Rich County, Utah, finds a football home in Wyoming

by ⋅ 2 Comments

A Utah high school football program with deep tradition will play seven games against Wyoming schools this fall in an effort to keep its program going.

Rich County, Utah, will play what amounts to a Class 2A West Conference schedule in addition to four games against Utah teams in the 2022 season.

Cooper Cornia, Rich County’s athletic director, said via email Tuesday with wyoming-football.com that the move by the Rebels — a program that has won six Utah championships since 1994 — will help them overcome some of the problems they’ve faced in the Beehive State.

“We have gone independent in hopes of saving our football program here at Rich,” Cornia said. ” … The timing was just perfect with Big Piney dropping down to allow us to jump into the southwest Wyoming schedule and fill our independent schedule with close, quality games.”

As one of 11 schools in Utah’s Class 1A, Rich County was isolated from many of its conference opponents. In both 2020 and 2021, Rich averaged more than 200 miles, one way, per road game. Its closest conference opponent, North Summit, was 73 miles away; its furthest, Monticello, was 382.

“Utah has basically gotten rid of the traditional 1A league here,” Cornia said. “There are only two true 1A schools playing in the 1A league. The rest are 2A schools.”

In 2022, Rich County will play four schools within 73 miles, traveling to Kemmerer and Cokeville in 2022 and to Mountain View and Lyman in 2023.

Rich will also have a road game at Thermopolis (268 miles) in 2022 and road games at Lovell (370 miles) and at Pinedale (147 miles) in 2023. In the next two years, Rich’s schedule against mostly Wyoming teams will reduce its travel almost 30% as compared to the trips the Rebels have had to play Utah teams the previous two years.

Rich’s 2022 schedule also has two road games against Utah opponents Monticello and Water Canyon (408 miles) and two home games against Utah teams.

Rich has a proud football tradition. The Rebels won six Utah championships between 1994 and 2014, including three in a row from 1994-96. Rich also won titles in 2002, 2009 and 2014 and was a runner-up in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013.

However, since 2017, the Rebels are a combined 6-43, never winning more than two games in any one season. Rich had to forfeit a pair of games in the 2021 season. The Rebels will enter 2022 with a new coach, Tyson Larsen.

Going independent will mean that Rich is ineligible for the Utah playoffs. As for potentially joining the Wyoming ranks, Cornia said, “I don’t think Wyoming will ever allow us to be post-season eligible. … Hopefully, we can build our program back and return to Utah post-season play soon.”

For the full 2022 Wyoming high school football schedule, click here.

–patrick

Single-seasons turnarounds in Wyoming high school basketball: The best, and worst

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Last season, the Kelly Walsh boys basketball team finished 3-15.

So far this season, the Trojans are 11-1.

The turnaround that KW has seen so far is laudable, and if the Trojans keep it up, it could end up being one of the best single-season turnarounds the state has ever seen.

In April 2013, I brought to your attention some of the biggest single-season turnarounds and falloffs in Wyoming football history.

This post is designed to do the same, but this time for basketball: the 10 biggest turnarounds and the 10 biggest falloffs in both boys and girls basketball history.

Certainly, a lot goes into a dramatic increase or a dramatic falloff. Big improvements come from a variety of reasons, including classification changes and infusions of talent. For example, the single biggest turnaround in Wyoming’s basketball history (by far, just look at the numbers) came from the Big Horn girls team in 1998, which had a freshman unit that eventually won a pair of state championships and had an unbeaten season in their senior year. That’s something you just can’t coach.

The top four falloffs for boys, though, all involved a coaching change — more a signal of a coach abandoning a bad situation than anything else. (My dad, Jim, was involved in the No. 2 falloff of all time as the new head coach at Mountain View in 1978 after the Buffalos had won three consecutive Class B championships. That same season, though, he coached the MV girls to third at state.) However, the top four falloffs for girls all involved the same head coach for both seasons. So go figure.

Some changes, though, are a reflection of bigger happenings in a community. For example, the Superior boys in 1962 had little control of their fall from 24-4 to 2-14. The area’s mines closed at a precipitous rate that year, with the final closure of the D.O. Clark Mine in March putting more than 70 miners out of work and bringing about the closure of the high school. As for more of Patrick’s family connections, my uncle Lee moved to Wheatland in 1972 as a junior in high school and was part of the Wheatland 1972-73 turnaround that made the top 10, but that move just happened to coincide with the beginning of the construction of the Laramie River Station power plant near Wheatland that brought a big influx of new people to Platte County.

Here are the lists of the biggest single-season turnarounds, in both directions:

The top 10 biggest improvements, boys:
Lingle, 1990, .759 improvement (from 3-17 to 20-2)
Cokeville, 1941, .717 improvement (from 2-13 to 17-3)
Rock River, 1955, .711 improvement (from 1-13 to 18-5)
Meeteetse, 1976, .700 improvement (from 1-19 to 15-5)
Hanna, 1955, .657 improvement (from 3-16 to 22-5)
Torrington, 1985, .645 improvement (from 2-17 to 18-6)
Sunrise, 1939, .613 improvement (from 3-14 to 15-4)
Rozet, 1941, .607 improvement (from 6-16 to 22-3)
Wheatland, 1973, .601 improvement (from 4-17 to 19-5)
Riverton, 2017, .595 improvement (from 10-17 to 28-1)

Top 10 biggest falloffs, boys:
Burns, 2004, .870 falloff (from 20-3 to 0-19)
Mountain View, 1978, .850 falloff (from 24-0 to 3-17)
Pinedale, 2011, .778 falloff (from 21-6 to 0-23)
Arvada-Clearmont, 1991, .763 falloff (from 21-2 to 3-17)
Medicine Bow, 1980, .750 falloff (from 15-5 to 0-17)
NSI, 2003, .737 falloff (from 14-5 to 0-18)
Saratoga, 1984, .735 falloff (from 21-4 to 2-17)
Superior, 1962, .732 falloff (from 24-4 to 2-14)
Guernsey-Sunrise, 1998, .725 falloff (from 17-5 to 1-20)
Kemmerer, 2005, .715 falloff (from 23-4 to 3-19)

The top 10 biggest improvements, girls:
Big Horn, 1998, .783 improvement (from 1-19 to 20-4)
Laramie, 2006, .631 improvement (from 1-20 to 19-9)
Newcastle, 1978, .628 improvement (from 2-9 to 17-4)
Natrona, 2020, .619 improvement (from 1-20 to 16-8)
Dubois, 1989, .587 improvement (from 4-14 to 17-4)
Green River, 1982, .572 improvement (from 3-17 to 13-5)
Meeteetse, 1996, .549 improvement (from 2-15 to 12-6)
Mountain View, 2014, .546 improvement (from 2-22 to 17-10)
Riverton, 1983, .542 improvement (from 10-14 to 23-1)
Tongue River, 2003, .527 improvement (from 4-15 to 17-6)

Top 10 biggest falloffs, girls:
Lyman, 1996, .800 falloff (from 23-0 to 4-16)
St. Stephens, 2020, .794 falloff (from 23-3 to 2-20)
Rocky Mountain, 1994, .775 falloff (from 20-4 to 1-16)
Midwest, 1983, .747 falloff (from 17-4 to 2-17)
Dubois, 1981, .746 falloff (from 18-3 to 2-16)
Mountain View, 1999, .727 falloff (from 25-0 to 6-16)
Sundance, 1986, .720 falloff (from 17-5 to 1-18)
Wright, 2020, .715 falloff (from 19-6 to 1-21)
Big Horn, 1991, .714 falloff (from 15-6 to 0-19)
Guernsey-Sunrise, 2006, .713 falloff (from 26-1 to 6-18)

**Note that these are incomplete records, since I’m missing 354 boys season records since 1960 and 286 girls records since 1976. I’m sad about that. You can help.

