I think I’ve used this simile before on this site, but it’s so apt that I’m going to use it again. I have heard the championship game of a season is like the ending of a great mystery novel. It brings closure, resolution, a sense of certainty to all the twists and turns you’ve seen transpire before you.

This weekend, we have some opportunities to see something special in each of the five games. Two teams — Sheridan and Snake River — enter Laramie with 30 consecutive victories apiece behind them. In 3A, the two most dominant programs of the decade meet yet again in a rivalry that, despite the familiarity, never seems to get old. Class 1A nine-man will deliver a champion from two teams, neither of which have ever played in War Memorial Stadium. And 2A could deliver us the best game of the weekend, just as it has each of the past couple years.

You ready?

Class 4A, 4 p.m. Saturday
Cheyenne East (2, 10-1) vs. Sheridan (1, 11-0)
Series record: Sheridan leads 33-15.
Last meeting: Sheridan beat Cheyenne East 44-37 on Sept. 29 in Cheyenne.
Last playoff meeting: Sheridan beat Cheyenne East 34-23 on Nov. 12, 2022, in the Class 4A championship game in Laramie.
State championships: Cheyenne East five, most recently in 2020. … Sheridan 29, most recently in 2022.
Previous title game record: Cheyenne East, 5-4. … Sheridan, 19-7.
The path to the title game: Cheyenne East topped Rock Springs 42-14 in the quarterfinals and outlasted Natrona 17-10 in the semifinals. … Sheridan rolled over its first two playoff opponents, beating Kelly Walsh 59-0 in the quarterfinals and Thunder Basin 62-7 in the semifinals.
The case for the Thunderbirds: In almost every statistical measure, East’s offense may be the best we’ve ever seen. In total yards, attempts per game, touchdowns — East leads it all, by wide margins. Cam Hayes is piling up huge numbers at quarterback; Drew Jackson is one of the state’s top rushers and receivers; a variety of receivers force teams to cover the whole field. The defense, ranked No. 2 in the state, has shown up, as well — and for as fast as East’s offense moves, the fact that its defense has kept up is astonishing.
The case for the Broncs: A huge chunk of the recipe that works for Sheridan is that the Broncs never, ever beat themselves. They’ve had just six turnovers this season, fewest in 4A, while forcing 28, the most in 4A. That’s why teams with more efficient offenses or better defenses on paper struggle when they go up against the Broncs — because if you want to beat Sheridan, you have to be basically perfect in every aspect of the game. That’s the recipe that has led to 30 consecutive victories, eight titles in 14 years and the chance for a three-peat.
The pick: The past seven Class 4A championship games have all been decided by at least nine points. This might be the year that breaks the streak. Couple Sheridan’s 44-37 victory against the Thunderbirds back in Week 5 in Cheyenne with both teams’ dominance against the rest of the 4A field, and you have a game that could be one of Wyoming’s all-time classics. Sheridan 38, Cheyenne East 35.

Class 3A, 3 p.m. Friday
Cody (2W, 10-1) vs. Star Valley (1W, 10-1)
Series record: Star Valley leads 27-13.
Last meeting: Star Valley beat Cody 41-14 on Oct. 6 in Cody.
Last playoff meeting: Star Valley beat Cody 14-7 on Nov. 11, 2022, in the Class 3A championship game in Laramie.
State championships: Cody seven, most recently in 2021. … Star Valley 13, most recently in 2022.
Previous title game record: Cody, 7-6. … Star Valley, 12-10.
The path to the title game: Cody blasted through both of its first two playoff opponents, defeating Douglas 42-14 in the quarterfinals and Evanston 52-14 in the semifinals. … Star Valley ran roughshod over Worland 62-0 in the first round and knocked off Buffalo 30-19 in the semifinals.
The case for the Broncs: Find me a more consistent team than Cody over the past four seasons. I’ll wait. Already, Cody is guaranteed its fourth consecutive double-digit victory season, its fourth consecutive title game appearance. Cody’s offense fits its strengths, and now the Broncs are No. 1 in 3A in rushing, by a lot, and have the No. 1 offense overall. Moreover, the Broncs are 41-3 over the past four seasons. The only worry? All three of those losses have been to Star Valley.
The case for the Braves: It’s almost scary how efficient the Braves have bene this year. Their only loss came to Idaho powerhouse Sugar-Salem, and aside from Powell (24-21), every victory has been by double digits. Their offense is diverse and keeps opposing defenses guessing. And if defense wins championships, as the old cliche goes? Then look no further than Star Valley, which has 3A’s No. 1 defense.
The pick: I mean, here we are again. Dynasty vs. dynasty. Which one is extended, and which one is delayed? Class 3A’s two most dominant programs will extend to a decade of dominance, either way, as one of these two teams will have won the 3A title in each of the past 10 years. For now, I think the way the Braves handled the Broncs in Week 6 is the decider, but, hey — you never know. Just look at last year. Star Valley 30, Cody 20.

