David Settle with WyoPreps.com joined Duke & Dahl during First Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday to to discuss a few of the key matchups taking place this weekend in Wyoming high school football.

(0:00) Duking down with you in studio and joining us over the phone this morning is David Settle. (0:05) Of course, he runs wildpreps.com, does a fantastic job with it. David, good morning.
How are you today? (0:12) I’m doing well, guys. How are you? We’re doing great, David. Thank you for taking a few minutes (0:16) and speaking with us today and I think to start things off, I want you to kind of tell our (0:23) listeners what’s it like, at least, you know, kind of a day in the life of trying to run (0:30) wildpreps.com on a Friday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday in early September.
What is that like? (0:39) Try imagining not getting much sleep. It’s a lot of long days, I’m not going to lie. (0:48) But, you know, I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.
So let me just start by saying that I love (0:52) what I do. I have a passion for high school sports. I have since I started back in Laramie, (0:59) just working at the radio station in Laramie, where I still work today, you know, gosh, like (1:05) 28 years ago now, 27, 28 years ago now.
So it’s been a longtime passion. I kind of, (1:12) I didn’t necessarily start off with a love of high school sports, but I grew into it quickly. (1:17) It’s just a passion of mine.
But day to day, especially Thursday, Friday, Saturday, (1:24) I’m up early making sure that we’ve got the right things in the right spot and I’m not missing (1:29) something or made some dumb mistake because I am human and I do make mistakes all the time. (1:33) Made one yesterday that was an absolute bonehead because I read a date wrong. (1:38) But, you know, and then it’s just constantly tracking things.
And like today, I mean, (1:43) we already have volleyball going right now, guys, in the state. So, I mean, it’s just tracking scores (1:49) all the time, working with coaches, athletic directors, trying to get results, you know, (1:56) missing a couple of things that I didn’t get last night. So I reached out to coaches this morning.
(2:00) One got back to me, you know, it’s constantly filling in and filling out the results that (2:05) you see on our scoreboard. And then also trying to think of just kind of new and different angles. (2:12) That was kind of my thought process last night.
And it starts early in the day, but it continues (2:17) throughout the day. Now, I do have, I do take some breaks because everybody needs some breaks. (2:22) But, you know, especially today when you’ve got volleyball going on all day because of tournament (2:27) action in the state, you’ve got a couple of golf events finishing up.
There’s a one-day (2:32) event up in the northeastern part of the state. So tracking things like that, making sure I’m (2:37) getting the tennis results from coaches. It’s not just the big stuff.
I know everybody pays (2:42) attention to football. A lot of people pay attention to volleyball, but it’s making sure (2:46) that we also cover some of these wonderful student athletes that do swimming and diving (2:50) or cross country or golf or tennis, things like that during the fall. Same thing happens in the (2:56) winter and in the spring, of course.
Summers are a lot slower, but Thursday, Friday, Saturday are (3:02) jam-packed. I’ll be honest with you guys. I was up till about 1130 last night, filling out results (3:07) and making sure everything was squared away and up to date on the website.
And then I was back up (3:12) this morning. I think my dog woke me up at about 615. So there you go.
And I’ll do it all again (3:18) tomorrow. And you’ll do it again the next day after that too. I might slow down a little bit (3:24) on Sundays.
Well, and I’m not just blowing smoke, Dave, because you do such a fantastic job, (3:30) just not only covering the main sports, like you said, but all the other sports. (3:36) Like you, we cover sports in a lot of different states when our high school goes to places like (3:41) Idaho or Utah to play various high school sports. And we try and find information from those teams (3:47) in those other states.
And it’s just not out there. I hope our listeners aren’t taking for (3:55) granted because I do it all the time. I hope they don’t take for granted what YOPreps is (3:59) and what it provides because not every state has a high school sports source like what you’ve (4:07) created with YOPreps and with what you’re doing with YOPreps.
It’s just, it’s not out there. (4:12) It really isn’t. Well, and I got to go back and credit John Gabrielson and Vern Teistad who started (4:19) this over two decades ago now.
They really had the foresight and wherewithal and they did it (4:25) for several years. I know Vern kind of dipped out after a few years, but John ran it for so long. (4:31) And so I always tip my cap to my good friend, John Gabrielson in Riverton.
He was the one (4:36) who had the vision and the passion. I got presented this opportunity. It’s kind of (4:41) hard to believe, but this is, I took over as the manager in the summer of 2019 after there was (4:49) some different things that happened in the company that I worked for that owns YOPreps.com. YOPreps (4:55) is not its own entity.
It’s owned by a company. And so I’m kind of the brand manager. I’m not (5:01) necessarily the CEO or anything like that, but those guys get a lot of credit.
They put a lot (5:06) of passion and energy. A couple of other guys have kind of worked their way in, but I’ve taken (5:12) it over and tried to run with the passion. We’ve tweaked a few things here and there.
And I’m still (5:17) tweaking things all the time because just trying to figure out what’s the pulse of fans in the (5:22) state. And I greatly appreciate those kind words, Duke, because it is a labor of love. And I do mean (5:29) labor because I don’t know how many people want to spend their entire Friday, Saturday, part of (5:36) their Sunday.