–patrick

Weekly rankings for Wyoming high school football back to 1984 posted on wyoming-football.com

by ⋅ 2 Comments

I’ll be honest: During the season, one of the things I look forward to most between games is the weekly rankings.

I love them because they are a great gauge for perspective. Is that team as good as I think it is? What do others think? Are y’all seeing what I’m seeing?

I also love them because it gives every team in the state except for the five teams ranked No. 1 some motivation. You know, “everyone” is overlooking us, “no one” thought we could do it, etc. Motivation can come in many forms, but rankings are the most public. Without them, how could anyone ever feel slighted?

Most of all, though, I love them because they are basically one big way for coaches and media types to have a conversation about who they think are the best teams without ever having to talk to each other.

The problem with rankings is that they’re only good for a week. Friday comes along, a whole slew of games are played, and that new information is incorporated into a new set of votes for next week’s rankings.

However, looking at old rankings can give us lots of insight into a season. Who rallied after a poor start? Who was the team that everyone knew was coming and lived up to expectations? Who lived fast and died young?

Since I want to know the answers to those questions, I started tracking down every single weekly poll for Wyoming high school football, all the way back to the start of such statewide polls.

This research took several weeks of evenings and weekends, most of which was spent either on wyopreps.com or the Casper Star-Tribune archive on newspapers.com. To this point, research has taken me back to 1952, which I believe is the first year for a coordinated statewide effort at an actual poll and not just rankings put out by individual newspapers.

I’m ready to share a big chunk of that research today.

Starting today, weekly polls from 1984 to 2021 will be available on wyoming-football.com. Polls for each year will be linked from the results by year page.

+++

Highlights

With 38 years of week-by-week rankings now part of wyoming-football.com — and with more to come — we can take a quick look at which teams have done what in the polls.

Most weeks ranked, most weeks at No. 1: It should be no surprise that Cokeville has spent the most weeks ranked (313) and the most weeks ranked No. 1 (141). With 345 weekly rankings available — and with not every week containing a ranking for the classification that Cokeville was in at the time — the Panthers have been ranked more than 90% of the time and have been No. 1 more than 40% of the time.

Not coincidentally, the same five programs that spent the most time both at No. 1 also spent the most time in the rankings, period.

Behind Cokeville in time in the No. 1 spot is Natrona at 94 weeks, Big Horn at 92, Star Valley at 86 and Sheridan at 80.

Behind Cokeville in total weeks ranked is Natrona (279), Sheridan (265), Big Horn (263) and Star Valley (259).

Cokeville is also the program that has spent the most weeks ranked at No. 2 with 82 weeks, tied with Lusk for the most time spent in the second slot.

Who’s been No. 1: In all, 38 teams since 2010 have been ranked No. 1 for at least one week, and since 1984 all but eight programs have failed to reach the top spot. Those who haven’t been ranked No. 1 since 1984 include:

  • Saratoga (last reached No. 1 in the final AP poll of 1982)
  • Pinedale (last reached No. 1 in the UPI poll in Week 9, 1981)
  • Newcastle (last reached No. 1 in the UPI poll in Week 5, 1980)
  • Rawlins (last reached No. 1 in the AP poll in Week 10, 1974)
  • Cheyenne South, Encampment, St. Stephens, Wyoming Indian (never ranked No. 1, according to currently researched polls)

Five more programs (Hulett, Kelly Walsh, Ten Sleep, Tongue River and Moorcroft) have been ranked No. 1 for just one week since 1984.

Of the teams that have been around since 1984, Wyoming Indian (15 weeks), Rawlins (29 weeks) and Saratoga (36 weeks) have spent the least amount of time ranked. Every other program that has existed since 1984 has spent at least 42 weeks ranked. Of the eight Class 4A programs that have existed since 1984, Kelly Walsh has the fewest weeks at No. 1 (one week) and the fewest total weeks in the polls (93 weeks).

No. 1 all season long: In all, 60 teams have gone wire-to-wire ranked No. 1, most recently Southeast and Farson in 2020. Of those 60, 41 eventually won a state championship.

+++

At the end of this post is a table that notes the total weeks at No. 1, the total weeks ranked and the last time ranked No. 1 for each program.

Prior to 1984, two polls existed for most years — the Associated Press poll and the United Press International poll. Research is continuing on those, and I hope to share them, or at least what we can find, soon. Poll information from 1952 to 1983 is much more spotty, but I will share it all once I feel like it’s in a “shareable” state; right now, it’s not quite there yet.

Remember, weekly polls from each season from 1984-2021 are on the results by year page. More blog posts are coming, so keep your eyes open! I’m still exploring the current data, including figuring out who’s spent the most consecutive weeks ranked and the most consecutive weeks at No. 1.

My huge gratitude goes out to “Stat Rat” Jim Craig and his help for finding a few of the polls I couldn’t. Do a search for his name on this blog and you’ll see how helpful he has been for many, many years, and he’s also one of the key architects to the work posted on sister site wyoming-basketball.com. Thanks again, good sir!

I’m always looking for new information I can post to wyoming-football.com. What do you want to see next?

–patrick

Weekly poll rankings, 1984-2021

TeamWeeks at No. 1Total weeks rankedLast ranked No. 1
Cokeville141313Playoffs 2017
Natrona94279Week 2 2019
Big Horn92263Playoffs 2019
Star Valley86259Week 1 2020
Sheridan80265Week 4 2021
Meeteetse66145Week 5 2021
Mountain View54217Week 8 2020
Southeast54218Preseason 2021
Campbell County51239Playoffs 2016
Powell49199Week 4 2020
Rocky Mountain46135Playoffs 1999
Buffalo46202Week 3 2019
Lovell42219Week 2 2020
Snake River39107Playoffs 2021
Glenrock37164Week 4 2018
Rock Springs36131Playoffs 2021
Torrington35169Preseason 2021
Lusk33229Week 2 2021
Jackson30144Week 2 2021
Big Piney30152Week 2 2007
Lander29112Week 8 2004
Thermopolis28105Week 5 2010
Kemmerer28120Playoffs 2008
Lyman28127Playoffs 2021
Cheyenne Central28154Week 6 2020
Guernsey27131Week 4 2015
Cody27185Playoffs 2021
Green River24143Week 6 2016
Wheatland22145Week 3 2021
Douglas22188Playoffs 2014
Farson2179Playoffs 2020
Laramie21124Week 8 1996
Burlington21163Playoffs 2008
Dubois20106Week 4 2013
Riverton20117Week 7 2014
Greybull17121Week 5 1991
Shoshoni15121Week 5 2021
Worland1493Playoffs 2003
Midwest13132Week 3 2010
Thunder Basin1257Week 1 2021
Riverside1276Week 3 2007
Kaycee1289Playoffs 2017
Upton-Sundance1173Playoffs 2016
Evanston11117Week 5 2007
Cheyenne East11182Preseason 2021
Pine Bluffs9101Playoffs 2021
Sundance886Week 2 2006
Wright762Week 4 2005
Lingle786Week 7 2015
Upton7106Week 2 2006
Wind River544Preseason 1998
Burns363Playoffs 2013
Hanna266Week 5 2000
Moorcroft154Preseason 1997
Tongue River169Preseason 2007
Ten Sleep191Week 4 1987
Kelly Walsh193Week 4 2006
Hulett193Week 6 1994
Rock River00Never
St. Stephens00Never
Basin04Never
St. Mary's/Seton05Never
Cheyenne South07Never
Wyoming Indian015Never
NSI025Never
Encampment029Never
Rawlins029Week 10 1974
Saratoga036Playoffs 1982
Pinedale042Week 9 1981
Newcastle043Week 5 1980

Note: Post updated 5:49 p.m. Jan. 18, 2022, to reflect Newcastle’s last No. 1 ranking in 1980.

