Published
2 years agoon
For the 24th straight season, the Big Horn Rams are in the playoffs.
During that stretch, BH has made it to the championship game 13 times, winning 6 of them.
Two of those of championship games were against this year’s first round opponent, the Mountain View Buffalos, who they beat in 2013, and lost to in 2014.
MV comes in with a record of 5-3, after going 1-7 last year.
Ram Coach Kirk McLaughlin explains what the Buffalos can do on offense.
“They got a big line. They got really good foot work with those big guys too, so they got a good running attack, #13 (Jayce Schultz), their running back, he runs hard. They run more a zone scheme and he can do some good things with that football. The quarterback’s (Isac Linford) a leftie. He can throw the ball a country mile, that’s for sure. He looks kind of young, but he can run the ball well too. We’ll have to play a disciplined football game on defense to make sure we can hold back their rushing offense and make sure they don’t hit home runs with their passing game.”
BH hasn’t hosted a playoff game since 2019, and between then and now, the Rams have had to make a trip to southwest Wyoming twice.
McLaughlin said hosting a playoff game was one of the goals for the team this year.
“We want a home playoff game. We’re sick of going to Bridger Valley as pretty of an area as it is, that’s a long ways from home and we wanted to host a playoff game. The atmosphere is just amazing when it’s playoff football and it’s just 10 times better when you’re at home.”
Kickoff against Mountain View is scheduled for 1pm.
Meanwhile Tongue River is back in the playoffs for the first time since losing in the state championship game in 2016.
The one thing that year and this year have in common, is that a home game against Cokeville is first up.
The Panthers are in the playoffs for the 30th year in a row, and for the 39th time in the last 40 years.
During that time they’ve made it to the state championship game 25 times, winning 20 of them.
Cokeville has the 2nd best rushing attack in Class 2A this year, but TR can counter with the best rushing defense.
TR has the 3rd best passing attack, while the Panthers have the 3rd worst passing defense.
Eagles Coach Steve Hanson says he knows what Cokeville lacks in size and talent, they make up with discipline, but he’s not too sure about the level of competition that the Panthers face in the 2A West.
“They’re tough, they’re well coached. They’ve got some play makers and they execute their scheme really well. Some of the stats are kind of mis-leading, because obviously the 3 worst defenses in the state are on their half, so some of their stats against some of those teams and you go ‘Wow, they put up 500 yards of offense,’ yeah so did everybody else who played them. The other thing is they don’t play anybody on their side of the state that’s a really balanced team. Most of the teams in the west are very run heavy.”
For the first time since 1980, Todd Dayton, who is the all-time winningest coach in Wyoming High School Football History, was not on the sidelines for Cokeville this season, because he has retired from coaching.
Coach Hanson says for the most part, that’s the only thing that’s changed between years’ past and this year.
“I went back and looked at film and pulled old cards from back in 2014, when we got ready for them that year and same scheme, same offensive, some defensive looks, obviously there’s some different wrinkles, but it’s kind of the ghost of Coach Dayton or his spirit still resides within that crew.”
Kickoff in Dayton is scheduled for 4pm.
Since the games at Sheridan, Big Horn and Tongue River are all post-season contests, those who attend any of those games must pay an attendance fee, per WHSAA rules.