Witness: Wyoming Football History

Lovell Head Coach Jeny Gardner

Following her head-coach debut and home-opening loss to Wind River, Jeny Gardner faced her team in the east end zone and informed them that she would be reviewing the film with her staff and making notes about who was engaged in each play and who was standing around. She specifically alluded to the juniors and seniors on the team saying that she believed there were some people on the team who think they have a starting position because of their seniority. This was followed up with a threat to start a freshman if they were willing to do more than just stand around.

As historic as she was in becoming the first female to lead a high school football team in Wyoming, standing in the end zone after the game, I thought she made a better argument for simply being a legit coach. Surely Gardner’s post-game monologue would have scuttled any concerns on her coaching prowess.

Watching her work the game, she looked every bit the example of a head coach. There’s nothing about watching her on the sidelines that seemed out of place—the headset, the matching coaching staff outfits, the gestures she made… she appeared to be in her happy place from my perspective.

She coached a good game and Lovell was well prepared—as much as any high school team in their first outing of the season. Both teams made their share of mistakes, attributed to such first-game-of-the-season blunders. Neither team was clearly dominant either.

Although Lovell absorbed an 18-7 loss, it clearly wasn’t an embarrassing one. I’m not sure how she felt after the game—certainly not great, but I reckon there must have been a little relief once it was over. Getting that first game out of the way and in the bag… there had to be some deliverance in that alone.

Sure, no head coach in their debut game wants to lose—especially at home—but, it happens and even to those coaches who go on to be legacies at all levels of the game.

I read somewhere that Wind River is considered a contender, albeit a dark horse, when it comes to the schools for the Wyoming 1A title. I realized that Lovell is a 2A school, but Big Piney and Cokeville have been beating up on 2A schools for years. In fact, I recall a year Cokeville defeated the eventual state champions in the class above them during the regular season.

And, of course, there is this FCS team called North Dakota State who has a pesky history of beating up on BCS teams.

There’s probably more worthy discussion of this contest from the Wind River side than that of a first-year head coach who just happens to be female. The Cougars’ winning their first game of the season, played on the road in Lovell against a retooled 2A team under the direction of a first-year head coach, is certainly more telling of Wind River’s championship contention this season than anything about Gardner’s Bulldogs.

Sure, it was an historic event, and it was inspirational to see a woman handle her football team the way she did. I was happy to see she was the real deal, but beyond that I was impressed not because she was a good woman coach, but that she was simply a good coach—so impressed, I even bought me some Lovell swag before the game was over.

More Six-Eight-Eleven images HERE.

The Elements of Football

Bridger at Fromberg on a snowy Saturday in October.

If this past weekend's three football offerings had to be summarized in one word only, it would be "winter."

With only a third of October in the record books, an early winter storm moved in late Thursday evening and dominated the scenario in the three-town, two-state itinerary I threw together. First there were the snow flurries and blustery cold wind in Burlington and Byron, Wyoming. Saturday afternoon in Fromberg, Montana was the cherry on top of the sundae. I wondered if I would even complete the typical one-hour drive as the falling snow went from light flurries to heavy flakes between my home in Powell and the gridiron in Fromberg. By the time I reached the Falcons' home field, there was about five inches of wet snow covering the turf—complete with coaches and other staffers who were hand-shovelling the snow covering the yard line and sideline markings.

Beginning Friday afternoon in Burlington, it was a battle of 1A powerhouses (the smallest schools) between the Burlington Huskies and the Panthers of Cokeville. Given Cokeville's extreme location (on the Idaho border), it's usually a long road trip for their away games. I'm guessing the travel to Burlington was easily over six hours. Despite such disadvantages, the Panthers are always in the hunt of the 1A state title—often the victor. In contrast, Burlington has struggled over the years when it comes to games with Cokeville, but on this past Friday the difference was Burlington's successful PAT conversion following their only touchdown while Cokeville came up empty-handed after their single touchdown.

Cokeville at Rocky Mountain.

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Typically I don't drive home after Friday night football games, but Rocky Mountain High School in nearby Byron, Wyoming is the one exception because it is only 15 miles from home. It's been 11 years since I first attended a football game at Rocky—where this modest project all started. On this particular night, I was curious to see Wind River play again after attending one of their home games earlier this season.

In what was probably attributed to the foul weather conditions, attendance was poor compared to other games I've attended in the past. Most notable however is little has changed in this small football venue—especially the lights. They seem dimmer than ever. From a photographer's perspective, I'm guessing Rocky's lights are at least three f-stops dimmer than the average illuminated gridiron. Imagine going to a well-lit football field wearing sunglasses.

Forty non-quartz (old school) bulbs illuminate the entire 120-yard field (end zones included) at Byron—that's four poles of lights on each side of the field, each pole holding five bulbs and their corresponding reflectors. The scoreboard is bright enough to count as a ninth set with its multitude of tube lights used in the making of digits in the south end zone.