Coaching records on wyoming-football.com

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

I added records for the top 100 coaches in state history by number of victories this week to wyoming-football.com. I had posted these records sporadically on the blog before, but I wanted to give them a permanent home.

Here it is.

–patrick

Working overtime: Who dominates extra time in Wyoming high school football?

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Thunder Basin’s last game of its 2021 season did not end the way the ‘Bolts hoped it would.

In a 17-14 overtime loss to Natrona in the Class 4A quarterfinals, Thunder Basin’s season came to an end.

Nevertheless, the loss still provided a historical first — the program’s first overtime game in five years of existence. And it’s no surprise that Thunder Basin played Natrona in an overtime game.

Since 1975, when overtime became the standard for Wyoming high school football, 277 games have gone into overtime. In breaking down all 277, here are some takeaways:

  • No team has played more overtime games than Natrona.
  • No team has done better than Lingle.
  • No team has done worse than Pinedale.

Overtime has been around in Wyoming high school football since 1975; prior to that, games that were tied at the end of regulation were just called ties, while playoff games tied at the end of regulation were broken by a variety of methods.

Wyoming’s first first non-playoff overtime game was in the first full week of the 1975 season. Basin and Tongue River went into two overtimes to decide a winner, with the Bobcats emerging with a 30-24 victory in Dayton.

That was the first of seven OT games in 1975, including three involving Basin — a single-team record for overtime games in a season that has been matched three other times (Upton in 1977, Cheyenne East in 1986 and Natrona in 2013) but never surpassed.

Who crushes overtime — and who OT crushes

Lingle has the best winning percentage of any program that’s played in more than one overtime game. The Doggers are 8-1 all-time in overtimes, most recently winning in 2020 against Greybull in extra time.

Rock Springs and Lyman aren’t far behind. Both Southwest programs are 80% winners in OT, with the Tigers at 8-2 and the Eagles at 4-1 all-time in OT games.

With 10 victories, Evanston has won more overtime games than any other program.

At the bottom of the list is Pinedale, which has won just one of its seven OT games in program history; Kemmerer isn’t far off the pace at 1-5 all-time.

Of programs that have been around since 1975, no one is undefeated in OT, and no one is winless.

Who loves it — and who hates it

By a small margin, Natrona has played in more overtime games (20) since 1975 than any other Wyoming program; the Mustangs are 9-11 in those games. Star Valley and Evanston have both played in 17 OT games, including four times against each other, while four programs (Central, East, Laramie and Green River) have played in 15 apiece.

Of the six programs that have never played in an overtime game, none have been around longer than 2009; they are Cheyenne South, Upton-Sundance, St. Stephens, Kaycee, Encampment and Farson. Of teams that have been around the full span of OT, both Rawlins and Guernsey-Sunrise share the spot for the fewest overtime games with three apiece. Both are 1-2 in those games.

Oddly enough, of all teams active in 1975 that are still going today, Sheridan went the longest before having its first overtime game; the Broncs didn’t play in an overtime affair until 1999. Since then, the Broncs have had six more. And Dubois takes the cake for currently having avoided OT the longest; the Rams haven’t played in extra time since 1994. Up until an overtime game against Big Horn in 2021, Torrington held that spot, having not played an overtime game since 1991. In addition to Dubois, two other programs — Ten Sleep (1995) and Hanna (1999) — also haven’t played in OT in the 21st century.

The series that saw the most consecutive games go to overtime is Douglas/Glenrock. Three consecutive games between the Bearcats and Herders from 1988-90 all went overtime.

Numbers going down?

The number of overtime games per season has fluctuated over time, but no season since 2010 has had more than five. However, there were 15 overtime games in 2007 (including four on opening weekend alone), 12 in 2008 and 11 in 2009 — a three-year total of 38 that is only barely surpassed by the total of the 12 seasons that followed it (42). The 15 OT games in 2007 is the single-season record; meanwhile, 2012 and 2014 only had one overtime game apiece, the record for the fewest such games in a season.

The first week of the 1994 season tied 2007 for the most overtime games in a week with four, but the entire 1994 season only finished with six OT games. The final week of the 1999 season also had four overtime games, a lot for a season that only finished with nine.

Bye to the tie — unless it gets weird

Wyoming’s final non-accidental tie was Meeteetse’s 12-12 tie with Manderson on Oct. 30, 1974; since overtime came along, only two other games have finished as ties, and those were under weird circumstances.

The 45-45 shootout draw staged between Big Horn and Riverside was staged in the 1987 season opener on Sept. 4. The game went three overtimes, but after the overtimes failed to determine a winner, the officials called the game a draw. This was also Riverside’s first game in its incarnation as Riverside after the high schools of Basin and Manderson joined over the previous summer.

A weird set of circumstances in a 2017 game between Rocky Mountain and the Natrona sophomores led to the second tie score in Wyoming since overtime was instituted prior to the 1975 season. First, the game was a neutral-site affair, played in Thermopolis. Second, the score was 9-9 ­— an odd score for teams to reach regardless, but even odder for two teams to reach in the same game. Third, the game never finished on the field, as the threat of lightning strikes led to the game’s premature ending at halftime. The odds of all those circumstances coming together at once (neutral site, scores of 9, weather cancelation and tie game)? Astronomically against. 

+++

The table below notes records in overtime games since 1975, through the end of the 2021 season. The table is sortable by each category by clicking on the header column.

TeamOT WOT LWin %Total GamesFirstLast
Basin310.750419751980
St. Mary's310.750419751988
Dubois310.750419781994
Ten Sleep340.429719771995
Hanna430.571719801999
Rawlins120.333319892003
Midwest340.429719782003
Jackson140.200519752004
Kemmerer150.167619752006
Saratoga130.250419822006
Meeteetse430.571719772006
Sundance340.429719772007
Upton480.3331219762008
NSI220.500420002008
Wheatland330.500619852008
Thermopolis420.667619762008
Wind River350.375819802009
Lusk340.429719842009
Lander340.429719792009
Worland340.429719792009
Wyoming Indian330.500619882009
Star Valley980.5291719772009
Cody570.4171219762010
Lyman410.800519762010
Cokevile650.5451119752011
Evanston1070.5881719752011
Buffalo320.600519832011
Green River690.4001519792012
Big Horn630.667919802012
Kelly Walsh250.286719792013
Powell440.500819792013
Guernsey-Sunrise120.333319822015
Glenrock360.333919782015
Hulett330.500619952015
Moorcroft660.5001219812015
Pinedale160.143719752016
Big Piney570.4171219762016
Burlington340.429719832016
Lovell850.6151319762016
Mountain View730.7001019752016
Snake River101.000120162016
Wright250.286719852017
Southeast750.5831219782017
Pine Bluffs670.4621319772018
Rocky Mountain430.571719882018
Cheyenne Central960.6001519782018
Burns320.600519752018
Shoshoni310.750419822018
Rock Springs820.8001019812018
Laramie690.4001519762019
Riverton560.4551119822019
Cheyenne East780.4671519782019
Douglas840.6671219782019
Campbell County830.7271119862019
Sheridan430.571719992020
Lingle810.889919772020
Thunder Basin010.000120212021
Tongue River140.200519752021
Greybull390.2501219752021
Natrona9110.4502019762021
Riverside330.500619902021
Newcastle430.571719762021
Torrington320.600519782021
Cheyenne South00--0NANA
Upton-Sundance00--0NANA
St. Stephens00--0NANA
Kaycee00--0NANA
Encampment00--0NANA
Farson00--0NANA

