, THIS might be the best matchup of the quarterfinals. The honest truth is that I have no clue who to pick. What I do know, though, is that John Scott is building a program in Dayton that’ll rival any in 1A. This game could prove that to the rest of the state. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
Class 1A six-man
(4W) Dubois at (1E) Kaycee: I think the Buckaroos are just thankful that Guernsey’s on the other side of the bracket — because Kaycee’s been destroying everyone else. (First playoff meeting.)
(3E) NSI at (2W) Snake River: Wait, wait, wait. THIS ONE REALLY could be the best game of the quarterfinals. The Wolves’ high-scoring offense is fun to watch, but so is Snake River’s, and the Rattlers get to play at home. (First meeting ever, and obviously their first playoff meeting.)
(4E) Guernsey-Sunrise at (1W) Meeteetse: A rematch of a Week 8 game in which neither team wanted to give away too much because they knew they’d probably be playing each other again… but the score will probably be about the same as last week’s. (First playoff meeting since 2013 semifinals).
(3W) Farson at (2E) Hulett: Now I’m super serious. This will be the best game of the quarterfinals, NO DOUBT! I think Farson has the on-paper advantage, but dang: 405 miles is a long way. (First playoff meeting.)

+++

Brothers Tad and Homer must have had some bonding over the end of the regular season. They only disagree on two of their picks for the quarterfinals.

The picks
Tad: Douglas over Star Valley; Southeast over Shoshoni.
Homer: Star Valley over Douglas; Shoshoni over Southeast.
Both: Gillette over Laramie; Cheyenne East over Rock Springs; Sheridan over Evanston; Natrona over Kelly Walsh; Powell over Torrington; Riverton over Jackson; Green River over Buffalo; Wheatland over Lyman; Big Horn over Greybull; Thermopolis over Lovell; Mountain View over Glenrock; Upton-Sundance over Rocky Mountain; Lingle over Riverside; Cokeville over Tongue River; Dubois over Kaycee; Snake River over NSI; Meeteetse over Guernsey-Sunrise; Farson over Hulett.

The records
Class 4A
Laramie at Gillette (Gillette 19-18 overall, Gillette 11-8 at this location)
Rock Springs at Cheyenne East (East 24-18 overall, East 17-7 at this location)
Evanston at Sheridan (Sheridan 14-2 overall, Sheridan 7-1 at this location)
Kelly Walsh at Natrona (Natrona 42-12 overall, Natrona 20-7 at this location)
Class 3A
Powell at Torrington (Powell 6-0 overall, Powell 4-0 at this location)
Douglas at Star Valley (Douglas 9-3 overall, Star Valley 3-1 at this location)
Riverton at Jackson (Riverton 2-0 overall, Riverton 1-0 at this location)
Green River at Buffalo (Green River 3-1 overall, Green River 2-0 at this location)
Class 2A
Lyman at Wheatland (Wheatland 4-1 overall, Wheatland 2-0 at this location)
Big Horn at Greybull (Big Horn 14-4 overall, Big Horn 6-1 at this location)
Thermopolis at Lovell (Thermopolis 42-35 overall, Thermopolis 19-18 at this location)
Mountain View at Glenrock (Mountain View 8-4, Mountain View 3-1 at this location)
Class 1A 11-man
Southeast at Shoshoni (Southeast 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Rocky Mountain at Upton-Sundance (Upton-Sundance 2-0, first meeting at this location)
Riverside at Lingle (first meeting)
Tongue River at Cokeville (tied 1-1 overall, tied 1-1 at this location)
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Kaycee (Dubois 2-0 overall, Dubois 1-0 at this location)
NSI at Snake River (first meeting)
Guernsey-Sunrise at Meeteetse (Meeteetse 5-2 overall, Meeteetse 3-2 at this location)
Farson at Hulett (Farson 2-0 overall, Farson 1-0 at this location)

Last week’s records: Patrick, 23-9 (72 percent); Tad, 24-8 (75 percent); Homer, 23-9 (72 percent).

Season records: Patrick, 206-55 (79 percent); Tad, 165-96 (63 percent); Homer, 147-114 (56 percent).

With that… let’s play some games! I’m ready for the postseason, especially this quarterfinal round. This might have been my most difficult quarterfinal round to pick since I started making weekly picks 11 years ago. What matchups are YOU most excited to see? Post a comment and let me know how you see the first round shaking out.

–patrick

One Thought on “Quarterfinal playoff picks: The same, but different

  1. Huskerfan on October 31, 2015 at 7:51 am said:

    Very impressed with a Southeast team tha wasn’t going to have a fun trip. Held Shoshoni to 70 total yards on offense.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post Navigation