Wyoming High School Football 2A Title Game Preview [VIDEO]

A conference rematch will decide the Class 2A football state championship. Defending champion Big Horn takes on Torrington.

These two teams have never met in a title game. The Rams won last year’s 2A championship in the final minute, 8-7 over Lovell. Torrington makes its’ first appearance in the championship game since they hosted in 2020 and fell to Lyman, 14-3.

The two squads faced off in Week 4 of this season in Torrington. Big Horn held off a Blazers comeback, 32-27.

WyoPreps spoke to both head coaches before the game, Big Horn’s Kirk McLaughlin, and Torrington’s Russell Stienmetz, for some insight into the teams and this matchup.

Team Info & Series History:

Big Horn (9-1) – Kirk McLaughlin: 6th year as head coach; 8 state championships in school history; the last was in 2022 (8-7 vs. Lovell). Their first title was in 1985. The Rams are 8-10 in title games all-time and are making their 9th appearance in Laramie for a state championship game. They are 5-3 at War Memorial Stadium.

Torrington (8-3) – Russell Stienmetz: 5th year as head coach; 4 state championships in school history; the most recent was in 1990 (20-6 over Star Valley in 3A). Their only other title was back in 1988. The Trailblazers are 2-11 in title games all-time and are making their 2nd appearance in Laramie for a state championship game. They are 0-1 at War Memorial Stadium.

This will be the 5th meeting in the series. Overall, Big Horn has an edge of 3-1. They first played each other in a varsity game in 2020 in the fifth week of the regular season. In the postseason, this will be the first meeting and the first time they’ll face off with a championship at stake.

Team Stats per game:

                             Big Horn                                            Torrington                                    

Rush Offense = No. 6 (181 yards per game)            No. 5 (218)

Pass Offense = No. 2 (199)                                        No. 8 (98)

Total Offense = No. 1 (380)                                        No. 5 (316)

Scoring Offense = No. 1 (40.7)                                   No. 5 (26.5)

Rush Defense = No. 5 (146)                                        No. 2 (111)

Pass Defense = No. 12 (127)                                       No. 3 (81)

Total Defense = No. 7 (273)                                        No. 2 (192)

Scoring Defense = No. 6 (17.6)                                  No. 4 (13.1)

Key Players:

Big Horn = Cruz Hernandez – 90.6 rushing yards per game, 11 TDs; Avon Barney 180.6 passing yards per game with 21 TDs & 5 INTs; Kolby Butler – 46.8 receiving yards per game, 5 TDs; Gavin Stafford – No. 1 punt return at 32.2 per attempt and 4 TDs; Owen Petty – 14.4 defensive points per game – ranks No. 10.

Torrington = Kaiden Riggs – 104 rushing yards per game, 8 TDs; Bryce Hager – 92.3 passing yards per game, 6 TDs & 5 INTs & 162.6 all-purpose yards per game, 19 total TDs; Bryce Hager – 13.4 defensive points per game – ranks No. 19.

The kick-off will be at noon on Friday in Laramie.

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