–patrick

Wyoming high school football playoff scenarios entering Week 8, 2021

by ⋅ 9 Comments

Here’s a quick look at the playoff scenarios for Wyoming high school football teams entering Week 8 of the 2021 season:

Class 4A
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Campbell County at Kelly Walsh; Cheyenne South at Natrona; Laramie at Cheyenne Central; Rock Springs at Cheyenne East; Sheridan at Thunder Basin.
Cheyenne East: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss.
Rock Springs: In. No. 1 seed with victory and Thunder Basin victory. No. 2 seed with victory and Sheridan victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Sheridan victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with loss and Thunder Basin victory.
Sheridan: In. No. 1 seed with victory and Rock Springs victory. No. 2 seed with victory and East victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with loss and East victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Rock Springs victory.
Thunder Basin: In. No. 2 seed with victory and Rock Springs victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with victory and East victory. No. 4 seed with loss and South victory. No. 5 seed with loss and Natrona victory.
Natrona: In. No. 4 seed with victory and Sheridan victory. No. 5 seed with victory and Thunder Basin victory. No. 5 seed with loss.
Campbell County, Kelly Walsh: In. No. 6 seed with victory. No. 7 seed with loss.
Cheyenne Central, Laramie: Neither in nor out. No. 8 seed with victory. Out with loss.
Cheyenne South: Out.

Here’s a breakdown of how the seeding would go for the top five seeds with the three games in play:

If Natrona beats South
TeamsEastRock SpringsSheridanThunder BasinNatrona
Rock Springs, Sheridan win32154
Rock Springs, Thunder Basin win31425
East, Sheridan win13254
East, Thunder Basin win14325
If South beats Natrona
TeamsEastRock SpringsSheridanThunder BasinNatrona
Rock Springs, Sheridan win32145
Rock Springs, Thunder Basin win31425
East, Sheridan win13245
East, Thunder Basin win14325

Score differential tiebreaker (updated 10-21): If Thunder Basin, Sheridan and Rock Springs tied for the 2-3-4 seeds… Thunder Basin would have the victory against the highest-ranking non-tied team (East), so would be the No. 2 seed. Sheridan then is the No. 3 seed due to head-to-head victory over Rock Springs, which would be seeded fourth. Thanks to Nash in the comments for correcting the error I had previously listed in this scenario.

Class 3A East
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Douglas at Worland; Lander at Buffalo.
Douglas: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss and Lander victory. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with loss and Buffalo victory.
Buffalo: In. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with victory and Worland victory. No. 2 seed with victory and Douglas victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with loss and Douglas victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Worland victory.
Worland: In. No. 1 seed with victory and Lander victory. Tie for 1-2-3 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with victory and Buffalo victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with loss and Lander victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Buffalo victory.
Lander: In. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with victory and Douglas victory. No. 3 seed with victory and Worland victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Rawlins, Riverton: Out.
Score differential tiebreakers:
Scenario 1: If Buffalo, Worland and Lander tied for the 2-3-4 seeds… Lander would have to defeat Buffalo by 10 or more points to win the No. 2 seed (Lander +3, Buffalo +2, Worland -5). Buffalo would be the No. 3 seed by virtue of its head-to-head victory over Worland, which would be the fourth seed. … If Lander won by nine or fewer points, Buffalo would be the No. 2 seed. Worland would be the No. 3 seed with a head-to-head victory over Lander, which would be the No. 4 seed.
Scenario 2: If Douglas, Buffalo and Worland tied for the 1-2-3 seeds… Worland would have to beat Douglas by at least 12 points to force a coin flip for the 1-2-3 seeds. A Worland victory by 11 or fewer points would give Douglas the point differential tiebreaker and the No. 1 seed. Buffalo would then be the No. 2 seed due to its victory against Worland.

Class 3A West
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Evanston at Powell; Jackson at Cody.
Cody, Jackson: In. No. 1 seed with victory. No. 2 seed with loss.
Star Valley: In. No. 3 seed.
Evanston, Powell: Neither in nor out. No. 4 seed with victory. Out with loss.
Green River: Out.

Class 2A East
Week 8 games potentially affecting playoff seeding: Burns at Torrington; Tongue River at Glenrock; Upton-Sundance at Big Horn; Wheatland at Newcastle.
Torrington: In. No. 1 seed.
Wheatland: Neither in nor out. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Upton-Sundance victory. Get in a messy tie with loss and Big Horn victory (see below).
Upton-Sundance: Neither in nor out. No. 2 seed with victory and Newcastle victory. No. 3 seed with victory and Wheatland victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Wheatland victory. Get in a messy tie with loss and Newcastle victory (see below).
Big Horn: Neither in nor out. No. 3 seed with victory and Wheatland victory. Get in a messy tie with victory and Newcastle victory (see below). Get in a messy tie with loss and Wheatland victory (see below). Either out or in a messy tie (see below) with loss and Wheatland victory.
Newcastle: Neither in nor out. No. 3 seed with victory and Upton-Sundance victory. Get in a messy tie with victory and Big Horn victory (see below). Get in a messy tie or out with loss and Upton-Sundance victory (see below). Out with loss and Big Horn victory.
Burns: Neither in nor out. Need a victory, a Tongue River victory, an Upton-Sundance victory and a Wheatland victory to get in a messy tie (see below). Out in all other scenarios.
Tongue River: Neither in nor out. Need a victory, a Burns victory, an Upton-Sundance victory and a Wheatland victory to get in a messy tie (see below). Out in all other scenarios.
Glenrock: Out.
Here are the 2A East scenarios for Week 8. They involve the potential for two four-way tiebreakers, which would be broken with a method TBD, as well as a three-way tiebreaker to be broken by either point differential or coin flip:

If Tongue River beats Glenrock…WheatlandUpton-SundanceBig HornNewcastleBurnsTongue River
Burns, U-S, Wheatland win23tie 4-out-out-outtie 4-out-out-outout (even in tie)tie 4-out-out-outScenario 1
Burns, U-S, Newcastle win42out3outout
Burns, Big Horn, Wheatland win243outoutout
Burns, Big Horn, Newcastle win243outoutoutScenario 2
Torrington, U-S, Wheatland win234outoutoutScenario 3
Torrington, U-S, Newcastle win42out3outout
Torrington, Big Horn, Wheatland win243outoutout
Torrington, Big Horn, Newcastle win243outoutoutScenario 2
If Glenrock beats Tongue River…WheatlandUpton-SundanceBig HornNewcastleBurnsTongue River
Burns, U-S, Wheatland win234outoutoutScenario 4
Burns, U-S, Newcastle win42out3outout
Burns, Big Horn, Wheatland win243outoutout
Burns, Big Horn, Newcastle win243outoutoutScenario 2
Torrington, U-S, Wheatland win234outoutout
Torrington, U-S, Newcastle win42out3outout
Torrington, Big Horn, Wheatland win243outoutout
Torrington, Big Horn, Newcastle win243outoutoutScenario 2

Tiebreaker scenarios:
Scenario 1: Where Big Horn, Burns, Newcastle and Tongue River tie for the fourth and final spot, Burns would be 0-3 against the other three teams and would be eliminated from the tiebreaker. The remaining three teams would have their tie broken by a coin flip, with the odd team out and the head-to-head winner of the remaining teams taking the spot in the playoffs. (Four-way ties do not revert to three-way ties in cases like this.) Thanks to WHSAA Associate Commissioner Trevor Wilson for clarification on this tiebreaker.
Scenario 2 (updated 10-21): Where Wheatland, Upton-Sundance, Big Horn and Newcastle tie for the 2-3-4 spots and one team finishing out, the four-way tiebreaking instructions would be used. In a case where two teams are 2-1 and the other two are 1-2 against each other, the two 2-1 teams would take the top two seeds, with the head-to-head result determining the higher seed. In this situation, Wheatland and Big Horn would be seeded 2 and 3, as both are 2-1 and Wheatland will have defeated Big Horn. Then Upton-Sundance and Newcastle, the two 1-2 teams, would have Upton-Sundance seeded fourth and Newcastle out due to the head-to-head victory. Thanks to WHSAA Associate Commissioner Trevor Wilson for further clarification on this tiebreaker.
Scenario 3: Where Big Horn, Newcastle and Tongue River tie for the fourth and final spot, Big Horn would win a score differential tiebreaker (Big Horn +11, Tongue River -2, Newcastle -9).
Scenario 4: Where Big Horn, Newcastle and Burns tie for the fourth and final spot, Big Horn gains the No. 4 seed with head-to-head victories over both.

