LARAMIE – A picturesque drive of two hours and nearly 100 miles over the Bighorn Mountains separates the two football teams meeting in the Class 2A state championship.
Greybull and Big Horn used to face off each season until the classification was divided, with Greybull in the West Conference and Big Horn in the East Conference.
Greybull and Big Horn will now meet at 10 a.m. today at War Memorial Stadium for the 2A state title.
“There’s been some rivalry built the last few years,” Greybull coach Mary Wrage said. “Years ago, we used to play Big Horn all the time, being the closest road game we’d have, and now it’s been in the playoffs. The rivalry has been built because we’ve been fortunate enough to play well, and Big Horn has a long history of good football.”
Big Horn has won state titles in 1985, 2003-04 and 2013. Greybull’s only state title came in 1960.
Greybull beat Big Horn 27-25 in quarterfinals last season in Greybull. The Buffaloes went on to lose to eventual state champion Wheatland in the semifinals.
“Once our season was over last year, we had our eyes on this date,” Big Horn coach Michael McGuire said. “To be able to get to (Laramie) and play for the state championship is very exciting for us.”
Greybull and Big Horn are both 9-1 overall, and comparable teams offensively and defensively.
Big Horn is the second-best rushing team in 2A, with 260.3 yards per game. Combine that with a fifth-best passing attack of 139.8 yards per game and the Rams have the top-ranked overall offense with 400.1 ypg.
They are led by senior running back Colton Williams’ second-best 166 ypg to go with 25 touchdowns. Senior running back Nolan McCafferty added 53.2 ypg and nine touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Tanner Warder is fourth in 2A with 136.3 ypg through the air, with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.
“We try to be balanced as much as we can,” McGuire said. “We haven’t thrown it as much this season as we have in the past, but we still have been pretty efficient with it. We like to use a lot of different formations and personnel groups to maybe try to find weak spots in a defense we can attack, especially with our run game.”
Defensively, the Rams boast the top passing defense in 2A by allowing just 65.2 ypg. They are also fifth against the run at 149.2 ypg for a fourth-best overall defense of 214.4 ypg.
“The 2A East is really a conference that is run-heavy, so that is probably part of it,” McGuire said. “But we do have some good athletes on the back end of our defense. They do a good job and are smart kids, so we mix and match different coverages to throw different looks at teams.”
Greybull has the third-best rushing attack with 260.2 ypg and a total of 55 touchdowns. The Buffaloes are seventh in passing with 114.6 ypg for a third-best overall offense of 374.8 ypg. Greybull is led by senior running back Dawson Forcella’s 148.3 ypg and 23 touchdowns. Sophomore running back Zack Keisel added 51.9 ypg and 10 touchdowns, and senior running back Dawson McEwan added 46.3 ypg and eight touchdowns.
Junior quarterback Riley Hill averages 72.5 passing yards per game, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions.
“We are pretty balanced with what we do and run it a little more this year because we have four running backs we use,” Wrage said. “We are a spread offense, but rushing is still the key for us.”
Defensively, the Buffaloes are tops in 2A, allowing just 71.3 ypg on the ground, which propelled them to a top-ranked overall defense allowing 194.3 ypg. Greybull is 11th against the pass, allowing 123 ypg.
“We’ve had a great group of kids that worked hard in the offseason,” Wrage said. “They really became technical about getting better at each position. We put our defense together that fits their personality and talents.”
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