The 2021 Casper Star-Tribune Super 25 was released on Friday. Here are the first team, second team and third team selections.
The offensive and defensive players of the year, along with the coach of the year, will be announced at Friday’s Super 25 banquet in Casper.
The 2021 team will be added to the Super 25 listings here in the next few days.
–patrick
Thanks to the continuing research of “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, I have added the 1958 Class B all-state teams to the all-state listings. This was the first year for the Associated Press to choose a Class B all-state team. Thanks to Jim for his help, as always!
I also added some first names to all-state players from Douglas, Rock Springs and Cheyenne Central from the 1920s and 1930s. I still have 78 all-state players from 1920 to 1939 whose first names are unaccounted for. They include players from Basin, Buffalo, Cheyenne Central, Cody, Cowley, Douglas, Evanston, Gillette, Green River, Greybull, Kemmerer, Lander, Laramie, Lovell, Midwest, Newcastle, Powell, Riverton, Rock Springs, Sundance, Superior, Thermopolis, Torrington, University Prep and Worland. Let me know if you’re interested in helping me out to find these!
I believe the only all-state teams I am now missing are the 1994 Class 1A 9-man and the all-class teams from 1932, 1930 and 1926. The last three may not have been chosen, but I know for sure that 1994 team was. Anyone out there who can help with that?
–patrick
The 2021 Wyoming all-state football teams were released Saturday by the Wyoming Coaches Association.
Among the 180 players selected were 37 players chosen for the second time and nine for the third time, including the first three-time all-state selections for Riverton, Star Valley and Wheatland.
Three-time all-state players chosen were Jackson’s Colter Dawson and Sadler Smith; Lusk’s Dylan Molzahn; Riverton’s Lucas Engle; Sheridan’s Carter McComb; Snake River’s Zander Risner; Southeast’s Ryan Clapper; Star Valley’s Lucas Chappell; and Wheatland’s Jake Hicks. Engle, Chappell and Hicks are the first three-time all-state players from their respective schools, according to current all-state listing availability.
Repeat selections were Cheyenne East’s Gavin Goff; Cody’s Daniel Gorman, Matt Nelson, Luke Talich and Jonathan Williams; Douglas’ Keltan Ewing and Rylan Wehr; Dubois’ Max Claar; Encampment’s Koye Gilbert; Farson’s Cree Jones; Green River’s Dylan Taylor; Jackson’s Matt Carney, Brody Hasenack and Sam Scott; Kelly Walsh’s Cameron Burkett; Lusk’s Dayne Lamp; Lyman’s Rho Mecham and McKoy Smith; Meeteetse’s Dace Bennett and Kalvin Erickson; Moorcroft’s Zane Linder; Natrona’s Kaeden Wilcox; Pine Bluffs’ Stu Lerwick, Diego Paniagua and Ty Sweeter; Powell’s Toran Graham, Lane Shramek and Hawkin Sweeney; Rock Springs’ Isaac Schoenfeld and Cadon Shaklee; Rocky Mountain’s Nate Minemyer; Shoshoni’s Nathon Cousineau; Southeast’s Cord Herring; Star Valley’s Lane Oesch; Torrington’s Beau Bivens and Chase Miller; and Wheatland’s Kade Preuit. All were on their respective 2020 all-state teams.
Click here to see the full 2021 Wyoming all-state football teams. Lists are also available on the WCA website.
–patrick
Post updated 6:21 p.m. Nov. 20 to fix the total number of players selected.
With the publication of “A Century of Fridays: Wyoming High School Football, 1894-2020,” I’ve been alerted to a couple mistakes in the book. And that’s very much appreciated — I want to get it right, and your help is essential to that mission!
When I started exploring some of the things brought to my attention, other errors also revealed themselves. I’ve caught and corrected as many as I can over the last month.
It’s definitely frustrating that all of these got caught literally weeks after the book came out, but I definitely want to get this right. So… here are the latest site updates:
WRONG SCORES/OPPONENTS
Lovell defeated the Billings Skyview, Mont., JV 18-0 on Sept. 11, 1993; I had Skyview’s varsity winning against Lovell 24-6 the previous day.
