WyoPreps Game of the Week: #5 Jackson at #4 Buffalo [VIDEO]

For the second consecutive year, the Jackson Broncs and Buffalo Bison hook up in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A football playoffs on Friday at 3 p.m.

This year’s game will be in Buffalo between the No. 5 Broncs and the fourth-ranked Bison. A year ago, Jackson steamrolled Buffalo, 75-27, on the west side of the state.

Buffalo is 5-3 this fall, while Jackson enters the game with a 4-5 record.

WyoPreps’ David Settle caught up with both Jackson head coach David White and Buffalo head coach Rob Hammond before this meeting. Both coaches discussed how they feel about their team starting the postseason, what they think of their opponent and some keys to being successful.

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These teams are a bit of a contrast. The Bison are the top rushing team in Class 3A at 283 yards per game. The Broncs are third in passing at 192 yards per game. On the flip side, Jackson yields a lot on the ground at nearly 221 yards per game, and Buffalo allows 159 yards passing per game. The Bison are averaging 31 points per game compared to the Broncs at 21 points per game.

Running back Will Hammond and QB Eli Patterson head the Buffalo attack. Hammond is the No. 2 rusher in the class at 108 yards per game. Patterson runs for 65 yards per game and throws for the same amount each game. Dawson Palser leads the Bison defense and is No. 4 in the division in defensive points.

Jackson is led by QB Owen Janssen. He is No. 3 in 3A at 238.5 yards of total offense per game. Janssen has 12 TD passes and has run for five more TDs. His top target is Sebastian Brunner, who has 34 catches for 511 yards and four touchdowns. Justin Castagno is Jackson’s top defender and is No. 2 in defensive points in Class 3A.

This will be only the fifth football game between the two schools. According to wyoming-football.com, there have been two regular season games and two in the postseason. The first meeting was in 1976, and the series is even at 2-2. They did play for a 4A state championship (5-class system) in 2007. Jackson won that game 10-6, so the Broncs have won both of the games in the playoffs.

Buffalo has a 36-32 record in the postseason, while Jackson is 14-15 in the playoffs.