Wyoming’s fall sports have officially come to an end, as high-school football teams of all classifications journeyed to War Memorial Stadium in Laramie for the epic season-finale unlike any state in the country. Ten teams converged to play five championship games all with one mission on their mind – redecorating the trophy case.
Approximately 22,000 fans ventured a collective 2,500 miles to the southeast corner of Wyoming to take advantage of the short(er) lines at the concession dugouts and leisurely roaming the heated concourse. Moms, Dads, and community members thinking to themselves, “It’s good to be back in Lara-dise,” or “We sat right there when Josh beat San Diego State!”
Oh yeah, and five incredible high-school football games.
About 150 players tagged with All-Conference selections geared up in the Cowboy Locker Rooms over November 14th and 15th, following a morning of facility tours and pre-game warmups at the University’s indoor practice field.
We’ll remember 2025 for the dynasty programs who circled back for another title shot. Eight different teams appeared in last year’s title game, and four teams repeated as champions this season.
Day One
If you’ve been to the Wyoming State Football Championships or a Cowboy game in mid-November, you knew to bring an extra jacket and maybe a blanket; 2025 was no exception. But two hours prior to Game #1, the sun broke out in Laramie and the teams made their first appearance on the sidelines of Jonah Field.
Friday, 12 p.m. – 2A Class – Big Horn Rams vs. Mountain View Buffalos
Big Horn was virtually unscathed in the last three months, entering Friday with a perfect 10-0 record. But Mountain View’s #1 offense was really a nightmare to cover all season, explaining their also-perfect 11-0 record.
The Rams were an extremely well-rounded team, proving the notion that a repeat-championship was clearly within reach. They touted the second-best offense and second-best defense with an impressive +179 total yds/game differential over the previous 10 weeks.
Mountain View’s offense outranked Big Horn’s offense, however, with one of the best Buffalo programs we’ve ever seen. In 2025 they posted 446 yds/game; 9.8 yds/attempt; 78-8 TD/TO ratio; and a whopping 17 first downs per game.
Noteables:
MV (QB) Justus Platts, All-State, Super 25 Offensive POY
MV (WR) Ashton Colangelo, All-State, Super 25
MV (OL) Seamus Hamilton, All-State, Lineman of the Year,
BH (RB) Cruz Hernandez, All-State, 2A East OPOY, Super 25
BH Chase Garber, All-State, 2A East Lineman of the Year, Super 25
Tale of the Tape:
Mountain View’s Justus Platts (QB) capped off a historic season with another heroic performance culminating in a 41-38 victory over Big Horn, supported by standout performances by Ashton Colangelo (WR) and Ty Scarborough (RB).
As the score indicates, this turned into a slugfest with power-punches in every quarter. Big Horn’s Cruz Hernandez poured in a phenomenal 4 TD performance. Albeit trailing most of the game, the Rams matched Mountain View’s firepower stride for stride, but it also didn’t feel like Mountain View was slowing down any time soon.
Down the final stretches, Coach Brent Walk turned to his QB – arguably the state’s best player. The QB tallied six touchdowns in Laramie (and seven in the semi-finals). Platts turned what could’ve been defensive stops into back-breaking touchdowns from deep range; including a 97 yard, reverse-field, scamper down the sideline for another touchdown. Not just on his home field in Mountain View, but at the War Memorial, made this performance quite impressive.
Platts had an unreal campaign, decisively sweeping the post-season accolades. He claimed Wyoming P.O.Y honors from MaxPreps, Super 25, and Gatorade. The QB eclipsed 3,250 total yards, including 50 total touchdowns.
Friday, 3 p.m. – 3A Class – Star Valley Braves vs. Cody Broncs
This was the most interesting matchup of the weekend, and you might remember this game for a while. This felt like a world-championship heavyweight fight, and although it would be justifiable to assume Star Valley as the favorite, it wasn’t all that easy to predict.
The Braves and Broncs have given sports-nerds plenty to analyze for over a decade, being the only 3A winners over the last 12 seasons. Entering Friday, Star Valley had won the last three titles. Who were the runners-up in the last three? … Guess who.
This Cody Broncs program feels eerily reminiscent of the 1990’s Buffalo Bills teams who reached the pinnacle in four consecutive seasons, but narrowly came up short in the season finales. Every year felt like a breakthrough was around the next corner.
The other striking similarity – extremely entertaining quarterback play. Take a look at Buffalo’s Jim Kelly and Cody’s Cache McFadden and you’ll see on-site toughness, big arm’s, and up-tempo offense. As a neutral spectator, these are the most fun games to watch.