Shoshoni beat Morton 19-18 on Sept. 27, 1968; I had Morton winning 18-14.
TRANSPOSED SCORES
I’m not sure who to blame for this one, but it appears someone either at the Casper paper or working for the Associated Press in the late 1980s and early 1990s had a habit of occasionally transposing scores. I’ve caught several already, and with the latest round of updates, I caught a few more, both from that time period as well as a couple others:
Evanston beat Cheyenne East 6-0 on Sept. 17, 1993.
Rawlins beat Douglas 26-0 on Sept. 2, 1988.
Kelly Walsh beat Natrona 23-9 on Oct. 10, 1987.
Newcastle beat Glenrock 21-6 on Oct. 19, 1984.
Greybull beat Tongue River 51-0 on Oct. 25, 1968.
South Rich, Utah, beat Lyman 18-6 on Sept. 15, 1967.
NEW GAMES
I added Bear Lake, Idaho, beating Evanston 22-0 on Sept. 5, 1975, in Montpelier.
MISSING SCORES/OTHER INFO
I added the result for Pine Bluffs’ 19-12 loss to Sidney St. Patrick’s (Neb.) on Oct. 14, 1955.
I added the result and location for Glendo’s 64-14 victory against Harrison, Neb., on Oct. 25, 1955. (Incidentally, this took the top spot for Glendo’s highest scoring game in program history.)
I added the score for Lingle’s 46-18 victory against Harrison, Neb., on Oct. 7, 1953. (I had that Lingle had won, but I was missing the score.)
I added the result for Glenrock’s 18-6 victory against Guernsey on Oct. 5, 1939.
I added the result for Cheyenne Central’s 20-0 victory against Sterling, Colo., on Nov. 20, 1935.
I added the score for Star Valley’s 65-0 victory against Jackson on Oct. 20, 1934. (I had that Star Valley had won, but I was missing the score.)
I also noted that the game scheduled for Oct. 6, 1934, between Jackson and Driggs, Idaho, was not played.
DATES AND LOCATIONS
I added the location for the Oct. 21, 1955, game between Pine Bluffs and Morrill, Neb.; it was in Pine Bluffs.
I added the location for the Oct. 30, 1953, game between Harrison, Neb., and Glendo; it was in Harrison.
I narrowed the date range and fixed the score for the game between Albin and Lyman, Neb., in 1951. The date range was narrowed to sometime between Sept. 20 and Sept. 26; the score was actually 46-6 Lyman, not 41-14. A location for the game still hasn’t been figured out.
I added the date for the Sept. 29, 1950, game between Sunrise and Glenrock.
I narrowed the date range for the 1949 game between Star Valley and Malad, Idaho, to between Oct. 20 and Oct. 22.
I corrected two dates for games from Jackson and Pinedale in the 1944 season. The first game between Jackson and Pinedale was played Oct. 20; the second was Oct. 27. Previously, I had an unknown date for the first game and Oct. 20 for the second… turns out they were a week later than I had previously noted.
I added the date and the location for the Sept. 13, 1940, game between Jackson and Midway, Idaho; it was in Jackson.
I added the location for the Nov. 3, 1932, game between the Natrona juniors and Glenrock; it was in Glenrock.
I added the date and the location for the Nov. 6, 1931, game between Manville and Harrison, Neb.; it was in Manville.
RECORDS
I fixed records for Burns in two separate seasons. Burns went 3-4 in 1991; I had them at 4-3. Burns also went 1-3-1 in 1944; I had them at 0-4-1.
ALL-STATE
Thanks to the help of “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, I’ve added first names for the honorable mention selections on the 1953 all-state team. Thanks to Jim for his help!
All of these updates have been made on all the relevant pages.
–patrick
In late October, 1999, my senior year of high school, I was sitting in Mr. Balfour’s class when one of my friends came into class and told me: “Patrick, you made all-conference.”
Surprised wasn’t the right word. Confused was more like it. The only thing I could think was to wonder why my friend would play this joke on me.