Class 2A, noon Friday
Torrington (2E, 8-3) vs. Big Horn (1E, 9-1)
Series record: Big Horn leads 3-1.
Last meeting: Big Horn beat Torrington 33-27 on Sept. 22 in Torrington.
Last playoff meeting: First playoff meeting.
State championships: Torrington four, most recently in 1990. … Big Horn eight, most recently in 2022.
Previous title game record: Torrington, 2-12. … Big Horn, 8-10.
The path to the title game: Torrington won a pair of close ones, beating Cokeville 21-14 in the first round and previously unbeaten Mountain View 25-19 in the semifinals. … Big Horn had little trouble with a pair of West Conference foes, beating Lovell 49-28 in the quarterfinals and Lyman 34-14 in the semifinals.
The case for the Trailblazers: At the halfway point of the season, Torrington was 2-3 and, let’s face it, not a very attractive title contender. Then, just like in the movies, Torrington took off its glasses. Since then, it’s been six straight victories, including two gritty playoff victories against some of the best teams the West Conference had this season. The ‘Blazers’ defense has been stout all season — six of seven conference opponents couldn’t get past single digits — and the offense has been consistent, if not flashy. This is a group that certainly is more confident now than when it first played Big Horn, and even then it was a down-to-the-wire 32-27 loss. That team, but confident? Look out.
The case for the Rams: Remember when Big Horn was 0-1 after a double-overtime loss to Lovell? Yeah, no one else does either. Because nine straight victories have boosted the Rams to Laramie. That run included a 7-0 East Conference mark and suspiciously easy victories against that aforementioned Lovell team and last week’s 20-point win in the semis against consistent contender Lyman. The Rams’ offense is 2A’s best, and the defense — which often sees the field a lot due to its offensive efficiency — does enough to keep the Rams’ W-train a-rollin’.
The pick: The 2A title game the past two years has more or less come down to one play. This game has similar markings, although I’d wager that the scoring will be more robust than those two (which finished 8-6 and 8-7, by the way). Get ready for another thriller, probably pretty similar to the first, with a fourth-quarter break benefitting the team that eventually takes it all. Big Horn 34, Torrington 30.

Class 1A nine-man, 1 p.m. Saturday
Big Piney (2W, 9-1) vs. Wind River (1W, 8-1)
Series record: Big Piney leads 6-2.
Last meeting: Wind River beat Big Piney 28-21 on Sept. 21 in Pavillion.
Last playoff meeting: First playoff meeting.
State championships: Big Piney eight, most recently in 2006. … Wind River one, in 1997.
Previous title game record: Big Piney, 8-2. … Wind River, 1-1.
The path to the title game: Big Piney ousted Pine Bluffs 28-14 in the first round and beat previously unbeaten Lingle on the road 51-27 in the semifinals. … Wind River blasted Lusk 68-6 in the first round and scraped past Southeast 32-30 in the second round.
The case for the Punchers: In these kinds of games — Wind River the No. 1 offense in nine-man, Big Piney the No. 1 defense — it’s easy to get hung up on looking at that matchup. But usually, when these kinds of matchups happen, it’s the other one — Big Piney’s offense vs. Wind River’s defense — that ends up making or breaking the game. That’s where the Punchers may have an advantage, with the No. 3 offense in nine-man that has shown both diversity and consistency. Moreover, Big Piney’s only loss was to Wind River in Pavillion; put them on a neutral field, and things just might be different.
The case for the Cougars: Wind River started slow, through no fault of their own. Their first two opponents (Saratoga and St. Stephens) canceled on them. Entering Week 3, they could have easily been called the least experienced team in the state. But a deep senior class overcame the challenge that might have sunk other teams, and together they’ve won eight in a row. With eventual three-time all-state pick Cooper Frederick leading the state’s No. 1 rushing offense (and No. 1 offense, total), the Cougars have been unstoppable so far.
The pick: Wind River won the first matchup between these two teams this season, and in watching the highlights, I keep coming away with the feeling that the Cougars had fortune on their side. In a 28-21 victory, Wind River got a kick return touchdown and a pick-six to augment their efforts. I keep feeling like game will come down to something similar; whoever creates the unexpected play creates the championship. Big Piney 32, Wind River 27.