Class 2A West
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Big Piney at Kemmerer; Lovell at Cokeville.
Lyman: In. No. 1 seed.
Lovell: In. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Kemmerer victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with loss and Big Piney victory.
Cokeville: In. No. 2 seed with victory and Kemmerer victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with victory and Big Piney victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Big Piney: In. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential to break) with victory and Cokeville victory. No. 3 seed with Lovell victory, regardless of win or loss. No. 4 seed with loss and Cokeville victory.
Thermopolis, Kemmerer, Mountain View, Pinedale: Out.
Score differential tiebreaker: If Lovell, Cokeville and Big Piney all tie for the 2-3-4 seeds… Cokeville would have to defeat Lovell by 10 or more points to secure the No. 2 seed. If that happens, Cokeville will be 2, and Lovell will be No. 3 by virtue of the head-to-head victory against Big Piney, which will be fourth. … If Cokeville wins by nine or fewer, Lovell will win the score differential tiebreaker, with Big Piney getting the No. 3 seed with the head-to-head victory over Cokeville, which would be the fourth seed. A coin flip wouldn’t be used, since it’s mathematically impossible to finish with a tied score differential given the two existing final scores.

Class 1A nine-man East
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Wright at Southeast.
Pine Bluffs: In. No. 1 seed.
Lusk: In. No. 2 seed.
Southeast, Wright: In. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Lingle, Saratoga: Out.
Moorcroft: Ineligible.

Class 1A nine-man West
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Shoshoni at Riverside; Wind River at Wyoming Indian (both Thursday).
Shoshoni: In. No. 1 seed.
Rocky Mountain: In. No. 2 seed.
Wind River: In. No. 3 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Shoshoni victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Riverside victory.
Riverside: In. No. 3 seed with victory and Wyoming Indian victory. No. 4 seed with victory and Wind River victory. No. 4 seed with loss.
Greybull, St. Stephens, Wyoming Indian: Out.

Class 1A six-man East
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: Midwest at Guernsey; Kaycee at Hanna (Saturday).
Hulett: In. No. 1 seed.
Guernsey: In. No. 2 seed with victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Hanna victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with loss and Kaycee victory.
Midwest: Neither in nor out. No. 2 seed with victory and Hanna victory. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with victory and Kaycee victory. No. 3 seed with loss and Hanna victory. No. 4 seed with loss and Kaycee victory.
Kaycee: Neither in nor out. Tie for 2-3-4 seeds (score differential/coin flip to break) with victory and Midwest victory. No. 3 seed with victory and Guernsey victory. Out with loss.
Hanna: Neither in nor out. No. 4 seed with victory. Out with loss.
Score differential tiebreakers:
Scenario 1: If Midwest, Kaycee and Guernsey tied for the 2-3-4 seeds… Midwest would have to defeat Guernsey by six or more points to win the No. 2 seed (Midwest 1, Guernsey 1, Kaycee -2, with Midwest winning the head-to-head tie for the second seed; Midwest wins the differential outright by winning by seven or more). Guernsey would be the No. 3 seed by virtue of its head-to-head victory over Kaycee, which would be fourth. … If Midwest won by five or fewer points, Guernsey would win the score differential and be the No. 2 seed. Kaycee would be No. 3 with its head-to-head victory over Midwest, and Midwest would be seeded No. 4.
Scenario 2: If Midwest, Hanna and Kaycee tied for the final two seeds… Midwest would win the score differential tiebreaker in all scenarios. Hanna can’t catch Midwest (current score differential Midwest +7, Kaycee +5, Hanna -12). Midwest would win the score differential tiebreaker, and Hanna would be the No. 4 seed by virtue of the head-to-head victory over Kaycee, no matter the margin.

Class 1A six-man West
Week 8 games affecting playoff seeding: none.
Snake River: In. No. 1 seed.
Encampment: In. No. 2 seed.
Meeteetse: In. No. 3 seed.
Dubois: In. No. 4 seed.
Burlington, Farson: Out.
Even with two conference games this weekend, seeds are set. Snake River, even with a loss, wins all tiebreakers with Encampment; Encampment, even with a loss, wins all tiebreakers with Meeteetse; Farson, even with a victory, loses all tiebreakers with Dubois. There are no potential three-way ties that could happen in the conference standings.

–patrick

Note: Post updated 3:27 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, to update 1A six-man East scenarios. Post updated 4:32 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, to update 1A six-man West scenarios. Post updated 9:44 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, to update 2A East scenarios. Post updated 3:06 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, with updated 2A East four-way tiebreaker scenarios. Post updated 4:51 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, with updated 2A West tiebreakers after result of Thermopolis/Big Piney game. Post updated 2:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, to reflect correction to error in 4A tiebreaker and additional guidance from the WHSAA office regarding the 2A East four-way tiebreaker possibilities.

Wyoming football playoff scenarios entering Week 7, 2021

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

With the 2021 postseason coming into sharper focus with two weeks remaining in the regular season, here’s a breakdown of what’s possible in each Wyoming high school football conference:

Class 4A
In: Cheyenne East, Rock Springs, Sheridan, Thunder Basin, Natrona, Campbell County, Kelly Walsh.
Neither in nor out: Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne South, Laramie.
Out: No one.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Not even close. With four teams at 6-1, the top four seeds, much less the top seed, are all up for grabs.
Break it down for me: After the mess at the top between East, Rock Springs, Sheridan and Thunder Basin, it gets a little easier. Central has the best odds for the last spot, with South and Laramie both needing a win in Week 7 — against each other, conveniently — to stay in realistic contention.

Class 3A East
In: Douglas, Buffalo.
Neither in nor out: Worland, Lander, Rawlins, Riverton.
Out: No one.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Kind of. Buffalo and Douglas, both 3-0, play each other, but only Buffalo secures the top seed with a victory in Week 7; Douglas would get it, though, with a victory and a Riverton upset of Worland.
Break it down for me: Rawlins and Riverton are desperately trying to stay in the hunt, and both need Ws this week before meeting each other in Week 8. Otherwise, Lander and Worland are in.

Class 3A West
In: Cody, Jackson.
Neither in nor out: Evanston, Powell, Star Valley, Green River.
Out: No one.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Nope; the big Cody-Jackson showdown is in Week 8.
Break it down for me: Evanston, Powell and Star Valley are all 1-2, fighting for the final two playoff spots. Green River is in desperation mode.

Class 2A East
In: Torrington.
Neither in nor out: Wheatland, Upton-Sundance, Big Horn, Burns, Newcastle, Tongue River.
Out: Glenrock.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Yes; if Torrington beats Wheatland, Torrington will be the No. 1 seed.
Break it down for me: Of the available spots, Wheatland has the easiest road to the playoffs, Tongue River the toughest. The real fight is for spots 3-4, with U-S, Big Horn, Burns and Newcastle all in real contention.

