Semifinal playoff picks: Farson’s fairy tale season continues into second round

Farson’s football fairy tale is more Sleeping Beauty than Cinderella.

The 2016 season has been the culmination of a long, slow and sometimes painful build for a program that resurrected itself in 2009 after two prior attempts at football in the 1950s and 1980s.

The results of this 21st-century resurrection weren’t promising: The Pronghorns went 1-7, 0-8, 2-7 and 0-8 in their first four seasons of six-man play. Football was back, but Farson was still slumbering.

But then, a turnaround — an awakening — began. Farson was 4-5 in 2013, improved to 6-3 in 2014 and again went 6-3 in 2015.

This season, Sleeping Beauty’s morning coffee finally kicked in.

The Pronghorns tallied their first undefeated regular season, first home playoff game, first playoff victory and, on Friday, will play their first home semifinal game.

The Pronghorns will host Guernsey-Sunrise, a team that knows a thing or two about state football championships. The Vikings won six-man titles in 2009 and 2014, beating Farson in the quarterfinals each time, to add to their 11-man titles from 2004 and 2006. Friday’s game will be the Vikings’ 15th semifinal appearance since playoffs returned to Wyoming’s small schools in 1975.

It’s no surprise to see the Vikings here. In a semifinal round defined by familiarity — at least at the 4A, 3A and 2A levels — Farson’s appearance this week should be bulletin-board material for every team who’s watching this week from home.

Four years ago, Farson was winless.

Now, Farson is undefeated, hosting a semifinal game, on the brink of a trip to Laramie and a shot at a state title.

It’s a fairy tale come true.

Don’t sleep on the Pronghorns.

They’re fully awake.

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However, most classifications snuffed out their Cinderellas — and their Sleeping Beauties — long before this week.

Nine of the 10 teams that played in last year’s state championship games are still alive, and only four of the 20 remaining teams have been removed from the semifinals for more than three seasons.

Rock Springs is in the semifinals for the first time since 2007, but they’re the only team at the 4A, 3A or 2A level that hasn’t reached the semis since at least 2013. The other three 4A semifinalists were all here last year, and the year before, and the year before, and the year before… back to 2010. The 3A teams are all familiar faces, too, while every one of the 2A semifinalists was this deep in the playoffs in either 2014 or 2015.

The 1A 11-man bracket looks fresh with Shoshoni and Pine Bluffs — Shoshoni last reached the semis in 2001, Pine Bluffs in 2003. But Tongue River and Upton-Sundance, the Wranglers’ and Hornets’ opponents, respectively, on Friday, were title-game foes a year ago.

And in six-man, Farson’s appearance is balanced out by perennial contender Guernsey-Sunrise and last year’s state champ (Kaycee) and runner-up (Meeteetse).

At this point in the season, underdogs are few and far between.

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Here’s who I’m picking to win on Friday, with my choices in bold and my not-choices in not-bold:

Friday
Class 4A
(5) Natrona at (1) Gillette: Natrona is capable of winning this game. Gillette — with one loss this season, 27-20, to Natrona, at home — is keenly aware of that. Don’t anticipate any blowouts. (Rematch of 2014 4A title game.)
(3) Rock Springs at (2) Sheridan: This one, too, should be close. But Sheridan has the edge in both home field and previous result (beating the Tigers 24-16 back in Week 4). (First playoff meeting since 2011 quarterfinals.)
Class 3A
(2W) Star Valley at (1E) Douglas: Honestly, this might be the best game not only of the week, but of the season. When they played on this same field in Week 3, Star Valley won 29-28. Expect a similar tight score this time around; this may be a game decided by the kicker. (Rematch of a quarterfinal game from last year.)
(3W) Green River at (1W) Powell: The last time Powell lost, it was to Green River in Week 4. Powell has the home-field advantage this time around, but Green River showed last week — and last season — it knows how to go on the road and win a playoff game. (First playoff meeting since 2012 semifinals.)
Class 2A
(2W) Greybull at (1E) Glenrock: I’ve been looking forward to this game since the end of last season; I’m just surprised it didn’t happen in Laramie. Nevertheless, I’m curious to see if Glenrock’s defense (2A-low 75 points allowed) will slow Greybull’s offense (2A-best 455 points scored). (First playoff meeting since 2009 semifinals.)
(4E) Newcastle at (2E) Big Horn: The Rams have every right to feel fortunate — that the got past upset-minded Pinedale in the first round and avoid West top seed Mountain View in the semis thanks to Newcastle’s upset. And that’s exactly the kind of mindset the Dogies could use to pull another upset. I think the Rams will feel focused, not fortunate. (First postseason meeting.)
Class 1A 11-man
(2E) Tongue River at (1W) Shoshoni: Shoshoni’s most impressive outing of the season came last week in beating Southeast. However, the trick now will be maintaining that consistency against an Eagles team that’s been a model of consistency this season. (First meeting of any kind.)
(3E) Pine Bluffs at (1E) Upton-Sundance: I do think this game will be closer than the Patriots’ 39-0 whitewash of the Hornets in Week 4. The undefeated, defending state champions are still the favorites, though, especially at home. (First postseason meeting; Pine Bluffs last played Upton in the postseason in the 2003 2A quarterfinals and has never played Sundance in the postseason.)
Class 1A six-man
(2E) Guernsey-Sunrise at (1W) Farson: The Vikings are capable of the upset, but the undefeated Pronghorns are riding a season-long wave of momentum (which, by the way, started by beating Guernsey 56-37 in Guernsey) that looks too powerful to topple right now. (Rematch of a 2014 quarterfinal game.)
(2W) Meeteetse at (1E) Kaycee: Man, remember the good old days when these two squads were playing for the state championship? That victory has been a huge catalyst for the Buckaroos’ success into 2016 — and it’s a feeling they’d like to repeat again this week. (Rematch of last year’s 1A six-man title game.)

For a full schedule with kickoff times, click here. For brackets of all five classifications, click here.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, in the quarterfinals, I got three-“quarters” of my picks right. My tallies from last week and this season:

Last week: 15-5 (75 percent). This season: 238-52 (82 percent).

So who’s ready for a trip to Laramie? Who’s poised for an upset? Leave your thoughts and let’s run through what’s possible on Friday… and in Laramie next week!

–patrick