Class 1A six-man, 10 a.m. Saturday
Snake River (1S, 9-0) vs. Burlington (1N, 9-1)
Series record: Snake River leads 7-1.
Last meeting/last playoff meeting: Snake River beat Burlington 55-8 in the Class 1A six-man championship on Nov. 12, 2022, in Laramie.
State championships: Snake River five, most recently in 2022. … Burlington two, most recently in 1994.
Previous title game record: Snake River, 5-1. … Burlington, 2-3.
The path to the title game: Snake River stayed unbeaten with two playoff victories, topping Hulett 74-20 in the quarterfinals and beating Dubois 47-22 in the semifinals. … Burlington beat Farson 64-20 in the quarterfinals and needed a ton of points to outlast Encampment 80-73 in the semifinals in the highest-scoring playoff game in state history.
The case for the Rattlers: It’s simple. In 30 consecutive games, the Rattlers have come out on top in every single one. Snake River has the talent, the tradition and the momentum. In that streak, only two games have ended with one-possession differences; in the past two years, only one team has stayed within 16 points; and this year, the Rattlers’ closest game has been a 25-point victory. As long as the Rattlers continue to look at Saturday as a competition and not a coronation, they should be fine.
The case for the Huskies: Maybe last year, the stage was just a little too big, the lights a little too bright, and losing 55-8 in the championship game was an awakening to just how hard it can be to win a title. The Huskies won’t have such problems this year. No Wyoming team has beaten the Huskies, their lone loss coming to Custer, Montana, and only one game — last week’s 80-73 shootout against Encampment — resulted in a scoring difference of less than 21 points.
The pick: Back in July, I called for a Snake River-Burlington title game. And I even gave a score prediction. Why change that now? Snake River is still at the top of the class, and Burlington, while still a formidable opponent, is still the underdog this weekend. Snake River 49, Burlington 33.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 8-2 (80 percent). This season: 263-47 (85 percent).

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Well, we’re here. Another season nearly at an end. What are your big takeaways from 2023 — at least so far? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

No superfluous intros this week. We’ve got too much to talk about. So let’s get into the picks, with projected winners in bold, for this week’s semifinal playoff round of Wyoming high school football:

Friday
Class 4A
(5) Thunder Basin at (1) Sheridan: The number 29 looms large in this game. It’s the number of consecutive victories Sheridan has had, and it’s also the margin of victory Sheridan had in its 41-12 Week 4 victory against the ‘Bolts in Gillette. Sheridan has been the most consistent program in 4A for years now — this is their 16th consecutive semifinal trip — and barring what would be one of the larger 4A playoff upsets we’ve seen in a while, I don’t think that will stop this week.
Class 3A
(2E) Buffalo at (1W) Star Valley: Don’t get me wrong. Buffalo has been solid this season. But I don’t know that anyone outside Johnson County has them as title contenders. Then the Bison go and beat Powell in pretty commanding fashion in the first round. I still like the Braves here, but they better be on their toes. Because now, everyone’s putting “Bison” and “title contention” in the same sentence.
(4W) Evanston at (2W) Cody: As I mentioned in last week’s picks, Evanston is now 3A’s Cinderella story. After 15 seasons without a playoff victory, the Red Devils finally have one. And I think this game will be closer than the 48-13 victory Cody put on Evanston in Week 7… but not a lot closer.
Class 2A
(2E) Torrington at (1W) Mountain View: Even with all the parity in the 2A ranks this year, no one has been able to figure out Mountain View. But Torrington has won five straight, and its only loss since Week 1 was a nail-biter to Big Horn. The Trailblazers will be ready for that challenge, and that could make this one close late.
(2W) Lyman at (1E) Big Horn: Both teams showed a pretty amazing resiliency last week. Lyman rallied from a 13-0 deficit to win; Big Horn only led by seven entering the final quarter and won by 21. They’ll both be ready for late-game challenges. I’m only picking Big Horn because of home field — in Lyman, I would have taken the Eagles. Best game of the week?
Class 1A nine-man
(2E) Southeast at (1W) Wind River: I really, really think if there’s a coach in 1A nine-man who can prepare his team for this kind of challenge, it’s Southeast’s Mark Bullington. The Cyclones will absolutely be prepared for what the Cougars bring. I think it’ll be close, and I think the Cougars will need to be playing their best to come out of this with their first trip to a championship game since 1997. But I think they will be up for it. As you can tell, I’ve thought about this game a lot. Best game of the week?
Class 1A six-man
(3S) Dubois at (1S) Snake River: What the Tremblys — coach David and son Wyatt — have helped Dubois accomplish in their final seasons in their roles leading the Rams have been memorable. Those emotions might be enough to help the Rams hang with the Rattlers, who have proven time and again to be the state’s best six-man team this year. Ultimately, though, the Rattlers have won 29 in a row for a reason.
(2S) Encampment at (1N) Burlington: No. Don’t make me pick. I’ve seen this game coming for weeks now, and I’ve tried to parse out what might give one of these teams an advantage over the other. I’ve come up with nothing. Both teams have consistent offenses, solid defenses and winning traditions. They’re both coached well and play disciplined. And they both are deserving of a spot in Laramie. I think Encampment has a slight edge, but don’t be surprised to see the Huskies make it back to the War for a second consecutive year, especially at home. Best game of the week?
Saturday
Class 4A
(3) Natrona at (2) Cheyenne East: The Mustangs have been a bit frustrating — they’ve played well against lesser competition but have struggled to play up to that next level. That included a 45-7 loss to East in Week 1. The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, are on an offensive hot streak. All they have to do is score 32 points against the Mustangs this week to break the state 11-man record for points in a season. The record is 577 (Big Horn in 2018), and East has 546 already this season.
Class 1A nine-man
(2W) Big Piney at (1E) Lingle: Both of these teams should enter this game with every reason in the world to feel confident. Lingle hasn’t lost yet this season, while Big Piney is 8-1 and comes in off a quarterfinal victory where they vanquished the defending state champions. While Lingle has shown a lot of resolve and hasn’t lost yet, I think Big Piney has been more consistent this year, and that might be the difference.

