EVANSTON — Perhaps only in Wyoming will a contest pitting Buffalo versus  Bison take place. The Mountain View Buffalos, the defending 2A gridiron state champions, will square off against the Buffalo Bison on Saturday morning, Nov. 10., at 10 a.m. — the third of five state championship games to be played at the University of Wyoming’s War Memorial Stadium. 

The Burlington Huskies - Farson-Eden Pronghorns matchup in Class 1A six-man will get championship weekend started at noon on Friday, Nov. 9, followed by the Class 3A title game between the Star Valley Braves and Torrington Trailblazers at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Mountain View and Buffalo kick things off on Saturday, with the Class 1A eleven-man title tilt next at 1 p.m, when the Big Horn Rams and Cokeville Panthers do battle, and the Natrona County Mustangs and Sheridan Broncs close things out for the Class 4A championship at 4 p.m..

Mountain View and Buffalo have been the two most dominant teams in the 2A division all season long, though the Glenrock Herders’ high-powered offense had Glenrock in the conversation from a statistical standpoint. 

Glenrock is a common opponent for the Buffs and Bison, which may provide the best gauge, if considering comparative scores. Buffalo defeated the Herders in Glenrock, 22-16, back on Sept. 21, and Mountain View knocked off Glenrock last week at home, 33-21, in a playoff semifinal win, to earn its way into the 2A title game. Both Mountain View and Buffalo had decisive wins over Kemmerer, Big Piney and Thermopolis.

Mountain View and Buffalo arrive in the championship game with identical 9-1 overall records and 6-0 marks in their respective conference seasons. Both squads are winners of nine consecutive games, after dropping their season-opening contests.

Mountain View head coach Brent Walk told the Herald that Buffalo will be the best team his team will face this season.

“We’ve seen some great teams this season. Glenrock, obviously, with what they were doing, but Buffalo will be the best team we’ve seen,” Walk said.

“I’m really impressed with their athletes,” Walk said of the Bison.

“Their offensive line is solid and they’ve got some really good players, skill-wise. They’re fast, big and athletic. We know we have our hands full. We’re playing a very good team, but that’s exactly what it should be in a state championship,” Walk shared.

After scouting the Bison, Walk and his staff expect to see multiple offensive formations.

“They’ll run some 21 personnel, some I-back looks and they’ll also spread it out, just like we do,” the coach explained.

Buffalo is led by Rowan Ruby out of the backfield, a running back with big-play capability, who has rushed for over 200 yards in a single game on the season. The Bison display a balanced attack, averaging 168 yards per game on the ground and throwing for 139. Quarterback Luke Glasscock has spread the ball around with his favorite targets being Aaron Thiele, Dawson Hatch and Cody Milmine. Glasscock is also a weapon as a kicker and punter, leading the 2A division in kickoff statistics and is in the top 10 as a punter. 

“He can really kick the football,” Walk said of Glasscock.

“It would not be surprising if they turn him loose for a 50-yard field goal attempt,” Walk added. Glasscock did boot a successful 49-yard field goal against Moorcroft earlier this season. Glasscock was an all-state selection as a kicker in 3A football last season, as a junior. Seniors Thiele and Milmine are also returning all-state players on the defensive side of the ball. Senior Caleb Jones was an all-conference performer last season when Buffalo competed in the 3A classification. Together, the four seniors comprise a nucleus of seven returning starters on both sides of the football for Buffalo, so the Bison have weapons aplenty.

But so do the Buffalos. Mountain View returns five all-state players from last year’s state championship team, the most of any 2A team, and only one of the Buffalo all-state players, returning Class 2A lineman of the year Colby Rees, is a senior. Briggin Bluemel, Hunter Gross, Kimball Madsen and Braeden Walk are all juniors and all five see time on both sides of the football.

Madsen and Walk split time under center, as they did last season, and combine for 101 yards passing per outing. When one of the duo is playing quarterback, the other lines up at wide receiver. Walk leads the Buffs in receiving yardage. Bluemel is the chief threat out of the Buffalo backfield, rushing for 93 yards per game.

Madsen is second in the state at all-purpose yardage at close to 174 yards per game and Bluemel in second in all of Class 2A in scoring, notching 12.6 points per game.

Ashton Schofield is the featured return specialist for Mountain View, and is among the state’s top-10 in both kickoff and punt returns.

Teancum Piekkola handles the kicking detail for the Buffalos and Madsen the punting; both are top-10 performers in the state’s 2A division.

Defensively, Rees is second in the state in defensive points per game at 27.5, but he has a great deal of support. Mountain View boasts eight of the top-50 defensive point leaders in Class 2A. Gross is fifth with 19.1 per game, with Bluemel holding down the seventh spot at 15.9 defensive points per outing. Walk and Breckin Barnes rank 18th and 19th, respectively at 12.1 points per game, and are followed by Madsen at 28th with 11.1 and Caleb Knutson and Schofield, each with 10.5 defensive points each time out, in the 39th and 40th slots, respectively.

While the Buffalo offense has certainly demonstrated the ability to advance the football and score, averaging 35.7 points per game, and ranked third or fourth in rushing, passing and overall offense, Mountain View seems to hang their hats on the defensive side of the football. If defense does indeed win championships, as the football adage goes, the Buffs are well poised to repeat. Mountain View limits opponents to an average of nine points per game and leads the 2A classification in all major defensive categories — number one against the run, the pass and overall, allowing just 184 yards per game, on average. The Bison sit fourth, giving up 228 yards per game to the opposition.

“This didn’t just begin with two-a-days in August for us,” Walk stated.

“We had over 50 kids in the weight room from the end of last season and every day, all throughout the year and into the summer,” the head coach added.

The Mountain View roster of more than 50 athletes is almost unheard of in the 2A ranks. 

“There is no quit in our kids and they’re hungry,” Walk avowed.

There are other factors the coach pointed to, including his staff, which he contends is the best group of assistant coaches in the entire state, and we mus not forget the Mountain View community.

“The support here is fantastic, second to none. People live and die by Mountain View football,” Walk said. 

“I’ll walk into a place like the post office and a rancher, whom I may not even know, will tell me, ‘We’re sure proud of your team, coach.’”

Look for a follow-up story on the Buffs’ quest to repeat as state champions in the Herald next week.