August 27, 2009

Associated Press
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Nine-game regular seasons for some schools and playing all state championship games at the University of Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium are among the changes in this year's high school football scene.

For the first time since 2001, Class 5A will again be called Class 4A. The state's largest classification in all other sports is 4A, and football was 4A from 1983-2000.

Cheyenne East, for instance, hasn't played Sheridan since the 2004 consolation final. The teams haven't met in the regular season since 2002.

The start of practice for bigger schools was moved up a week and started Aug. 10. Teams in all other classifications started Aug. 17.

Class 4A coaches say they welcome the changes.

"This is the best thing that has happened in the past eight years," Steve Harshman, who is entering his 19th season at Casper Natrona County, said. "We have the shortest season in America. We should be playing one more game - 10 regular-season games and three playoff games.

"It's no wonder there are only a few Wyoming kids at UW - they play less football than any kids in America. This is a smart change and a much-appreciated step in the right direction."

Wyoming high schools played a seven-game regular season from 1990-96, but have played eight nearly every other year.

The fact every team will meet head to head eliminated the controversial power rankings system the Wyoming High School Activities Association had employed since switching to five football classifications in 2001.

"By the end of the regular season, we should know who the best teams in the state are," Sheridan coach Don Julian said.

Under the power rankings system, the smallest of the state's big schools were given bonus points for beating teams with larger enrollments. Teams also earned points with wins and strength of schedule.

The power rankings sometimes left deserving teams out of the playoffs.

Also gone is the proximity system, where first round playoff pairings were determined by driving distance.

"There were times teams ended up playing a lot tougher team than they should have just because it was a shorter drive," fourth-year East coach Chad Goff said. "This system is cut and dried. You'd better be one of the top teams in the state, or you're not going to make the playoffs. It's also going to be seeded No. 1 vs. No. 8 and No. 2 vs. No. 7, the way it should be.

"It's the best situation we could be in. In the past, I felt like we tried to make it a lot more complicated than it needed to be."

Coaches say the additional week of practice will give them more time to adequately prepare their squads and teach them the needed skills.

"More than just knowing the proper way to hit people, there's a conditioning aspect that factors into football," Goff said. "If we hadn't gotten the extra week, we'd be expecting kids to get in really good shape in a really short amount of time, and we'd be pushing them a lot harder.

"This has allowed us to get the kids in better shape in a safer manner."

The WHSAA isn't looking at adding a ninth game and an early start to the other classes anytime soon.

"There is some concern with the smaller schools that it might trickle down to them," WHSAA Commissioner Ron Laird said. "They're not as excited to start earlier because their kids are involved in so many more things."

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