For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here. You can click on “Semifinals” at the top of the page to take you directly to this week’s schedule.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 18-2 (90 percent). This season: 255-45 (85 percent).

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Who do you have making it to the War? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

It’s long been the case that the strength of Class 3A has been in the West Conference.

The past 12 3A champs have come from the West, and seven of the past eight 3A title games have matched up two West teams.

So far, we’ve seen no indication that 2023 will be the year for such streaks to end.

The East went 3-12 against the West this year, and none of those three victories came against a playoff qualifier — two were against Green River (Lander and Rawlins), one against Jackson (Douglas).

When the playoffs get underway on Friday, the East Conference teams are likely underdogs in all four 3A playoff games. West Conference leaders Star Valley, Cody and Powell — a combined record of 23-4, with three of those four losses to each other — have proven themselves a cut above the rest of the classification. Together, they’re a combined 7-0 this season against the four playoff qualifiers from the East.

And that brings us to Evanston against Riverton, what might be the most interesting playoff game out of the 20 scheduled this week.

Evanston, despite being a No. 4 seed heading up against a No. 1, has every reason to believe it’s the favorite. Most importantly, the Red Devils have already beaten the Wolverines once this season, 34-27 in Week 2 in Evanston. Moreover, Evanston has played competitively in losses to the West’s top three. All of it has led to the Red Devils’ first playoff berth in four seasons, the longest playoff drought broken by any playoff-qualifying team this season.

Meanwhile, Riverton might be the most transformed team in the state from the first half of the season to the second half. After starting 0-4 (against the four West playoff qualifiers, by the way), the Wolverines have since won four of five, including what might have been the biggest win in recent program memory by beating Buffalo 25-14, a game that eventually clinched the top seed in the playoffs for the Wolverines by breaking a three-way first-place tie with the Bison and Douglas.

That said, it’s easy to root for whoever wins this game to be this year’s 3A Cinderella. Both teams are led by a first-year coach who isn’t really a “first-year coach”; Riverton’s Mark Lenhardt has had success as a head coach at both Torrington and Rock Springs, taking them both to state championship games, while Evanston’s Steve Moore has spent two decades on the sidelines with the Red Devils before moving into the top spot heading into this season. Both teams are 4-5 entering this game; it’s simply an odd quirk of the schedule that two of the three teams in the 3A playoffs with losing records ended up facing each other in the first round. And one of these teams will break a long streak without a visit to the semifinals: Riverton hasn’t reached the second round in eight seasons, and for Evanston, the drought has been 15 seasons.

The candle on the Cinderella cake is that Evanston has been the lone team in the West not to benefit from the conference’s dominant run. Across that eight-year stretch of mentioned earlier — the one where in seven of the past eight years, it’s been two West teams playing each other — Evanston is the only one of the West teams that has failed to make it to the championship game.

For now, I like Evanston to win this week.

Truth be told, though, I like whoever wins this game.

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As much as I love the Riverton-Evanston game, by far the most interesting 2023 playoff bracket, top to bottom, belongs to Class 2A.

The only predictable game seems to be Wheatland visiting Mountain View; the Bulldogs did that trip in Week 1 and came back as victims of a 38-0 dissection. The other three games, though, look like they could be all-time classics.

With Mountain View surviving as the only undefeated team in Class 2A this season, the remainder of the classification has been an exercise in parity.

The remaining three games give us six teams who are all legitimate title threats: Tongue River (7-2) at Lyman (7-2), Cokeville (5-3) at Torrington (6-3), and Lovell (6-2) at Big Horn (7-1).

Immediately, Big Horn as the one-loss team stands out from the rest. The only problem? Big Horn faces Lovell in the first round, and the Bulldogs were the only team to hang an L on the Rams’ tally this season. Of all the teams and all the possibilities Big Horn could have gotten in the first round, they got the team that’s already shown they can beat them this year.

Meanwhile, Cokeville has sorted its way through some early struggles to emerge as one of the West’s best teams. Replace “Cokeville” with “Torrington,” and “West’s” with “East’s” in that sentence, though, and you have a perfect description of their first-round opponent.

And finally, the Eagles are 7-2, talented and eager for a bit of redemption after losing games to regional rivals. Wait: Are we talking about Tongue River or Lyman? The answer: Yes.

Combined, these matchups should make the 2A bracket an absolute crapshoot, the most intriguing set of first-round games in any of the five brackets.

