The defending champion Lyman Eagles will play the Lovell Bulldogs for the Class 2A state championship in Laramie on Saturday.

The Eagles and Bulldogs last played in two title games in 2011 and 2012. Lovell won the championship in 2011, while Lyman won it in 2012.

They played in Week 3 of this regular season. Lyman went to Lovell and beat the Bulldogs, 34-15.

WyoPreps spoke to both head coaches before the game, Lyman’s Dale Anderson and Lovell’s Nicc Crosby, for some insight into the teams and this matchup.

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Team Info & Series History:

Lovell (9-1) – Nicc Crosby: 3rd year as head coach; 2 state championships in school history; the most recent was in 2011 (21-13 over Lyman). Their only other title was back in 1987.

Lyman (11-0) – Dale Anderson: 10th year as head coach; 5 state championships in school history; the last was in 2020 (14-3 at Torrington). Their first title was in 1976.

This will be the 22nd meeting in the series. Overall, Lyman has an 11-10 lead. They first played each other in a varsity game in 1994 in a playoff game. In the postseason, the two schools have played four times and split those games. This is the third time they’ll face off with a championship at stake.

Team Stats per game:

                             Lyman                                                      Lovell                          

Rush Offense = No. 2 (255.7)                                      No. 1 (267.7)

Pass Offense = No. 12 (71.3)                                       No. 13 (57.9)

Total Offense = No. 3 (327)                                          No. 4 (325.6)

Scoring Offense = No. 1 (38.5)                                    No. 2 (31.5)

Rush Defense = No. 2 (106.3)                                     No. 1 (80.6)

Pass Defense = No. 13 (139.6)                                    No. 12 (131.4)

Total Defense = No. 5 (245.9)                                     No. 3 (212)

Scoring Defense = No. 3 (14.2)                                   No. 1 (10.1)

Key Players:

Lyman = Ashton Housekeeper – 132.1 rushing yards per game, 25 TDs; Chevy Fackrell – 81.9 rushing yards per game, 6 TDs; McKoy Smith – 12 TDs, including 2 punt returns & 1 defensive TD; Rho Mecham – 18.9 defensive points per game – ranks No. 3.

Lovell = Dallen Mangus – 75.7 rushing yards per game, 9 TDs; Amos Monterde – 59.9 rushing yards per game, 7 TDs; Preston Nichols – 14.5 defensive points per game – ranks No. 13.

The kick-off will be at 10 a.m. Saturday in Laramie.

Series history information is Courtesy of Wyoming-football.com.

Just The Facts: Size Doesn't Matter For Wyoming's War Memorial Stadium

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For those of you not familiar with the Cowboy State, those are Wyoming's third through sixth most inhabited cities, along with the small mining town in Campbell County.

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