I do try, as I mentioned earlier, to try and take a little downtime on Sundays. I did (5:42) take a little bit of time this past Labor Day Monday to not work as much as I probably could (5:47) have or should have, but every once in a while I got to take some breaks. And then I’ve got other (5:52) responsibilities.
It’s not just YOPreps. I wear multiple hats like many of us do in the (5:57) broadcast industry these days. Well, David, I know we’ve talked about a lot of the other stuff, (6:03) but we’re going to talk about some football here because we’ve got a couple of matchups today (6:07) that we would like to kind of ask your opinion on, one of which playing today.
Your thoughts on (6:14) the Cody Bronx and the Riverton Wolverines today. What is your thought on this? And is it a changing (6:21) of the guard? Is it more of the same? What are some of your thoughts on this? (6:25) You know, I’ve gone back and forth with this. You know, I know Mark Linhart very well.
(6:31) I know Matt McFadden very well. Just develop those relationships through the years. (6:37) And it’s one of those situations where I think everybody wants to look at it now as the changing (6:42) of the guard.
I’m not so sure that’s going to be the case. Now, everybody’s going to look at this (6:49) as almost the end all be all for Riverton. Riverton needs to look at it as just one game.
(6:54) Cody needs to do the same. No matter what the outcome is today, it doesn’t change necessarily (6:59) the grand scheme of things until you get into conference play. But I think this is maybe a big (7:05) proving ground for Coach Linhart’s squad.
I mean, I thought they made a statement last week against (7:10) Powell. Now, I will say this much for fans who don’t know. Powell’s very young.
They didn’t (7:15) bring back a single starter from last year. They were very senior-laden last year. And I knew that (7:20) because I had gone up on our preseason tour last year to visit with Coach Kistler up there at Powell.
(7:26) Riverton is that veteran-type team. They were actually one of my stops this year on the (7:31) preseason Wildcats football tour. And so I got a chance to visit with them.
I knew what Coach (7:36) Linhart has coming back. Now, Cody, I think, in my opinion, and they can go out and prove me wrong, (7:44) I think they’ve come back to the pack just a little bit from where they’ve been (7:48) the last few years. But that doesn’t mean that they’re ready to give up the mantle as, (7:54) basically, right now, the number two team in 3A.
Riverton’s got to go out and earn it. (7:59) And I’ll be honest with you. I’ve gone back and forth on this.
I’m really curious to see (8:03) what we get out of Cash McFadden. That is Matt McFadden’s boy. He’s now the quarterback, (8:08) taken over from Maddox Ball, who was a two-year starter.
They’ve got some other complementary (8:13) pieces, Lyman back, some other maybe not necessarily specifically skill guys. (8:18) But they’ve got some pieces still there to work with. I just don’t know if they’re quite (8:23) that far ahead.
Now, again, this is a proving game to me for Riverton. They’ve got all the (8:28) tools back. Ganton Beineck, quarterback, I know they lost a couple of key starters (8:33) from last year, including the older Cox kid.
But, I mean, you look at Saltzgaever, (8:39) a couple other guys that are back, even like a Bo Schietz and some guys on the line, (8:46) Liebrecht and other guys like that. This could be one of those where it’s like, all right, (8:50) maybe we do have a change in the guard. But in the end, it’s just one game.
I’m fascinated to (8:56) see what the outcome is. I think Riverton at home, I don’t want to say how I’m going to call it, (9:01) but I like Riverton at home to slip by the Bronx tonight. All right, we’ll see how that one goes.
(9:06) We’ll be watching it, of course. You mentioned the winner of this game is going to solidify (9:12) themselves as the two, at least at this point in the season, early in the season, as the second (9:18) team in 3A, of course. Star Valley, again, the unanimous number one as far as the wild preps (9:23) coaches and media pull right now.
And we get this question all the time, David. People ask Dal and I, (9:28) why are the Braves so good? What are they doing in Star Valley when they’ve gone on (9:32) this perennial run and things have been so incredible under Coach Young to make them (9:35) so good for so many years? We’re kind of involved with the program. We deal with, (9:40) we see them and we work with them on a day-to-day basis.
I’d like to get your opinion (9:43) as someone who is removed from Star Valley, but still follows it extremely closely and someone (9:49) has talked to Coach Young multiple times. What’s your perception of what has made Star Valley (9:54) football so good for the last 10, 15 years and why that is? Well, I know there’s been one coaching (10:02) change. Obviously that was from Coach Howell to Coach Young, but there’s something to be said (10:07) when it comes for a standard and an expectation.
And I think what makes great teams in this state (10:13) right now is they have a standard and an expectation. All the players know it. Now, (10:20) I’m not going to shy away from the fact that winning, everybody loves to win.
I mean, (10:25) you can hear that from the programs that win to the programs that don’t win and they’re trying (10:30) to get to that level. To me, it speaks about consistency and development in your young guy. (10:37) And I think one thing that helps out some of these big time programs (10:42) is one, balance on their offense, two, their defenses create takeaways, but three, (10:49) it’s the steady leadership.