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Now, that said, intrigue DOES exist in other brackets, it’s just not as common:

Thunder Basin and Campbell County meeting in a cross-city rivalry renewal was not necessarily something I had on my 2023 preseason bingo card, but here it is — and I’m thrilled. I’m really interested to see how the aftermath of the Camels’ 49-17 victory in Week 5 manifests a month later, and how much closer this game might be considering that Thunder Basin hasn’t lost since, while the Camels are 1-2 since then. …

Lingle has been living a charmed life. The Doggers have won three consecutive one-point games: 29-28 against Southeast, 31-30 in overtime against Pine Bluffs and 21-20 against Saratoga. According to research I did in 2016, I have reason to believe that this year’s Lingle team is the first Wyoming team to ever win three consecutive one-point games. We’ll see if the run continues against Rocky Mountain in the first round. …

Wind River is hosting the program’s first playoff game since 2009, the longest such streak broken this season. …

Natrona is in the playoffs for the 32nd consecutive year, Cokeville the 31st, Big Horn the 25th, Douglas the 22nd. … 

It’s a bit weird, but none of the first-round playoff games are new matchups. Every matchup we have already exists on each team’s series records. Maybe that’s the nature of expanded nonconference schedules and eight-team playoff brackets; eventually, everyone sees everyone.

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Picks, where bold means projected winner and non-bold means projected upset-maker:

Class 4A
(8) Kelly Walsh at (1) Sheridan
(5) Thunder Basin at (4) Campbell County
(7) Rock Springs at (2) Cheyenne East
(6) Cheyenne Central at (3) Natrona
Class 3A
(4W) Evanston at (1E) Riverton
(3E) Douglas at (2W) Cody
(4E) Worland at (1W) Star Valley
(3W) Powell at (2E) Buffalo
Class 2A
(4E) Wheatland at (1W) Mountain View
(3W) Cokeville at (2E) Torrington
(4W) Lovell at (1E) Big Horn
(3E) Tongue River at (2W) Lyman
Class 1A nine-man
(4W) Rocky Mountain at (1E) Lingle
(3E) Pine Bluffs at (2W) Big Piney
(4E) Lusk at (1W) Wind River
(3W) Riverside at (2E) Southeast
Class 1A six-man
(4S) Farson at (1N) Burlington
(3N) Meeteetse at (2S) Encampment
(4N) Hulett at (1S) Snake River
(3S) Dubois at (2N) Kaycee

For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here. You can click on “Quarterfinals” at the top of the page to take you directly to this week’s schedule.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 24-6 (80 percent). This season: 237-43 (85 percent).

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What first-round upsets do you foresee? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

Every year, when I put together the playoff scenarios entering the final week of the season, I dread what has come to pass in the 3A East this year.

Entering the final week of the season, the four-way tie is possible.

It’s chaos.

Unlikely, but still chaos.

With Douglas, Buffalo and Riverton all at 3-1 in conference play, the most likely tie is the three-way tie. With each one of those three teams playing a team lower in the East’s caste this season — Douglas traveling to Lander, Buffalo hosting Rawlins and Riverton hosting Worland — the most likely scenario is those three teams all win, finishing tied for the conference title at 4-1.

But what if they all lose?

Pick your scenario; I mean, chaos comes in many forms. Food poisoning at the team dinner. History test that no one can pass and everyone’s ineligible. Nationwide phone glitch and everyone sleeps through their pregame nap.

Choose your scenario, or choose three of them. But, for argument’s sake, it happens.

Then Douglas, Buffalo and Riverton are all 3-2 in conference play — and so, too, all of a sudden, is Worland.

It’s the most interesting possibility for postseason chaos in a Week 8 that’s surprisingly devoid of such drama.

It feels a bit weird, but of the 31 games this week, only 15 — less than half — will have any effect on playoff qualification or seeding. As far as qualifying, all eight spots in 4A, 1A nine-man and 1A six-man, seven of eight in 3A and six of eight in 2A have been claimed. In what remains, the 3A West (three teams going for one spot) and 2A West (three teams going for two spots) have any drama in them whatsoever about who’s either in or out of the playoffs.

In the 3A West, it’s Evanston, Jackson and Green River facing a half-simple, half-convoluted scenario. First, the simple: Evanston is in with a win against Green River. But if the Wolves win, well — it gets messy. The Wolves’ only pathway into the playoffs is to win by at least 12 points, have Star Valley beat Jackson, and then win a three-way coin flip. It’s better than nothing… and it’s entirely possible. Meanwhile, the drama at the bottom of the conference hides what might be the best game of the week near the top, where Cody and Powell will face off in an intra-county rivalry game that will decide playoff hosting duties for the first round.

Meanwhile, in the 2A West, Lyman, Lovell and Thermopolis are all in the running for the final two available spots in that conference. Conveniently, Lovell hosts Thermopolis this week, making the scenarios a bit easier to follow. But in two of the four possibilities, a three-way tie could happen, including one where two of the three tied teams make it in and the third one is out.

Maybe the most interesting game of the schedule has nothing to do with the playoffs, and that is the nonconference game between Dubois and Burlington. The South is the stronger of the two six-man conferences this year, so it will be interesting to see how the North’s top seed in the Huskies stacks up against the South’s No. 3 in the Rams.

