WyoPreps Game of the Week: #1 Lyman at Lovell [VIDEO]

Big Horn County is the site for the fan-voted, small school WyoPreps Game of the Week, as top-ranked Lyman faces the Bulldogs in Lovell on Friday night.

The Eagles are off to a 3-0 start, and the Bulldogs are 1-1 on the season.

Either one or both teams have been in the Class 2A state championship game over the last three seasons.

Lyman opened with a Week 0 win over Malad, ID, 36-14. The Eagles followed that with a 28-7 win against Bear Lake, ID. Last week, they began conference play with a 40-0 victory against Pinedale.

Lovell started the season with a thrilling double overtime win against Big Horn, 33-27. That was a rematch of last year’s 2A title game. Last week, the Bulldogs were tripped up at Cokeville. The Panthers beat them 33-18.

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The Eagles have one of the top rushing attacks in Class 2A at 253 yards per game. The Bulldogs counter with the No. 2 passing offense at 201 yards per game. Overall, Lovell is third at 357 yards per game, while Lyman is seventh at 309 yards per game.

Defensively is where the Eagles have an advantage. They’re allowing only 106 yards and 7 points per game. The Bulldogs surrender 386 yards and 30 points per game.

Carter Bradshaw anchors Lyman. He runs for nearly 160 yards per game and adds almost 50 yards per game through the air. Davin Crosby is 2A’s top passer at 201 yards per game with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. Jared Mangus averages 102.5 yards per game rushing with 3 TDs. Lovell has the No. 1 receiver in Owen Walker, who has 12 catches for 183 yards. On defense, Max Gregory for the Eagles and Braxton Felkins for the Bulldogs rank third and fourth in 2A in points per game.

WyoPreps spoke to both head coaches, Lyman’s Dale Anderson, and Lovell’s Nicc Crosby, before the big conference showdown. The conversation centered on what they’ve seen from their team at the start of the season, the changing of personnel from the last couple of seasons, what they expect from the other, and some keys to a victory.

The records at wyoming-football.com say this will be the 23 meeting in the series between the two schools. Lyman holds a slight edge, 12-11. The first meeting was in 1994. Five have come in the playoffs. Twelve games have been decided by eight points or less. Lovell captured last season’s game, 12-6, in OT.

The game is at Kevin P. Robertson Memorial Stadium in Lovell and starts at 7 p.m.