Class 2A West
In: Lyman.
Neither in nor out: Cokeville, Lovell, Big Piney, Kemmerer, Thermopolis, Mountain View.
Out: Pinedale.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Yes; if Lyman wins this week against Pinedale, the Eagles will be the West’s top seed.
Break it down for me: This one is a bit trickier as Big Piney and Thermopolis play on Tuesday of Week 8 in a COVID makeup. But it would take a LOT to go crazy for Cokeville or Lovell to not make it. That leaves a huge chase for the fourth spot, with Big Piney having a slight edge over the three teams with losing records in conference play.

Class 1A nine-man East
In: Pine Bluffs.
Neither in nor out: Lusk, Southeast, Wright, Lingle, Saratoga.
Out: No one.
Ineligible: Moorcroft.
Can the top seed be decided this week? It’s already decided; Pine Bluffs will be the No. 1 seed out of the East. Even with a loss next week in the conference finale against Lingle, the Hornets have tiebreakers against anyone they would tie.
Break it down for me: Lusk and Southeast are all but in and will meet next week in a game that will likely decide the No. 2 seed. The Saratoga-Wright game next week will be huge for deciding the conference’s fourth seed. And Lingle’s just in the middle of it all, a good a chance as anyone.

Class 1A nine-man West
In: Shoshoni.
Neither in nor out: Wind River, Rocky Mountain, Riverside, Greybull.
Out: St. Stephens, Wyoming Indian.
Can the top seed be decided this week? Yes; a Shoshoni victory against Greybull will give the Wranglers the top seed no matter what happens in Week 8.
Break it down for me: This week’s top game is between Wind River and Rocky Mountain, which will likely decide first-round hosting duties. Greybull’s loss to Riverside likely left them on the outside looking in; an upset over Shoshoni this week, and then some tiebreaker magic, is the only thing that can save the Buffs’ season.

Class 1A six-man East
In: Hulett.
Neither in nor out: Guernsey, Midwest, Hanna, Kaycee.
Out: No one.
Can the top seed be decided this week? It’s already decided; Hulett sewed up the No. 1 seed in Week 6.
Break it down for me: Guernsey is in great shape, Midwest good shape. Hanna and Kaycee are both 0-2 in league play, though. They’ll play each other in Week 8, as will Guernsey and Midwest in a conference that will leave a lot to the last day.

Class 1A six-man West
In: Snake River.
Neither in nor out: Encampment, Meeteetse, Farson, Dubois.
Out: Burlington.
Can the top seed be decided this week? It’s already decided; Snake River secured the West’s top seed last week.
Break it down for me: Encampment, Dubois, Meeteetse and Farson are in a scrap for the final three seeds. Encampment and Farson both have two games left; Dubois and Meeteetse each only have one game. Of the four remaining West games, three are between these four teams, including Meeteetse vs. Farson and Dubois vs. Encampment next week.

–patrick

This post was updated at 3:24 p.m. Saturday to reflect new scenarios in the 1A six-man East.

This post was updated at 4:33 p.m. Saturday to reflect new scenarios in the 1A six-man West.

New entries make their way to top 10 single-game lists for Wyoming

by ⋅ Leave a Comment

Three performances have made their way onto the single-game top 10 performances lists on wyoming-football.com, including a new top performance for receiving yards.

The most recent entry comes from earlier in September, when Jackson’s Sadler Smith threw for 429 yards against Pocatello, Idaho. The 429-yard passing game is good enough for third all-time in state history.

Brady Mangus of Glenrock had a five-catch, 281-yard performance against Rawlins in 1998, recent research uncovered, giving him the top spot for receiving yards in a game.

A 236-yard receiving game from Wheatland’s J.C. Trautwein, also from 1998, puts him eighth on the all-time single-game list.

If you know of other games or season totals that should be in their respective top 10, email me at pschmiedt@yahoo.com and include in your email any and all possible documentation to verify the record claim.

–patrick

Wyoming vs. Wyoming in the NFL

by ⋅ 1 Comment

Last season, the NFL had three players from Wyoming high schools on their active rosters — Jacob Bobenmoyer (Cheyenne East) with Denver, Taven Bryan (Natrona) with Jacksonville and Logan Wilson (Natrona) with Cincinnati.

In Week 4 last season, Bryan’s Jaguars played Wilson’s Bengals. Unfortunately, Wilson missed the game due to injury. If he had played, it would have given Wyoming football fans a rare opportunity to see two Wyoming high school graduates play against each other in an NFL game.

This season, the Bengals, Jaguars and Broncos all play each other once. Jacksonville hosts Denver this Sunday, in Week 2 (Sept. 19), Cincinnati hosts Jacksonville in Week 4 (Sept. 30, Thursday night game) and Denver hosts Cincinnati in Week 15 (Dec. 19).

If Bobenmoyer, Bryan and Wilson can all remain on rosters, active and injury-free, three games where two Wyoming high school players lined up on opposite sidelines would give us more games of that kind than any time since the 2005 season and Wyoming’s first since 2012.

Using my Wyoming-to-NFL listings, which includes every player who took at least one NFL regular-season snap, as a starting point, I combed pro-football-reference.com to see when we’ve had such games. I found 27 such games. Here is what I could find:

Sept. 29, 1963: Boyd Dowler’s (Cheyenne Central) Packers beat Jerry Hill’s (Lingle) Colts 31-20. Coincidentally, Hill and Dowler scored the first two touchdowns of the game. Dowler had five catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns; Hill finished with four carries for 8 yards.

Oct. 27, 1963: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 34-20. Dowler had two catches for 23 yards; Hill had three carries for 6 yards.

Sept. 20, 1964: Hill’s Colts beat Dowler’s Packers 21-20. Hill carried 15 times for 49 yards and caught two passes for 28 yards; Dowler had seven catches for 66 yards.

Oct. 18, 1964: Hill’s Colts beat Dowler’s Packers 24-21. Dowler had two catches for 55 yards; Hill didn’t make the box score. (Hill may have missed this game due to injury, but reports from the time are unclear.)

Sept. 26, 1965: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 20-17. Dowler had four catches for 53 yards; Hill had 12 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown.

Dec. 12, 1965: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 42-27. Dowler and Hill each scored a touchdown. Dowler had four catches for 40 yards; Hill had nine carries for 24 yards.

Dec. 26, 1965: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 13-10 in the divisional playoffs. Dowler had five catches for 50 yards; Hill had 16 carries for 57 yards.

Sept. 10, 1966: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 24-3. Dowler had six catches for 73 yards; Hill ran 13 times for 51 yards and had two catches for 10 yards.

Dec. 10, 1966: Dowler’s Packers beat Hill’s Colts 14-10. Hill carried 25 times for 88 yards; Dowler didn’t make the box score.

Nov. 5, 1967: Hill’s Colts beat Dowler’s Packers 13-10. Dowler had four catches for 60 yards; Hill carried 11 times for 48 yards and had two catches for a net zero yards.

Nov. 9, 1969: Hill’s Colts beat Dowler’s Packers 14-6. Dowler had three catches for 37 yards; Hill carried 10 times for 45 yards and had one catch for minus-3 yards.

Oct. 9, 1977: Don Westbrook’s (Cheyenne Central) Patriots beat Nick Bebout’s (Shoshoni) Seahawks 31-0. Neither one was in the box score; Bebout started for the Seahawks on the offensive line.

Oct. 5, 1980: Westbrook’s Patriots beat Jesse Johnson’s (Cheyenne East) Jets 21-11. Neither one was in the box score.

Nov. 2, 1980: Westbrook’s Patriots beat Johnson’s Jets 34-21. Neither one was in the box score.

Oct. 11, 1981: Johnson’s Jets beat Westbrook’s Patriots 28-24. Neither one was in the box score.

Nov. 15, 1981: Johnson’s Jets beat Westbrook’s Patriots 17-6. Neither one was in the box score.