While every other game will have its drama, and its place, the stakes will be muted for most teams.

No worries, though. Plenty will be on the line starting next week, when the playoffs make every game a potential season-destroyer. Or season-maker, if you’re the optimist.

Just maybe make sure that potato salad hasn’t been sitting in the sun. Study for that history test just a little bit more. Set a backup alarm.

Fight the chaos. (Or, if you’re Worland or Green River, embrace it.)

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Here are this week’s picks. Bold means that team will likely win. It’s simple, just like me.

Thursday
Class 3A
Evanston at Green River
Class 2A
Cokeville at Lyman
Class 1A nine-man
Wind River at Rocky Mountain
Interclass
Rock Springs JV at Snake River
Friday
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central at Rock Springs
Cheyenne East at Kelly Walsh
Laramie at Cheyenne South
Natrona at Thunder Basin
Sheridan at Campbell County
Class 3A
Douglas at Lander
Jackson at Star Valley
Powell at Cody
Rawlins at Buffalo
Worland at Riverton
Class 2A
Burns at Big Horn
Mountain View at Kemmerer
Newcastle at Torrington
Thermopolis at Lovell
Tongue River at Wheatland
Upton-Sundance at Glenrock
Class 1A nine-man
Big Piney at Riverside
Lingle at Saratoga
Moorcroft at Guernsey
Pine Bluffs at Southeast
Wright at Lusk
Class 1A six-man
Casper Christian at Hulett
Encampment at Midwest
Interstate
Rich County, Utah, at Pinedale
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Burlington at Dubois
Farson at Kaycee
Hanna at Ten Sleep
Open: Greybull, Meeteetse, Wyoming Indian. Shoshoni and Wyoming Indian are playing a hybrid varsity-JV game on Thursday that won’t count in the standings; Shoshoni’s varsity also played the Natrona sophomores on Tuesday this week.

For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here. You can click on “Week 8” at the top of the page to take you directly to this week’s schedule.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 29-3 (91 percent). This season: 213-37 (85 percent).

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What things are you keeping an eye on as the regular season comes to a close? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

So much for drama.

By the time we make it into Week 8, the Wyoming high school football season could be absolutely sapped of any uncertainty about conference championships.

That’s because every conference could have its champion decided by the end of Friday night. In every single scenario, the team that could win the title has its destiny in its own hands this week.

The teams that can win the top seed from their conferences this week include:

• Sheridan — A victory over Natrona assures the Broncs the top seed in the 4A playoffs.
• Buffalo — If the Bison can beat Riverton, they will be the No. 1 seed from the 3A East.
• Star Valley — A victory against Green River will hand the Braves the 3A West’s No. 1 seed.
• Big Horn — A Ram victory against Tongue River will make Big Horn the top seed from the 2A East.
• Mountain View — If the Buffalos beat Pinedale, they will take the top seed from the 2A West.
• Lingle or Pine Bluffs — This week’s winner between the two of them will be the 1A nine-man East’s No. 1 seed.
• Wind River — The Cougars can secure the No. 1 seed from the 1A nine-man West by beating Shoshoni.

In 1A six-man, the top two seeds are already assured, with Burlington already securing the No. 1 seed from the North and Snake River the No. 1 seed from the South.

From the group, one sticks out. It’s the only one of the group that has two schools listed by it: Lingle and Pine Bluffs.

Both the Hornets and Doggers, who meet Friday night in Pine Bluffs, are 6-0. But the adventure hasn’t been easy for either one.

Lingle has won six straight but its past three victories have been by eight points, nine points and one point. Pine Bluffs, meanwhile, has had to survive a pair of one-possession games, both times against teams with records of .500 or worse.

In short, both teams have been tested. And, so far, both teams have survived. Together, this week, they will stage the last game of Wyoming’s 2023 high school football season where two undefeated teams will play each other, as no other classification has more than one undefeated team. Whoever wins will be the 1A nine-man East champion, as every other league team has at least two conference losses and the winner here will hold the tiebreaker if something goes awry in Week 8. Moreover, whoever wins will also be the last remaining undefeated team in Class 1A nine-man.

The season still has some drama left, including the biggest chunk of it to be decided at the War.

Just don’t be surprised if it’s a bit subdued heading into the final week of the regular season.

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Other games to watch this week: well, almost all of them. Playoff seeding will be a huge focus of the next two weeks — not that they weren’t already, but the focus of who’s in, who’s out and who might go where in the first round is much clearer now than it was, say, a month ago when conference games counted just as much as they do now.

Regardless, some dreams of Cinderella titles are over. Teams already eliminated from playoff contention include Glenrock, Pinedale, Kemmerer, Guernsey, Shoshoni, Ten Sleep, Casper Christian and Hanna; barely mathematically alive are Cheyenne South, Laramie, Lander, Green River, Newcastle, Burns, Wright and Greybull.