It wasn’t a joke. In 1999, the four head coaches in the Class 1A-Division II Powder River Conference awarded me a spot on the all-conference football team.
I didn’t deserve that spot.
And I knew it.
Even on the worst team in one of the worst conferences in the classification made up of the the smallest schools in the smallest state in the country, I shouldn’t have been all-conference. I was (and am) 5-foot-7, maybe 150 pounds (bigger now). I made up for being slow by being weak, too.
My stats reflected that reality. I started at tight end/wide receiver and safety; I had maybe six catches all season (no touchdowns) and roughly 50 defensive points (no interceptions).
But I showed up to practice every day. I played hard. I was coachable. I didn’t cause any problems off the field. And I appreciate that my coaches deemed me worthy to nominate and other coaches agreed.
That was enough to make me a quota filler.
My all-conference selection is emblematic of all-conference football in Wyoming as a whole. Certainly, it’s not a new problem, but 2020’s selections revealed just how easy all-conference honors are to earn.
Consider the number of players who were recognized as first-team all-conference selections this year: 359. Yes, 359 different Wyoming players were named first-team all-conference selections after the 2020 season.
Of those, 76 came in Class 4A, 79 in Class 3A, 93 in Class 2A, 71 in Class 1A nine-man and 40 in Class 1A six-man.
But the number 359 barely scratches the surface.
Class 4A’s numbers game
The most absurd recognitions come in the classification with the biggest schools. In Class 4A, some level of all-conference recognition is barely above that of a participation award.
The problem in 4A is that there are three levels of all-conference recognition: first team, second team and honorable mention. The 76 players I mentioned before were first team, on which there are 92 available spots across the two all-conference teams (4A gives all-conference and all-state honors by position). There were another combined 66 second-team spots, and this year there were 93 combined honorable mention selections.
That’s 251 possible all-conference choices. In one classification. For 10 teams. Quick math: That averages out to 25 selections per team reaching some level of all-conference recognition.
Basically, all you have to do to get an all-conference selection in Class 4A, all things being equal, is start. With 11 positions on offense, 11 positions on defense, kicker, punter, returner, and there’s 25 positions to nominate for the roughly 25 positions per school available for all-conference.
This year, 174 individuals filled those 251 spots in 4A. And as you dig in, you begin to see some of the absurdities.
Thunder Basin had 40 all-conference choices — almost double the number of available starting spots on Thunder Basin’s team. In all, 25 different ‘Bolts players were named all-conference to those 40 spots. Of those Thunder Basin choices, 16 were on offense and 19 were on defense, with the remainder falling into special teams or “at-large” selections.
Now, pay attention, because this is where the absurdity starts to show: at the position breakdown. Thunder Basin had eight defensive linemen, seven defensive backs and five wide receivers make all-conference.
At least for Thunder Basin, it was easier to get all-conference recognition than it was to earn a starting position in 2020.
For as fine of a team as Thunder Basin had this year, even that is pushing it. This isn’t just a Thunder Basin problem, though.
Natrona and Sheridan had 22 individuals named all-conference — Sheridan’s players to 31 spots and Natrona’s to 28. That’s not all that far behind Thunder Basin.
Also, it’s not just an issue of the top teams soaking up all the spots: Nine of the 10 Class 4A teams had at least 11 all-conference selections on offense. Thunder Basin, as noted, had 16; Campbell County had 14; Natrona and Sheridan had 13; Central and Laramie had 12; East, Rock Springs and Kelly Walsh had 11 apiece.
Then again, when you have that quota of 251 spaces to fill, you’ve gotta get a little creative.
That’s how guys become quota fillers.
All-state is problematic, too
All-state awards are much more selective. More spots are available on all-state, though, than ever before, as well — this year, 186 players were named first-team all-state across Wyoming’s five classifications.
A look at the all-state teams of the past shows how much the teams have been expanded, with numbers creeping up bit by bit, year by year.
The 186 players named all-staters in 2020 is the highest number in Wyoming history. This year’s total breaks a record set in 2019, 2018 and 2016 of 182.