Sept. 22, 1985: Jim Eliopulos’ (Cheyenne Central) Jets beat Mike McLeod’s (Cheyenne East) Packers 24-3. Neither one was in the box score.

Oct. 31, 2005: Brett Keisel’s (Greybull) Steelers beat Aaron Elling’s (Lander) Ravens 20-19. Keisel had one tackle; Elling handled kickoffs and had one tackle.

Nov. 6, 2005: Keisel’s Steelers beat Brady Poppinga’s (Evanston) Packers 20-10. Each player had two tackles.

Nov. 20, 2005: Elling’s Ravens beat Keisel’s Steelers 16-13. Keisel had one tackle; Elling handled the Ravens’ kickoffs.

Dec. 20, 2009: Keisel’s Steelers beat Poppinga’s Packers 37-36. Poppinga had one tackle, a sack; Keisel had one tackle.

Oct. 3, 2010: Poppinga’s Packers beat John Wendling’s (Rock Springs) Lions 28-26. Wendling had two tackles; Poppinga had one tackle.

Oct. 16, 2011: Keisel’s Steelers beat John Chick (Campbell County) and Chris Prosinski’s (Buffalo) Jaguars 17-13. Keisel had six tackles, including a sack, and a pass deflection; Chick had a sack and a forced fumble; Prosinski had two tackles.

Dec. 24, 2011: Keisel’s Steelers beat Poppinga’s Rams 27-0. Poppinga had four tackles; Keisel had three tackles and a pass deflection.

Nov. 4, 2012: Wendling’s Lions beat Chick and Prosinski’s Jaguars 31-14. Prosinski had four tackles; Wendling and Chick played but did not make the box score.

Dec. 16, 2012: Poppinga’s Cowboys beat Keisel’s Steelers 27-24. Keisel had a fumble recovery; Poppinga had one tackle.

+++

I also found these times when two Wyoming high school products played on the same NFL team:

1935: Win Croft (Lovell) and Walt McDonald (Worland) played together on the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1973, 1974 and 1975: Nick Bebout (Shoshoni) and Dennis Havig (Powell) played together on the Atlanta Falcons.

1983: Jim Eliopulos (Cheyenne Central) and Jesse Johnson (Cheyenne East) played together for part of the season with the Jets.

2011 and 2012: Chris Prosinski (Buffalo) and John Chick (Campbell County) played together with the Jaguars.

Note: Some years, like 2020, gave us opportunities for these kind of games but didn’t happen. For example, in 1961, Dowler’s Packers twice played Hill’s Colts, and even though Hill was on the roster, he wasn’t activated for those particular games. Or, in Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6, 2011, Keisel’s Steelers played Poppinga’s Packers, but Poppinga was on injured reserve and did not play. Or, in 2014, Keisel’s Steelers played Prosinski’s Jaguars, but the game came the week after Proskinski had been cut. Games that matched up teams where Wyoming players were on injured reserve or inactive have been removed.

Those games have been removed from these listings.

Similarly, Don Bracken (Thermopolis) and Mike McLeod (Cheyenne East) both played for the Packers in 1985. However, their times with the team did not overlap.

Additionally, in 2021, if either Bryan or Wilson, both defensive players, lines up on the other side of Bobenmoyer, a long snapper, it would represent one of just a handful of times that Wyoming high school players lined up across from each other in a regular-season NFL game. The only times such matchups could have happened in the games listed above were in the games between Westbrook (WR) and Johnson (DB) in 1980 and 1981 and the games between Keisel (DE) and Elling (K) in 2005.

–patrick

The Wyo 100 — Wyoming’s top 100 high school football players of the past 100 years

by ⋅ 2 Comments

As part of the fun extra material I put together for “A Century of Fridays,” the book I put out last winter about Wyoming high school football, I chose the “Wyo 100.”

The book and the “Wyo 100” were released to roughly coincide with the 100th birthday of Wyoming high school football. The 1921 season represented the first real statewide effort at having football statewide. Wyoming went from seven high school football programs in 1920 to 18 in 1921. By the end of the 1920s, the number was in the mid-30s. With 100 years of play behind us heading into 2021, now seemed like a perfect time to tackle a project like this.

This list contains the top 100 Wyoming high school football players of the past 100 years. The list was formed with the help of fans across the state, who made their nominations to the wyoming-football.com Facebook page, to @wyomingfootball on Twitter and to the blog here on wyoming-football.com.

Nearly 200 players were informally nominated via social media and blog comments. However, the list contains both players who were and who were not officially nominated by readers.

The list represents a variety of schools, positions and eras. The list originally ran in “A Century of Fridays” upon its release in January.

Years listed below are the player’s final calendar year of play, not their graduation year. The table below is sortable on each column and searchable.