You look at a lot of the great programs, look at how long the coaches (10:56) and the majority of the coaching staff have been in place. Whether you want to talk about Star (11:01) Valley or you want to talk about Cody, Sheridan, Natrona County, Cheyenne East, or even look at (11:08) Cokeville. I know Coach Linford’s only going into, what, a third year, but before that with (11:13) Coach Dayton, even look at what’s going on with Little Snake River right now and Six Man or Pine (11:20) Bluffs and Nine Man, Big Horn, up in the two-way ranks, level in the two-way ranks.
When you have (11:25) that consistent approach and the same messaging coming from the coaching staff, it’s pretty easy (11:32) to get kids from a young age to buy in quickly, get on the same page, and then coaches cultivate (11:40) from a young level, whether you want to talk about Pee-Wee or Pop Warner football, (11:45) into the middle school, junior high programs, and then into the high school, you’re getting that (11:50) same type of message. That was a lot of the case for Laramie so long before I got here with the (11:57) John D. Tye era, with John D. Tye Sr. and then John D. Tye Jr. Two coaches over 59 years, and it’s the (12:04) same messaging, the same expectation. I talk about balance, and I’m going to throw some numbers out (12:09) at you guys.
Star Valley over the last few years has been, yes, a little more lean on the path, (12:18) but they still run the ball effectively over 160 yards a game. They’re throwing at about 250. They (12:23) outscore their opponents basically 39-12, and this year’s senior class is 33-3, now make it 34-3 (12:32) after last week’s win at Shelley.
When you create a standard, to me, it creates that expectation, (12:41) and guess what? Young kids want to uphold that expectation, and you get taught that by the (12:47) upperclassmen, and that drifts down through your program. The other thing is, think about this, (12:51) a lot of these kids that might be backups or backup-backup third string guys, they’re getting (12:58) more playing time than your average team because of the blowout that these teams have, and I think (13:02) that also cultivates great programs because now you get a chance as a second and a third stringer (13:08) to play against an opponent starting varsity in the third and fourth quarter when they’re still (13:14) trying to figure things out. You’re getting meaningful reps.
That helps you as you develop (13:18) in your high school career, so I think there’s something to be said for some of your powerhouse (13:22) programs when they blow teams out. Look at how many other kids get in the game and get that prime (13:28) time Friday night experience as a young player, and then I think that translates into when they (13:33) get to a junior or they get to a senior, and it’s their time. David wanted to ask your opinion on (13:38) one more matchup.
I guess I’m the matchup guy today. This one’s in 2A. That’s all good.
Another (13:44) big-time matchup, again, referencing the wildpreps.com coaches and media poll. You got (13:49) number three Lovell taking on top-ranked Bighorn. That looks like to be one of those statement-type (13:55) opportunities as well.
Well, what’s funny is you talk to Coach McLaughlin and you talk to (14:01) Coach Crosby, and they’re both like, why do we schedule this game? Because they always seem to (14:07) see each other in the playoffs at some point in time. This is a rematch of a semifinal. (14:11) Bighorn beat Lovell in Bighorn last year.
I know Lovell feels like they’ve got a great squad. (14:17) Lovell, probably the biggest team in 2A, and I’m not talking about numbers. I’m talking about size.
(14:22) They got some dudes up there led by Halem Strom on the line. Lovell’s got a lot of great pieces (14:28) coming back. What they don’t have is Coach Crosby’s son at quarterback.
Davin graduated. (14:34) They did lose a couple other valuable seniors, but they built a good program under Coach Crosby. (14:40) Bighorn is the same way under Coach McLaughlin.
They seem to kind of roll through some guys. (14:44) You got Cruz Hernandez back, Bridger Doak, who might be the biggest whiteout in Class 2A in (14:50) like 6-3, 6-4, and about 2-0-5, 2-10. They can create some matchup problems.
(14:57) And what these coaches do so well is they’ve got the right pieces in the right place. So, (15:02) it comes down to execution in a game like this. I know that they always joke and laugh about not (15:06) playing each other, but I think they love to play each other because they get the best out of each (15:12) other.
And then they can take that film and go, hey, they made us better in this spot. They made (15:18) us better in this area. They made us as coaches work harder to improve this area.
And to me, (15:24) when you get great teams playing each other this early in the season, it’s going to help you down (15:28) the line. And Edge in this one, if Lovell can establish something on the ground and still (15:39) protect a new quarterback that they’re breaking in, because Davin Crosby was a four-year starter, (15:44) that’s going to be key for Lovell tonight on the road in a harsh environment. I think this is (15:50) another classic Lovell-Bighorn matchup.
I think this one could sway either way. I’m not exactly (15:54) sure what to pick. And obviously, Bighorn’s got some returners.
I mentioned Hernandez and Doak, (16:00) but this is almost a pick-em game in my opinion, Dal. (16:04) David Settle with wildpreps.com this morning, joining us on Sports Friday. David, it’s been (16:10) a pleasure.
Thank you so much for your time. We appreciated you letting us pick your brain a bit. (16:13) Yeah, it’s always a pleasure.
Great to talk with you. We’ll catch up with you soon. (16:16) That’s David Settle, wildpreps.com on First Bank of Wyoming Sports Friday.