In Afton, however, the Braves were cultivating a dynasty of their own in all the best ways.
Remember? The force you shouldn’t reckon with?
Through 2025, Star Valley wasn’t really tested outside of the Week 7 game against Cody (14-7). They represent the state’s best defense, and second-best offense only behind Cody. To take one from the Braves, you were forced to play perfectly. With a multi-functional backfield and crop of athletic receivers, the Braves were just as confident in their ability to find the endzone.
Noteables:
SV (QB) Phoenixx Hovey, All-State, 3A West OPOY
SV (WR/LB) Roman Erickson, All-State, 3A West Defensive POY, Super 25
SV (WR/DB) Cooper Lancaster, All-State, 3A West Special Teams POY, Super 25
SV (OL/DL) Ryan Talbot, All-State, Super 25
CO (QB) Cache McFadden, All-State
CO (OL/DL) Alex Sitz, All-State, 3A West Lineman of the Year, Super 25
CO (OL/DL) Cinch Dalton, All-State, Super 25
Tale of the Tape:
Star Valley continued their 3A dominance with a final score of 26-21 over Cody. The Braves’ limited the potent Bronc offense to 125 yards under their average, the true tale of the tape and deciding factor in Friday’s nightcap.
This game was tied at halftime, bracing spectators for a turbulent final 24 minutes. A handful of defensive stops powered Star Valley to two touchdowns in the second half – both QB sneaks by Phoenixx Hovey. The Cody offense could not get into their normally high-octane rhythm, and ultimately fell only five points shy of a championship.
The Braves ended in “victory formation” as the clock showed triple-zeros.This was the Braves fourth consecutive title, and their 8th of the last 11 seasons. Star Valley was led by Phoenixx Hovey (QB) who threw for 2 TD’s and rushed for 2 TD’s.
Day Two
This particular weekend in Laramie was a really cool experience. It’s the home of the University of Wyoming Cowboys and one week prior to Josh Allen’s jersey-retirement ceremony. The campus was alive and teeming with football fanatics, primed for another outing of fantastic football memories on Jonah Field.
Saturday, 10 a.m. – 1A 6-Man Class – Little Snake River Rattlers vs. Burlington Huskies
If you have never seen a 1A 6-Man game before, Saturday’s first kickoff was a little eye-catching. Something like “Woah, I didn’t realize first-downs were 15 yards.” But this version of football is full of big plays, and highly conditioned athletes. You’ll see a mashup of similar 11-man strategies in some alignments, condensed into smaller, faster, high-scoring thematic.
Like other classifications, this was a rematch of the 2024 Championship Game. Last year Burlington fell in the title game, but have regrouped for another postseason face-off with their familiar foe.
They faced off twice with Little Snake River and lost, both, but after the 1A Playoffs, the Huskies resurfaced for a season-trilogy with the Rattlers at War Memorial.
Little Snake River in the blue corner, hailing from Baggs, Wyoming, has become a top-tier program of the classification. Coach Jack Cobb has led the Rattlers to five consecutive title appearances. This year’s talent was extraordinary, ultimately leading Little Snake River to an undefeated 2025 campaign.
Notables:
LSR (WR/DB) Granit Ready, All-State, 1A South OPOY
LSR (RB) Tymber Cozzens, All-State
LSR (RB) Deke Latham, All-State
BUR (QB) Kole Walker, All-State
BUR (RB/WR) Paul McNiven, All-State
Tale of the Tape:
Little Snake River started the championship game like a rocket experiencing lift-off. The Rattlers scored 34 unanswered points in the first quarter, and retreated to the half time locker room leading 50-0. In nearly every facet, the Rattlers outpaced Burlington and scored multiple times in every quarter.
Arguably the best individual performance of the weekend belonged to WR/DB Granit Ready. The Rattler found the endzone four times – 3 TD runs, 2 INT’s and a pick-six.
Including Ready, Snake River scored from every angle including a pair of TD’s from Tymber Cozzens and Deke Latham. Jandro Kunsman also scored a touchdown.
Saturday, 1 p.m. – 1A 9-Man Class – Pine Bluffs Hornets vs. Rocky Mountain Grizzlies
The Hornets entered Saturday’s contest with a perfect season up for grabs, facing off with Rocky Mountain for the second time in 2025. Pine Bluffs won that game, clear back in September by 12 points.
The data weighed heavily in the favor of Pine Bluffs, who boasted the top offense and top defense of the season. They also feature the two top defensive point getters in the state – Ty Scarborough and Cameron Jessen.