Here’s a chart that shows the incremental creep of all-state awards. (Note that the dip in 1994 is due to incomplete data; the 1A nine-man all-state team from that year still has yet to be found.)
Historically, the biggest jumps are when Wyoming adds a classification of football — from 89 selections to 110 between 1982 and 1983 with the move from three to four classes, and the jump from 109 to 140 selections between 1989 and 1990 with the move from four to five.
Even so, the 140 players on Wyoming’s first five-class all-state teams in 1990 collectively total 46 fewer players than the 186 players recognized in 2020.
(If you really want to dig deep on this, click here to see a breakdown of the number of all-state players by classification and year.)
The solution?
What coaches and administrators across the state need to decide is if all-conference awards are exclusive.
Right now, they’re not.
In another 20 years, how many of the 359 first-team players across the state who were given all-conference recognition will say the same? How many of those 174 individuals across the gamut of 251 first-team, second-team and honorable mention selections in 4A? How many of those eight Thunder Basin defensive linemen?
Heck, how many will say it now?
I think one answer is to change all-conference (and all-state) teams to true team selections. By position, choose 11 players for offense, 11 for defense, three for special teams for an even 25 players per conference; adjust accordingly for nine-man (9-9-3 for 21) and six-man (6-6-2 for 14). Across Wyoming’s five classifications and 10 conferences, that’s 220 players: 50 in 4A, 3A and 2A, 42 in nine-man and 28 in 1A.
For all-state, that would be 25 for 4A, 3A and 2A, 21 for nine-man and 14 for six-man; in all, that’s 110 all-state picks.
If coaches want to recognize their players, they can continue to do so with team-specific awards. That would truly be more meaningful than a recognition so watered down that it might be mistaken for a joke.
The legacy of a quota filler
I never framed my all-conference award, and I never hung it on my wall. I’m not even sure where it is, to be honest. It’s probably buried among perfect attendance honors and report cards, but I’ve never felt compelled to go look for it.
This is totally antithetical to who I am, though. I’m a nostalgic dude. I love keeping the past alive. I think often about my experiences in high school sports. I’ve been known to watch the occasional game tape on YouTube. And I run this website. My wife has called me Uncle Rico, and sometimes I wonder if she’s not joking.
But the all-conference honor I got as a senior?
I didn’t deserve it, and I know it.
It means so little to me because it meant so little to the ones who bestowed it on me.
–patrick
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A few weeks ago, I broached this topic on Twitter, asking if the number of players selected for all-conference honors was too many, too few or just right. Here’s what you all said:
Exploring a theory (and a potential future blog post). The number of players who earn all-conference honors is:
— Wyoming-Football.com (@WyomingFootball) December 3, 2020
What do you think? Be sure to leave a comment.
Some updates to the site:
I added David Jones’ 1982 rushing season to the individual records listings. The back from Saratoga had 1,976 rushing yards that year, good for ninth all-time.
I also added a few new first names to the all-state listings from 1920-39. I’m still missing more than 100 first names, though, so if you can help filling in those gaps, let me know.
I also added the 2020 Casper Star-Tribune’s Super 25 first team to the Super 25 listings. Thanks to Jack Nowlin at the Star-Tribune for providing the details necessary to make that happen!
I also added a page for the Wyoming-Nebraska Six-man Shootout game, listing game results, coaches and players for each year.
I also added a page for Wyoming high school football players who played at least one NFL regular-season snap. This information was previously on my blog, but I wanted to give it a more permanent home.
–patrick
Nine performances from the 2020 season have been added to the individual records page.
Two top-10 passing performances were turned in this year from the Capital City. Cheyenne East’s Graedyn Buell threw for 3,065 yards, second-best all-time, while Cheyenne Central’s Andrew Cummins threw for 2,369 yards, 10th-best.
Jackson’s Brody Hasenack ran for 2,093 yards this year, a mark good for fifth all-time.
Cheyenne Central’s Andrew Johnson finished with 1,050 receiving yards, ninth-best all-time.
