Say what you want, but having a home crowd in the first round of the Wyoming 4A playoffs was a factor.

Congratulations to the Broncs, Bearcats, Braves and Bison over the weekend for their wins. Wait a minute, maybe just having a team name that starts with the letter “B” was the key for the opening round. Of course, tell that to the Bulldogs and the Cody Broncs.

As for yours truly, it made it look like I knew what I was doing, although blind luck looks exactly the same.

For the season, the Dahl E. Llama is 41-16 or (.720) after a 4-0 weekend on the gridiron. Was I totally dialed in? Nope, I really thought the Cody / Jackson game was going to be closer. Here’s some standout performances for me this week

Farmer Awards for Week 9 – First off, how about those Braves? After an U-G-L-Y performance the week before, they were downright dominant in their 24-7 victory over Worland, allowing just 59 total yards for the game. How big a deal is this? Well, Robby Demunbrun had 152 rushing yards by himself the week before, so I’d say some kudos have to go to the Braves’ defense for their outright intensity and execution. Also, a heck of a job by the staff to shut down what had been a very tough toss sweep for the Warriors. A final Woo-Hoo to the offensive line, who made holes all evening long as Star Valley rushed for a season-high 338 yards. And I didn’t even get to mention the great catch and the heads-up play of getting out of bounds by Zane Porter right before the half.

Another Farmer goes to Jackson who really appears to be clicking. Their 37-12 win over Cody was the third time in the last four weeks they’ve gone over 30 points. They’re a team with a lot on the line as the pressure now moves up another notch. I really don’t think they’ll have a problem getting motivated for Douglas though, as the Bearcats ended their season a year ago.

And the Final Farmer goes to Buffalo for their nine-game winning streak. The Braves will now travel to Buffalo (approximately 410 miles) for the semi-final game. Here’s an interesting note, this will be the first game in the history of the two programs that they have played a game that was NOT a state championship. Star Valley defeated Buffalo, 49-0 in 1961, and then again in 1980, 27-22. The Bison most recently ended a great season for the Braves by claiming the 2005 title, 17-14.

Jackson def. Cody – 37-12 – (Correct, the visiting Broncs were the only team that had to play the same team in the same location two weeks in a row)

Douglas def. Wheatland – 14-7 – (Correct, the Bearcats now have to make the trek to Teton County to face the red-hot Broncs)

Star Valley def. Worland – 24-7 – (Correct, the Braves put together their most complete game of the season, out-gaining the Warriors by 259 yards

Buffalo def. Powell – 21-7 – (Correct, One has to give the Panther credit for keeping this game withing striking distance. This is the fifth consecutive time the Bison will be participating in the 4A semi-finals.)

Stay tuned to the website throughout this week as I preview the four teams still battling it out for the championship.

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