Wyo 100

PlayerSchoolFinal seasonNotes
Jack AstleCheyenne Central1923Two-way tackle was Wyoming's first three-time all-state selection.
Ralph CottrellWorland1925Diverse threat on both sides later became head coach at his alma mater.
Buster LongBuffalo1925A halfback for the Bison, Long later started at quarterback at Nebraska.
Vince SmithCheyenne Central1925Outstanding lineman was a three-time all-state player for the Indians.
Carl DirWorland1928Speedy back led Warriors to two state titles; later coached in the state.
Taft HarrisNatrona1928Two-time all-state end later became a part of the basketball team at UW.
Verle HarlowNatrona1929Tackle was Natrona's only three-time all-state selection of the 20th century.
Lee KizzireGreybull1932Played both fullback and linebacker at UW before joining the Detroit Lions; killed during WWII.
Pete SedarNatrona1934Twice all-state, the guard found success playing with St. Mary's in California.
Johnny WinterhollerLovell1934Bulldogs' all-around star made it big at UW; championed wheelchair sports after WWII.
Lucien MonciniSheridan1935Running back helped Sheridan to a title as a junior; starred in some lean years at UW.
Walter CookNatrona1937RB led Natrona to state title as a senior; was a contributor at Purdue as both an RB and DB.
Fred MarbleCheyenne Central1939One of only a handful of two-time all-staters in the 1930s; helped found KOA Kampgrounds.
Vic NiethammerNatrona1939Twice all-state and state champion; had a short college career due to WWII but played at Notre Dame.
Fred TaucherRock Springs1942A two-time all-state lineman, he became an all-conference center at UW.
Bob WildermuthRock Springs1942Guard was state player of the year as a senior; died of drowning at age 19.
Babe NomuraHeart Mountain1943Internment camp resident later became a valuable player at San Jose State.
Keith BloomPowell1944Was one of the last three-sport lettermen at UW; had a long career as a coach and AD.
Dick CampbellSheridan1944A QB in high school, he was captain of UW's undefeated 1950 Gator Bowl team as HB/DB.
Bill RoneyPowell1944A two-time all-stater, he was all-conference and team MVP at Montana State on the DL.
Ray HobbsSheridan1946Played FB at Washington State; later became a successful coach in Washington.
Dewey McConnellLaramie1947End blossomed into an all-America choice at UW; drafted by the LA Rams and played for Pittsburgh.
George BozanicLander1948After leading the Tigers to a state title, he played admirably for Southern Cal.
Jerry CampbellRawlins1950Two-time all-state running back (and 1950 POY) was a coach and AD in Buffalo for decades.
Jim CrawfordGreybull1952Led the NCAA in rushing in 1956 for UW; Greybull's field is named for him.
Homer ScottSheridan1952Broncs' backfield star, injured in college, became a business behemoth in Sheridan.
Larry ZowadaSheridan1953Helped Broncs win back-to-back state titles; became an all-conference QB for UW.
Howard CookWorland1954RB was an all-American as a senior; played for Colorado in college.
Boyd DowlerCheyenne Central1954Had a long NFL career, and won two Super Bowls, as a WR with the Packers after college at Colorado.
Jerry HillLingle1956Running back starred for UW and played for 10 years with the Colts.
Bud SpicerDouglas1957Bearcats star later played at UW and saw some time with the San Diego Chargers, BC Lions.
Mack BallsStar Valley1959Became a team captain and all-WAC end while playing at UW.
Tom WilkinsonGreybull1960Parlayed success at Wyoming into a long and illustrious career as a QB in the CFL.
Mel OlsonStar Valley1962A fullback in high school, he went on to be an all-WAC center for BYU.
Jim HouseLaramie1964An all-state halfback, House became a star linebacker and later a coach at UW.
Lew RoneyLaramie19651965 player of the year is regarded as one of the state's top all-around athletes; played end at Yale.
Dennis HavigPowell1966After CU, played six years as an offensive lineman in the NFL; made the 1972 all-rookie team.
Nick BeboutShoshoni1967Really took off at UW on the offensive line; spent eight years with three NFL teams.
Frosty FranklinPowell1967Running back helped Powell win two titles, became a record-setter while at Wyoming.
Jerry GadlinCheyenne Central1967Twice all-state at QB and state POY in 1967, Gadlin moved to wideout at UW.
Steve CockrehamLusk1968Tigers' do-it-all QB later led the wishbone attack and was a team captain at UW.
Keith NateCokeville1969Earned all-America honors as a senior; helped Panthers to an unbeaten season.
Don WestbrookCheyenne Central1969Halfback at Central converted to wide receiver; played at Nebraska and five seasons in NFL.
John KormyloThermopolis1971Wyoming's only ever Parade all-America selection played OL at both Colorado and BYU.
Gerry GeldienKelly Walsh1972Running back/defensive back started at SS at Arizona State as a freshman.
Kelly SittnerTorrington1972Two-time all-stater worked his way into the starting offensive line at UW.
Dirk BushRiverton1974Star running back played at Nebraska, but injury limited college career.
Steve DoverKemmerer1974Wyoming's first 2,000-yard back played for high-powered Notre Dame in college.
Mike McLeodCheyenne East1974Played DB for Montana State; won three Grey Cups in CFL and played two seasons with the Packers.
Chuck WilsonNatrona1974Twice all-state, he started at linebacker at Wyoming despite several injuries.
Jesse JohnsonCheyenne East1975Highly recruited out of East as a RB/DB, he played DB at Colorado and in four seasons with the Jets.
Jim EliopulosCheyenne Central1976A lineman at Central, he walked on at UW, became an all-WAC linebacker, and played in the NFL.
Mike MeesCody1977Recruited to play QB at BYU after stellar HS career, he became the Cougars’ punter.
Gil WintersPinedale1977Two-time all-stater worked his way into the starting lineup as a linebacker at UW.
Don BrackenThermopolis1979All-state DE found his calling as a punter at Michigan and in the NFL.
Allyn GriffinKelly Walsh1980WR helped lead KW to two titles; a big part of the passing game at UW; drafted by Detroit.
Steve HarshmanMidwest1980Helped Oilers win 17 consecutive games; a four-year starter, team captain at C at Black Hills St.
Bruce MowryKemmerer1980Two-time all-stater for the Rangers became a captain at UW while playing linebacker.
Rock MirichMoorcroft1982Dominant senior season as QB/LB earned him a spot at UW; started at LB for the Cowboys.
John McDougallCody1985QB was a three-time all-state choice for the Broncs.
Ty MumaTorrington1986Made big plays from the QB spot; grew into a solid DB at Wyoming before a knee injury.
Mike RooksJackson1986Three-time all-state, Gatorade POY RB/LB led Jackson to championship.
Terry JacksonKelly Walsh1987KW's first two-time all-state pick was the state's player of the year as a senior.
John GodinaCheyenne Central1989Olympian in throws (silver and bronze medalist in shot put) was a star lineman in high school.
Troy DumasCheyenne East1990Running back at East developed into an NFL-caliber LB at Nebraska.
Blaine PhillipsSheridan1991Quarterbacked the Broncs to back-to-back state titles; Milward Simpson Award winner.
Kyle SmithTorrington1991Started for Colorado's offensive line and led the way for a Heisman winner.
Je'Ney JacksonGuernsey-Sunrise1992Vikings' Mr. Everything was a return dynamo and DB while at UW.
Jim TalichPine Bluffs1992Twice an all-state selection, he grew into an all-conference linebacker at UW.
Lee VaughnCheyenne East1992Thunderbirds' DB/KR excelled at UW in similar roles.
Kevin HomerNatrona1993One of the best LBs in Chadron St. history; played in NFL Europe.
Ben PhillipsSheridan1993Two-time 4A Back of the Year quarterbacked Broncs to back-to-back titles; drafted by the Yankees.
Jason SandersonStar Valley1993Defensive back and punt returner started for three years at Air Force.
Mike FackrellEvanston1994Two-time Super 25 RB is part of the Chadron St. athletics hall of fame despite injury.
Corte McGuffeyRiverton1994QB helped lead Northern Colorado to two Division II national titles.
Brett KeiselGreybull1996DL played for a decade with the Steelers; Super Bowl champion.
Brady PoppingaEvanston1997Linebacker enjoyed a long NFL career after playing at BYU.
Casey BramletWheatland1998Was a star QB and longtime starter at UW; still has several Cowboy records.
Ryan McGuffeyRiverton1998WR led Riverton to two state titles and later broke out at UW.
John ChickGillette2000Starred in the CFL for years and also had a stint with the Jaguars.
Casey FosherLusk2000The only three-time Super 25 selection walked on at Nebraska, played at Chadron St.
Scott MuirRawlins2000Simpson Award winner, two-time all-stater led Rawlins to undefeated season as a senior.
Mike VomhofGillette2000Unanimous 4A back of the year for unbeaten Camels, he played at CSU before injury slowed him.
Clint OldenburgGillette2001A tight end in high school, he started on the OL at CSU and played briefly in the NFL.
John WendlingRock Springs2001Defensive back was a star at UW and played for Buffalo and Detroit in the NFL.
Erick PauleyGreen River2004Two-time Super 25 OL/DL was the last lineman to win Gatorade POY honors.
Chris ProsinskiBuffalo2005Bison star went from safety at UW to a seven-year NFL career.
Tom EarlNatrona2008Mustangs' featured back had numerous big-yardage games; opted for basketball in college.
Austin WoodwardSheridan2009Broncs' do-everything quarterback was a handful under center; won Milward Simpson Award.
Jordan RobertsGillette/Sheridan2011Holds the state 11-man record for rushing yards in a season (2,688).
Taven BryanNatrona2013DL left Florida early to enter NFL; was a first-round draft pick of Jacksonville.
Austin FortGillette2013Converted from QB in high school to TE in college; on the roster for Denver despite injury.
Tevis BartlettCheyenne East2014Dual threat quarterback/linebacker was a starter at Washington.
Logan WilsonNatrona2014LB blossomed at UW and became a third-round draft pick of Cincinnati in 2020.
Theo DawsonJackson2015Had 2,283 rushing yards as a senior; has been on the roster for both UW and BYU.
Logan HarrisTorrington2016Offensive lineman (and shot putting dynamo) went on to start at UW.
Garrett CoonSheridan2019Sheridan's only three-time all-state selection was also the Gatorade POY.
Jeydon CoxJackson2019RB rewrote the record books as Wyoming’s only two-time 2,000-yard season rusher.
Graedyn BuellCheyenne East2020QB overcame injury as a sophomore to have two high-yardage passing seasons.
Andrew JohnsonCheyenne Central2020First Wyoming WR to break 1,000 yard barrier in two seasons in a high school career.