PhotoFest Review! State Football

The grueling 2023 football season concluded in November at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie with a pair of teams repeating as state champions. In 4A, Sheridan 3-peated as the state champs with a 31-3 win over Cheyenne East. Dane Steel caught a 67-yard touchdown on a nifty catch and run plus he had an interception on defense. The Broncs ran the table at 12-0 and shut down a high-powered Cheyenne East offense. The T-Birds finished 10-2 for the 2nd straight year.

Star Valley repeated as the 3A state champions as they knocked off Cody in a rematch of the 2022 state title game. Star Valley quarterback Smith McClure ran for 3 touchdowns and also threw a TD pass. The Brave defense was outstanding handing Cody their first shut-out since 2018. Star Valley was 11-1 on the season and is 21-3 over the course of the last two seasons. The Broncs finished 10-2 and are 20-3 overall in the last couple of seasons.

Torrington won a state championship for the first time in 33 years as they took the 2A crown with a thrilling 28-26 win over Big Horn. Kaiden Riggs had 3 rushing touchdowns and 131 yards rushing for Torrington while Big Horn's Cruz Hernandez had 2 rushing TDs. It was a classic championship game and Torrington after a rough start finished the year with a record of 9-3. Big Horn, who came into the contest as the defending 2A state champs, wrapped up the year at 9-2.

The 1A 9-Man champion in 2023 was Big Piney who throttled Wind River 39-14 in the title match-up. This was Big Piney's 1st state championship since 2006 with running backs Caden Clifford and Reuben Stoutenberg each having a pair of rushing touchdowns. Karsyn Gurr also caught 2 TD passes as the Punchers finished 10-1 which was their best record since 2004. Wind River received 137 yards rushing from Cooper Frederick and he also threw for 122 yards. The Cougars went 8-2 and that was their best record since 2009.

Finally, in 1A 6-Man Burlington broke Little Snake River's 30-game winning streak in a compelling 42-39 victory for all the marbles. Burlington's Jordan Michaels for 98 yards and a touchdown and threw for 134 and 3 touchdowns. LSR got 165 yards rushing from Seth Maxson and 3 TDs from Bridger Cozzens. The game featured over 700 yards of offense with Burlington winning a state title for the first time since 1994. The Huskies finished the year 10-1. The Rattlers were the two-time defending state champs in the classification and concluded the season 9-1.

Be sure and take a look at all of our photos from those 5 championship games and they can be found in our galleries below. Enjoy!

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