Finally, Torrington’s Cody Pierce finished with 256 defensive points, a mark tied for 10th-best all-time.
Four single-game performances also made the top 10. Hasenack had two — a 350-yard rushing performance against Riverton in the regular season, sixth-best on the list, and a 344-yard game against Riverton in the playoffs, which ranks ninth.
Mountain View’s Ashton Schofield had a 220-yard receiving game against Lyman, which ranks ninth on that list.
I also added two other games to the individual records page. Casey Bramlet’s 402-yard passing game from 1998, which I stumbled upon while doing some other research, was added. I also added Matt Hartford’s 243-yard receiving game from 2000 to the list. Thanks to Danny Shorb for letting me know about that game!
All-state updates
Also, thanks to the continuing research of “Stat Rat” Jim Craig, I added first names for the honorable mention all-state selections on the 1952 team. Thanks Jim for the help!
I also went a little crazy with the all-state teams from the 1920s and 1930s and added as many first names as I could find — which was probably close to 30. I’m still missing about the same amount, so if you can help provide those first names, let me know at pschmiedt@yahoo.com.
Game updates
Thanks to a tip from Shane Stinson, I fixed the score between Douglas and Belle Fourche, S.D., from this season. It was 47-7, not 47-21. Thanks to Shane for the heads up!
I also noted that the Nov. 25, 1915, game between Cheyenne Central and the Colorado State JV was canceled.
All of these updates are reflected on all the relevant pages.
–patrick
If you follow wyoming-football.com on its social media accounts — Facebook and Twitter — you’ve noticed me asking for your nominations for who you think would HAVE to be included on a list of Wyoming’s 100 best high school football players of all-time.
The #wyo100 (new unofficial hashtag) will highlight Wyoming’s 100 best high school football players ever, in line with what will roughly be the state’s 100th year of high school football. There’s still time for nominations — just reply here!
My research for this led me to compile a list of four-time, three-time and two-time all-state selections. The raw numbers for first-team picks:
The math behind this? More than 99.4% of total all-state selections aren’t going to make the #wyo100. Even those two-time selections have barely a 9% chance of making it.
But I don’t want to just put a whole bunch of three-timers on the list and call it good. I REALLY want y’all’s insight. So leave your thoughts below about which player (or players) HAS to be on this list. And thanks a TON to those of you who have already chimed in with your nominations. Thanks!
–patrick
Wyoming’s all-state and all-conference football teams are out for 2020.
All-state football teams were released Sunday, while all-conference teams came out Sunday and Monday.
All-state team listings are here. Let me know if anything is misspelled, and I’ll get it fixed ASAP.
All-conference team listings are here via Wyopreps.
Some quick notes on the all-state teams:
Lusk’s Drake Lamp was named to his fourth all-state team. By my records, he is only the third Wyoming player in a century of all-state choices to be a four-time first-team choice, joining Meeteetse’s Ty Barrus from 1987-90 and Kaycee’s James Caro from 2009-12.
Three players were named to their third first-team all-state: Big Horn’s Carson Bates, Buffalo’s Hyrum Hatch and Thermopolis’ Logan Cole.
A total of 47 others were two-time selections: Big Horn’s Winfield Loomis and Josh Thompson; Big Piney’s Kaden Raza; Cheyenne Central’s Andrew Johnson, Jimmy Koenig and Carter Lobatos; Cheyenne East’s Trey Bower, Graedyn Buell, Dakota Heckman, Jackson Hesford and Julian Vigil; Cody’s Keaton Stone and Nic Talich; Cokeville’s Nate Barnes, Ethan Bird and Tyler Moyes; Farson’s Parker Clawson; Jackson’s Colter Dawson and Sadler Smith; Lander’s Jack Sweeney; Lingle’s Cooper Hill; Lusk’s Dylan Molzahn; Lyman’s Hansen Bradshaw and Preston Brewer; Mountain View’s Hunter Meeks and Ashton Schofield; Newcastle’s Kale Corley; Pinedale’s Colby White; Riverton’s Lucas Engle; Rocky Mountain’s Tyler Banks and Trace Moss; Saratoga’s Noah Rimmer; Sheridan’s Quinton Mangus and Carter McComb; Shoshoni’s Tryston Truempler; Snake River’s Zander Risner; Southeast’s Ryan Clapper and Harrison Hall; Star Valley’s Lucas Chappell, Brant Nelson and Gabe Nield; Thunder Basin’s Nate Jones and Jaxon Pikula; Upton-Sundance’s Brayden Bruce, Jess Claycomb and Wyatt Gillespie; and Wheatland’s Jake Hicks. Of those players, nine — McComb, Dawson, Smith, Engle, Chappell, Thompson, Hicks, Molzahn and Clapper — are juniors.