In addition to all the games that could decide conference champions, we have a host of games that will be hugely influential in playoff races. Among the more intriguing are Cody visiting Evanston, Thermopolis heading to Cokeville, Torrington venturing north to play Upton-Sundance, Southeast hosting Saratoga, Midwest hosting Meeteetse and Kaycee going to Hulett. …

One game that won’t have any impact on any playoff races will be Wright at Moorcroft. Both teams are 1-5, but both teams are significantly better than their records show. This might be the last time these two regional rivals play for awhile as Moorcroft is set to make the jump to 2A next season.

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The streak watch: Snake River has now won 27 consecutive games, tied for sixth-best in state history. And Sheridan has won 26 in a row, cracking the top 10 and tied for eighth-longest in state history. Sheridan also still has theoretical possession of Slim MacGuffin. Also, don’t overlook Pine Bluffs, winners of 17 consecutive games.

On the other side of things is Cheyenne South. The Bison have now lost 36 consecutive games, the second-longest losing streak in state history. Two more losses in the final two weeks of the regular season, and South would tie Kemmerer for the longest losing streak in state history. South has also lost 17 straight at home, and a loss to Laramie next week would tie the state record of 18 consecutive home losses.

Speaking of Laramie: Even if the Plainsmen run the table and pull off the most improbable championship in state history, they can’t finish any better than 5-7. So, no matter what happens the rest of the way, Laramie will have its 23rd consecutive losing season. That’s a state record, breaking the tie that Laramie had with Newcastle’s 22 consecutive losing seasons from 1984 to 2005.

Check out Wyoming football’s longest streaks here.

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Once again, I have chosen some teams that I think will win, and I have put them in bold. But a couple upsets wouldn’t spoil the broth.

Thursday
Interclass
Cody sophs at Rocky Mountain
Friday
Class 4A
Campbell County at Cheyenne Central
Cheyenne South at Cheyenne East
Kelly Walsh at Thunder Basin
Natrona at Sheridan
Rock Springs at Laramie
Class 3A
Buffalo at Riverton
Cody at Evanston
Douglas at Rawlins
Lander at Worland
Powell at Jackson
Star Valley at Green River
Class 2A
Big Horn at Tongue River
Glenrock at Newcastle
Kemmerer at Lovell
Pinedale at Mountain View
Thermopolis at Cokeville
Torrington at Upton-Sundance
Wheatland at Burns
Class 1A nine-man
Lingle at Pine Bluffs
Lusk at Guernsey
Riverside at Greybull
Saratoga at Southeast
Wind River at Shoshoni
Wright at Moorcroft
Wyoming Indian at Big Piney
Class 1A six-man
Casper Christian at Encampment
Hanna at Dubois
Meeteetse at Midwest
Snake River at Farson
Ten Sleep at Burlington
Interstate
Rich County, Utah, at Lyman
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Kaycee at Hulett

For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here. You can click on “Week 7” at the top of the page to take you directly to this week’s schedule.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 30-3 (91 percent). This season: 184-34 (84 percent).

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If you’re headed to one of those games that could decide a conference championship — can you give me a ride? You’d have to come to California to get me, though… Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick

Come back with me to the fall of 1996, to the back row of Mrs. Epperson’s freshman English class at Midwest High School.

The reading is done, the analysis questions are answered. Now what?

Well, if you’re little freshman Patrick Schmiedt, you dip into the realm of made-up high school football. You take all your friends and put them on “teams” that don’t exist. You develop a schedule. You imagine interesting scenarios and play them out in the form of box scores, standings, weekly stats, rankings, playoffs, a champion.

Here’s the thing — when I created those teams, I took every Wyoming high school that didn’t yet have a football team and gave them one. I distributed my friends onto 10 rosters across the state. All of a sudden, places like Farson, Snake River, Encampment, Glendo, Arvada-Clearmont and others had football teams, all under the umbrella of the “Wyoming 8-Man Football Association.”

Welcome to the fantasy world of my 15-year-old mind.

In the lone season of the imaginary league, Snake River wins the state championship, defeating Glendo (and its all-state tight end, me) 31-28. I might have had just a smidgen of self-indulgence, too, as I led the state in catches and receiving yards in this season.

In 1996, that’s where such a game belonged: in fantasyland. Snake River didn’t have a team, neither did Glendo, and neither did any of those other eight schools. And I was never going to lead the state in receiving yards anywhere except for in fake box scores in games that would never be played. But all of it was fun to think about.

Eventually, the self-indulgence of me catching 10 passes a game gave way to the much bigger idea of a non-11-man option for Wyoming’s small high schools. Sparked by my English class downtime scenarios, I always wondered in the back of my mind if we would ever see a football team in a place like Baggs that could live up to the championship aspirations in real life. More broadly, I wondered if such a league could ever be developed in the first place.

Those possibilities remained just that, possibilities, for the next 12 years. Then, in 2008, the Wyoming High School Activities Association approved six-man football to start in 2009. Then Snake River came along, for real, as did Kaycee, Farson and, eventually, Rock River and Encampment. It was like these little doodles had come to life.

