School: Wright
Nickname: Panthers
Colors: black and gold
Stadium: Panther Field at Battlecat Stadium
State championships: none
Times worth remembering: After some lean years in the 1990s, the Panthers got untracked in the 2000s, running off five straight winning seasons from 2002-06. The run was highlighted by a 9-1 season in 2004 — a season cut short by a 13-8 loss to Mountain View in the semifinals — and a 7-4 season in 2005 that was capped with an appearance in the 2A championship game.
Times worth forgetting: The ‘90s were not kind to Wright, which didn’t have a winning season for the entire decade. The problem came at the start of the decade — the Panthers went 0-8 in 1990 and 0-9 in 1991. In only one game in that stretch did the Panthers score more than 13 points in any game — and only twice did they hold their opponents to less than 14.
Best team: Although the final result of the season doesn’t really reflect it, the 2004 Panthers were probably the most talented bunch the Wright school has put on the field. The Panthers were unbeaten in the regular season; they shut out their first six opponents and outscored their opponents 274-26. Although a 13-8 loss to Mountain View cut Wright’s season short at 9-1, the Panthers put five players, all seniors, on the first-team all-state squad.
Biggest win: In 2005, the Panthers had to prove they belonged in 2A’s upper echelon — twice. The first chance came in the second week of the season, when Wright beat two-time defending champion Big Horn 7-0 in Wright. But not quite two months later, the same two teams met again, this time in Big Horn, with a spot in the championship game at stake. Once again, it was the Panthers that came out on top, upending the favored Rams 13-7 to make it to the state title game for only the second time in school history.
Heartbreaker: It really didn’t take long for Wright to get up to speed — in fact, in their first full season of varsity play in 1985, the Panthers made the 1A championship game. However, a fumble on Big Horn’s 2-yard line in the final two minutes snuffed out the Panthers’ comeback bid in a 7-6 loss to Big Horn. It took 20 years for Wright to make it back to the championship game again.