If I had unlimited time and money, I know how I would spend my autumns: running around Wyoming watching high school football.
Unfortunately, I don’t have unlimited time or money. If I did, though, this is what my fantasy Wyoming football road trip might look like — keeping in mind that my options have to be realistic. So here it is: 27 games over eight weeks.
Week 0
Friday, Aug. 26: Cheyenne East at Rock Springs, 7 p.m. Forget all the scrimmages and jamborees; I’m going to the one game that means the most this week. Rock Springs was soooo close to knocking off East not once but twice last season. Both times, East won. This may be the game that sets the course of 4A all year long.
Week 1
Thursday, Sept. 1: Lusk at Moorcroft, 6 p.m. … Friday, Sept. 2: St. Stephens at Rock River, 4 p.m.; Torrington at Wheatland, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Sept. 3: Farson at Guernsey-Sunrise, noon. The most appealing game of the week might be the revival of the rivalry between Torrington and Wheatland, a series that has been put on hiatus the past couple seasons. It’s nice to see it back. I’ll sandwich that game with a couple six-man games in the area, but I’ll be able to start with the first non-4A game of the season on Thursday in Crook County.
Week 2
Friday, Sept. 9: Mountain View at Lyman, 4 p.m.; Rawlins at Green River, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Sept. 10: Wright at Cokeville, 2 p.m. On the Friday of Week 2, there’s only one “day” game, and we’re fortunate — it’s the Bridger Valley Bowl. That alone makes the week worth it. From there, we’ll go down the road and catch an intriguing game between Rawlins and Green River and then stay in the southwest to catch the first game EVER between Wright and Cokeville on Saturday.
Week 3
Friday, Sept. 16: Upton-Sundance at Shoshoni, 2 p.m.; Lovell at Greybull, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Sept. 17: Burlington at Ten Sleep, 2 p.m. I was torn this week — northeast for Rock River-Kaycee and then Natrona-Gillette? Or go northwest for this pair? Ultimately, I decided that seeing what might be the best 1A 11-man nonconference game of the year and the game that might decide the 2A West was the better trip. And I get a six-man game on Saturday to boot in a nice revival of an old rivalry.
Week 4
Thursday, Sept. 22: Shoshoni at Wind River, 7 p.m. … Friday, Sept. 23: Rocky Mountain at Cokeville, 1 p.m.; Cody at Star Valley, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Sept. 24: Snake River at Dubois, 3 p.m. Thursday game! As for Friday, the Lincoln County double-dip is really appealing, and it gives me a chance to drive through Grand Teton National Park before the six-man Saturday. Can’t resist that. 🙂
Week 5
Friday, Sept. 30: Gillette at Sheridan, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Oct. 1: Hulett at Normative Services, noon. Week 5 only has one game that starts under daylight, so I decided catching the Energy Bowl — which might be the biggest and best game of the 4A regular season — was the best option for Week 5. There’s a nearby six-man game on Saturday to boot.
Week 6
Friday, Oct. 7: Snake River at St. Stephens, 4 p.m.; Buffalo at Riverton, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Oct. 8: Meeteetse at Farson, 2 p.m. Fremont County gets some love this week. Buffalo-Riverton will be huge in the 3A East. Meanwhile, the Saturday game just over South Pass could be the make-or-break game in the 1A West.
Week 7
Thursday, Oct. 13: Cheyenne East at Evanston, 6 p.m. … Friday, Oct. 14: Saratoga at Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m.; Pine Bluffs at Tongue River, 6 p.m. … Saturday, Oct. 15: Midwest at Kaycee, 2 p.m. The annual Thursday game between East and Evanston gives us a bonus game! From there, a lack of intriguing day games has us heading north for a pair of 1A 11-man games that will, if nothing else, provide some beautiful, scenery-filled backdrops for football. Oh, and the Midwest-Kaycee rivalry game on Saturday is always a can’t-miss.
Week 8
Friday, Oct. 21: Riverside at Burlington, 1 p.m.; Cody at Powell, 7 p.m. … Saturday, Oct. 22: Guernsey-Sunrise at Hulett, 3 p.m. Our trip comes to an end with a pair of Northwest corner rivalries, and rivalries are always awesome. The trip ends with a LONG jaunt from Powell to Hulett, but it’s worth it; the Guernsey-Hulett game is the last game of the season. When that one’s over, I can begin planning my postseason travels…
In this trip, I’d see 43 of Wyoming’s 64 football programs, and I’d get to see 11 teams play twice. I’d make it to 26 different stadiums, and I’d stop by Cokeville twice. I’d travel almost 4,000 miles.
Now, if I could only find a way to get that unlimited time and money….
–patrick
Now that’s a great schedule!
Patrick, when I was sports editor at the Riverton Ranger in the early 1970s, my dream (not fantasy) football weekends were Lander vs. Riverton, Shoshone vs. Wind River and Dubois vs. Wyoming Indian, playing on Friday or Saturday. That way I didn’t have to cover six separate games involving each Fremont County high school (often with the help of Roy or Bob Peck). I was the photographer too, using an old 4×5 Speed Graphic camera that limited me to 4 or 5 picture attempts per game.