Since then, Snake River has won five state championships, including the two most recent, and will enter Saturday’s game against also-undefeated Encampment with a school-record 26-game winning streak in tow.

So when two 5-0 teams meet on Saturday in Baggs, whose programs were not that long ago limited to imaginary teams and rosters and box scores created during downtime in a high school English classroom?

Yeah, you could call it a dream come true.

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Other games that would have spent less time on my mind as a 15-year-old but are now definitely filling it now:

Well, it’s time. Star Valley at Cody. Last week proved just how tight it could be at the top of the 3A West, as the Braves needed a literal last-second field goal to beat Powell 24-21. Now Star Valley has Cody, which has played well but whose 6-0 record comes with a caveat — just one of those victories has come against a team with a winning record, that one a 34-7 victory against 3A East frontrunner Buffalo. Star Valley has to say the same, though, as the Braves’ only victory against a winning-record team was last week’s against Powell. Still, the top of 3A only has room for one team, and whoever wins this one will absolutely claim that right, at least for the next week or so until the next challenge comes along. …

I feel like I have to absolutely give some mad props to the Campbell County Camels, who picked up a monumental crosstown victory against Thunder Basin last week in an emphatic 49-17 victory. The Camels are now 5-1. Trouble is, so is this week’s opponent, Natrona. Are the Camels “back”? A road victory against the Mustangs would prove the point even more emphatically than last week’s victory. …

Between Lovell, Lyman, Mountain View and Cokeville (and Thermopolis who’s lurking at 2-1), the 2A West is a hodgepodge of messy scenarios. So far, only Mountain View is unscathed by it all, but by far the Buffalos’ toughest remaining test is this week’s home date against Lovell. …

Douglas has won 10 in a row and 16 out of the last 17 games it’s played against Riverton. But the way both teams looked last week — Riverton controlling from start to finish in beating Lander 50-21, Douglas stumbling at home against Buffalo in a 13-3 loss — this one could be a table-turner. I’m curious to see how both teams handle a set of shifting expectations. …

The capital city bragging rights are (basically) on the line this week as Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East meet up to renew acquaintances. The Thunderbirds are coming off a loss, something they haven’t had to face all season. Will East’s loss to Sheridan last week mean a deflating coming into this rivalry game? Or will preparing for the Indians, who have had back-to-back shutout victories, snap the T-Birds back to reality? …

One of the most intriguing games on the schedule is in Basin, where Riverside hosts Rocky Mountain. If you just look at the records, it might not look like much: Rocky is 4-1, Riverside 2-3. But the Rebels are better than their record indicates, and I think the Grizzlies will provide a great measuring stick in a game that will have huge playoff implications in the 1A nine-man West. …

Another critical nine-man game will happen in Goshen County this weekend with Southeast making the quick trip to Lingle. Even though the Doggers are 5-0 and the Cyclones are 4-1, neither one has any breathing room in the East, not with Pine Bluffs also at 5-0 and Lusk, the only team to beat Southeast this season, still hanging around, and Saratoga at 2-1 in league play, all of them viable threats in the conference standings. …

And let’s put a fork in St. Stephens’ 2023 season. All of the Eagles’ remaining opponents have scheduled replacement games or decided to take a bye. It’s safe to say their season is done.

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Now for the picks! The teams in bold are the ones I think will win. When I can’t think anymore, I flip coins. It’s about as effective as using my brain.

Thursday
Class 1A nine-man
Big Piney at Shoshoni
Greybull at Wind River
Pine Bluffs at Saratoga
Class 1A six-man
Ten Sleep at Meeteetse
Interclass
Wyoming Indian at Cody JV
Friday
Class 4A
Campbell County at Natrona
Cheyenne East at Cheyenne Central
Cheyenne South at Rock Springs
Kelly Walsh at Sheridan
Thunder Basin at Laramie
Class 3A
Evanston at Powell
Green River at Jackson
Lander at Rawlins
Riverton at Douglas
Star Valley at Cody
Worland at Buffalo
Class 2A
Burns at Tongue River
Kemmerer at Pinedale
Lovell at Mountain View
Lyman at Thermopolis
Newcastle at Big Horn
Torrington at Glenrock
Upton-Sundance at Wheatland
Class 1A nine-man
Guernsey at Wright
Moorcroft at Lusk
Rocky Mountain at Riverside
Southeast at Lingle
Class 1A six-man
Burlington at Kaycee
Farson at Hanna
Interstate
Cokeville at Rich County, Utah
Saturday
Class 1A six-man
Dubois at Casper Christian
Encampment at Snake River
Midwest at Hulett

For a full schedule including kickoff times, click here. You can click on “Week 6” at the top of the page to take you directly to this week’s schedule.

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Here are the results of my picks from last week and this season:

Last week: 25-6 (81 percent). This season: 154-31 (83 percent).

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With so many critical games this week, where is your attention drawn — in the real world, not the fake one? Leave a comment here, or hit me up on the Facebook page or on Twitter.

If you like what you see here, consider a page sponsorship. 

–patrick