Noteables:
PB (QB/DB) Carsten Freeburg, All-State, 1A East OPOY, Super 25
PB (RB/LB) Ty Scarborough, All-State, 1A East DPOY
PB (RB) Gabe Federer, All-State
RM (LB/DL) Triffen Jolly, All-State, 1A West DPOY
Tale of the Tape:
Very similar to Saturday’s morning game, the score became one-sided rather quickly. The Hornets displayed an incredibly versatile offense that gained 458 yards of total offense. Pine Bluffs pitched a complete-game shutout with a 48-0 victory in the championship game.
From a QB’s perspective like Carsten Freeburg, having a dual running-back system with Gabe Federer and Ty Scarborough, is almost like flying on auto-pilot. You manage the line of scrimmage, and feed the ball to your work horses.
Not to discount Freeburg’s performance on Saturday – the senior had a 61 yard score of his own, combined with 2 TD’s in the air. On the flip side, the trio of Freeburg, Scarborough, and Jessen on defense tormented Rocky Mountain to 10 scoreless possessions.
Saturday, 4 p.m. – 4A Class – Sheridan Broncs vs. Campbell County Camels
This matchup felt like the most anticipated championship of the weekend. On the backs of a 54-game winning streak, the Broncs entered Saturday’s nightcap with a fifth-consecutive title in sights.
100 miles away in Gillette, the Camels of Campbell County High School had a championship-aspiration of their own to covet.
For 12 weeks, these two teams have sat atop the 4A classification as #1 and #2 ranked programs. Outside of Sheridan’s top-ranked run defense – albeit very important – neither of these teams dominate any team-statistical category.
From Sheridan’s perspective, four straight titles speak for themselves. But Campbell County was no slouch with a second-best passing attack, and third-best total offense.
Unlike Friday’s slate, Saturday was overcast and grimy from the beginning. Almost as if the mood was set for a gritty, hard-nosed, back-alley brawl between two historic programs.
Although the Camels made a coaching change in Week 10, Interim Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator, Cole White, had Campbell County riding their first 10-win season in a decade.
Noteables:
SH (DE/TE) Beck Haswell, All-State, 4A Lineman of the Year, Super 25 DPOY
SH (LB/RB) Keegan Rager, All-State, 4A West DPOY, Super 25
SH (OL/DL) Sam Huffman, All-State, Super 25
SH (WR/DB) Breck Reed, All-State, Super 25
CC (QB) Coulter Lang, All-State, Super 25
CC (WR/DE) Ethan Masteller, All-State, Super 25
CC (LB) Treyten Sukut, All-State, 4A East DPOY
CC (OL/DL) Dylan Walker, All-State, 4A East Lineman of the Year
Tale of the Tape:
This game completely lived up to the surrounding hype. Sheridan took the opening kick, saved an eight-minute drive with fake-punt, and scored the games first points.
But the Camels responded with a nine-minute scoring drive, proving Saturday night at War Memorial brings out the best in everyone.
Both teams begrudgingly moved the ball, taking nickels and dimes down the field. But defense was the key element in the 4A Championship.
The two offenses finally found some points late in the third quarter. Campbell County buried a field goal, narrowing Sheridan’s lead to three. Sheridan responded with a field goal of their own, stretching the lead back to seven.
With the clock winding down on the Camels final drive, Sheridan’s defense slammed the door with a 4th-down sack to survive the comeback attempt.
The Broncs realized their fifth consecutive championship in victory formation. Final Score, 17-10 Broncs.
Sheridan cemented their dynasty-status in 2025, touting a state’s-best rush defense at 108 yds/game allowed. Only two times in 2025 did Sheridan win by less than eight points.
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Editor’s Note:
I thought the Campbell County defense was noteworthy. Following a dramatic ending to their great season, the Camels rallied extremely well around their interim leader Cole White. A great example of his positive-influence within that community, and an almost, calming presence on the biggest stage.
Granit Ready of Little Snake River looks to be an inter-classification talent. The combination of speed and football IQ was quite impressive. I think Granit would have a true impact at any high school in Wyoming. I enjoyed watching the charismatic style that he plays with – a hawk on defense, and big-play capability anytime the ball is in his hands.
The 2A Game was phenomenal. There was a heavy feeling that whoever had the ball last would win. Justus Platts was like a long-range missile that didn’t seem to get fatigued whatsoever. I feel like we’d be saying these same things about Cruz Hernandez if Big Horn had won. So much talent in 2A, such good coaching, and such passionate communities.