School: Pinedale
Nickname: Wranglers
Colors: green and white
Stadium: Korfanta Field
State championship: 1975
Times worth remembering: Some of the Wranglers’ best seasons came in the eight-year span from 1968-75. Six of those eight seasons were winning seasons, including 9-0-1 and a mythical state title in 1970 and 10-0 and a Class A title in the return year of playoffs in 1975. Pinedale was also 8-1 in 1972 and tied for fourth in the final statewide poll.
Times worth forgetting: From 1992-95, the Wranglers had what can kindly be called a tough stretch. Pinedale won just twice in those four seasons and lost 26 times, at one point losing 19 consecutive games. Eleven of those losses were shutout losses, including five shutout losses in the 1994 season in which Pinedale scored just 20 points.
Best team: The return of playoffs in 1975 gave the overlooked Southwest teams a chance to show what they could do on a statewide stage. And that season, the Wranglers proved just how tough those Southwest teams could be. Pinedale rolled to a 10-0 record, including a 6-0 overtime victory over Basin in the semifinals and a 10-8 nail-biting win over Saratoga in the Class A title game. The 1975 Wranglers had six first-team all-state selections; no other team had more than two.
Biggest win: The Wranglers’ last state championship victory was one for the ages. Danner Boone’s 25-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining in the 1975 Class B championship gave Pinedale a 10-8 victory over Saratoga in Rawlins. The winning kick was set up by a Saratoga fumble deep in Pinedale territory; Neil Reed scored the Wranglers’ lone touchdown in the defensive struggle.
Heartbreaker: The 1987 Class 2A semifinals pitted two steamrollers — 7-0 Lovell vs. 8-0 Pinedale. And in a case where somebody’s dreams had to be squashed, the Wranglers were on the wrong side of the ‘roller. The Bulldogs beat the Wranglers 20-7 — it was the most points Pinedale gave up in any game all season, and the fewest they scored — and one of the Wranglers’ best teams had to watch as Lovell went on to win it all. For some consolation, five Wranglers made the all-state first team, second only to the Bulldogs’ six.