–patrick
A single tip sent me down a huge rabbit hole — and from that, I’ve posted seven new all-state listings to the site.
I’ve added the Class B all-state teams from 1971 and 1970 in addition to the Class AA all-state team from 1950 and the all-class all-state teams from 1939, 1936, 1933 and 1929.
The last four teams listed above don’t have first names — for now.
The 1970 and 1971 Class B all-state teams have always been a mystery. A few years ago, I found an article that said those teams weren’t picked due to the regional loyalties of the coaches who selected the teams; research help from friend of the site Jim Craig had helped me uncover the 1970 and 1971 Class B all-conference teams, which I had posted here before:
But friend of the site Mike Ragan also alerted me to the fact that there was indeed all-state teams chosen then — he had the 1971 team cut out from the Casper paper to prove it. As it turns out, the Class B all-state teams ran in late December, after Christmas, well after I had given up looking for them (and maybe after the coaches came to their senses and voted for all-state teams after the whole regional rivalry thing got out to the public?).
Regardless, those teams are now listed as part of the site’s all-state listings.
Then I really headed down a research rabbit hole. Using a subscription I recently acquired, I uncovered the other all-state teams from 1950, 1939, 1936, 1933 and 1929 from various sources.
I also found the only missing first name I couldn’t find since 1945. For the 1969 Class B team, I found the first name for Mountain View’s Joe Aimone, who had always been listed only with his first initial.
I also added Rawlins’ Gary Eyre to the 1951 all-state team. I unintentionally left him off the original list.
In exploring all-state selections, I also corrected some spellings of some names: Cody’s Darren Wehrer (1985); Big Horn’s Nolan LaMeres (2000); Cokeville’s Kalvin Watson and Kaylan Grandy (2004); Cokeville’s Jared Watson (2002), Cokeville’s Kent Cassels (1990); Douglas’ Jon Schroeder (1984); Douglas’ Brent Plumb (1976); Guernsey’s Forest Foos (2015); Guernsey’s Greg Putnam (1972); Hanna’s Conor McGraw (2018); Kemmerer’s John Corra (1983); Kemmerer’s Curt Waisath (1982); Laramie’s Ralph Barkey (1951); Lovell’s Keith Grant (1997); Lusk’s Damien Molzahn (2017); Natrona’s Marcus Bielefeld (2005); Rawlins’ Larry Jebens (1974); Rawlins’ Floyd Rummel (1974); Southeast’s Justin Burkart (1997); Star Valley’s Todd Spencer (1982); Torrington’s Mike Cruickshank (1970); Wheatland’s Steve Loyd (1985); and Wright’s Erin Knight (1985). As always, if you spot a misspelling in my all-state listings, please let me know and I’ll get it fixed!
I’m exploring some other research regarding all-state teams, now that I’m confident that I have basically all of them from the 1940s forward — although the Class 1A nine-man all-state team from 1994 is still proving to be incredibly elusive. I still haven’t found a full listing for that team yet.
I’m still not sure if Class A or Class B all-state teams were chosen in the early 1950s, particularly 1950-54. I’m also still missing all-state teams from 1932 and 1926, which I can’t seem to find anywhere — and I’m not even sure if they were selected.
Still, it was fun to put a big dent in the research needed here to make the all-state listings complete. Thanks to Mike for the inspiration!
–patrick