Lights in Byron, Wyoming

In the darkness of the last quarter I decided to put away the camera and have the quintessential small town football experience—watching the game from the inside of my truck. As the engine idled away providing ample heat in the cab, the cold wind continued to blow across Rocky's muted gridiron.

The game's outcome wasn't a big surprise. Wind River easily won, although it wasn't until the second half that they finally controlled the game. The last time I looked on the scoreboard from the truck it was 36-6 with 11:52 remaining in the game.

As I drove back to Powell, I fantasized about spearheading an effort to raise money for the installation of bright and modern lights at Rocky Mountain. Given what other people spend to attend big-time college or professional games, I reckon I'm good for the first $100 toward such a cause. Are there any other takers out there?

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Traveling to Fromberg on Saturday, my intentions earlier in the week were two-fold as I planned for a game between the neighboring schools/towns of Fromberg and Bridger—less than ten miles apart from each other.

First, I wanted to see if Bridger was as good as their record indicated.

Secondly, I suspected that this meeting on the gridiron might have been rather historic given that for several years the two have played together as an eight-man co-op. And when not sharing a team, Bridger was playing eight-man while Fromberg competed at the six-man level.

When I awoke on Saturday morning to a couple of inches of snow on the ground and more falling, I considered the two games from the day before at Burlington and Byron to be good enough and I'd simply stay home. Fortunately, I reconsidered the possibility that the game in Fromberg might look something akin to what was out my window. My only fear was driving the 60-some miles and discovering upon arrival that the game was cancelled.

In deciding to live life on the edge and completing the drive to Fromberg, I learned that Bridger is indeed a solid six-man football team and will likely go deep in the playoffs. My guess is they can play at the same level as Hysham, West Yellowstone, Geraldine and Lambert. It might come down to the team that can stay injury-free during the playoffs.

Snowed in face mask.

When asked about the last time Bridger and Fromberg competed on the same football field, no one seemed absolutely sure, but most thought it had been only eight years. I was hoping to hear that it had been something like 30 years.

Finally, the snow. It was awesome. Never have I witnessed a football game under such conditions... much less photograph it. Fortunately the game-ending injury to Fromberg's Andrew Wallman won't be the lasting memory from that day for everyone involved. Knowing he will only miss a few practices, perhaps both teams will look beyond the victory or defeat and simply remember the game for it's pure sense of frolic and romp on the snow-covered gridiron.

Big Game Small Town Magic

Postgame of Tongue River at Wind River.

In chasing down the big games of small town high school football, I'm always amazed at how it can grab you and sweep you up despite the high gasoline prices. Compounding that, I've had a couple of e-mails recently reminding me of the big games that I should consider attending this coming weekend—Twin Bridges at Sheridan and Hysham at Lambert are two such big small-town games that have been brought to my attention.

Sadly, I'm off to Chicago for a conference that has nothing to do with small town football or photography and won't return until sometime Saturday afternoon, after all the games have passed.

It is at times like this when I need to remind myself (as in this writing) that small town high school football is more than just the "big games." In the spirit of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land, Small town high school football is also the jovial hamburger crew at Drummond working the outdoor grill. It's the rag-tag assembly of musicians—students and locals—that make up the band in Stanford even if they never march. It's the announcer at Rosebud who only has a bullhorn. It's four referees instead of five. It's the grade school kids playing on the hillside at Harlowton, Noxon or Hays. It's the cars on the hill overlooking the gridiron at Sunburst as they sound their horns and flash their headlights following a Refiner touchdown. And sometimes it's simply gazing up to watch the clouds as they move across the Big Horn Mountains near Dayton during a time out.

Wind River fans.

Last week, I finally made it to Pavillion, Wyoming to attend a Wind River football game. It probably wasn't considered a "big game" regarding it's importance in... say, Wyoming 2A football, but it was big to me. A couple years ago I drove there to watch a game only to find out that it was held the night before (here's the full account of that fiasco). And now, this season, in true small town fashion, the floodlights at Wind River were severely damaged from a big wind storm earlier in the year, forcing a rescheduling of their Friday night games to daylight hours. Who knows when I'd have another opportunity to photograph an afternoon game in Pavillion again?

That was big enough for me.

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Since I won't have any particular game to blog about next week, I'll invite/challenge anyone who attends a "big" game (however one defines it) to post their observations below in the comment area. Along with the games mentioned above, Scobey is off to Wibaux, Big Horn is at Wind River in a battle of 2A undefeated teams, Custer-Melstone will play Bridger for the first time while Grass Range is traveling all the way to Meeteetse, Wyoming for a first time showdown as well.

If you go and choose to write about one of these games (or another), tell us what happened, but more importantly, tell us about the small town magic you experienced.