Football coach of the year: The sports staff had a few long debates this year about who should be our Super 25 coach of the year. Eventually, we chose Burns coach Bill Fullmer, who helped mold a talented group of players into a team that went undefeated on its way to a state championship this season. Burns' feat is impressive enough on its own, but consider the state of the program when this year's seniors entered as freshmen: in the middle of a 16-game losing streak. In their first game as freshmen, the Broncs broke the losing streak with style, thumping Midwest 60-0. We should have known right then that Fullmer and Burns was on the road to something great.

However, we considered several other coaches at length, including Gillette's Vic Wilkerson (two titles in three years), Green River's Darren Howard (getting the job done without a ton of depth), Sheridan's Don Julian (turning around Sheridan in only two years), Douglas' Jay Rhoades (finally cracking through and winning a title -- against Buffalo, no less -- after coming up just short the past couple years), Glenrock's Ray Kumpula (sustained success for several years, and beat both Buffalo and Douglas on the way to an undefeated season and a state title), Big Horn's Bert Dow (first-year coach completely revamped the offense, and the Rams responded by going 10-1 and finishing second in 2A), Burlington's Mike Aagard (got the Huskies past Cokeville -- no small feat -- and into the 1A title game), and Southeast's Mark Bullington (three championships in a row speak for themselves).

That said, I also think another coach deserves a public shout-out: Meeteetse's Zeb Hagen. Hagen is in his third season with the Longhorns, and while he wasn't there for every step of the Longhorns' foray into six-man football, more than anyone else he may be responsible for the big changes coming to Wyoming next fall.

Without Meeteetse's success in Montana's six-man division -- including back-to-back playoff berths in 2006 and 2007, including a trip to the semifinals in '06, Hagen's first year -- I don't know if the Wyoming High School Activities Association ever seriously considers adding the sport here in the Equality State.

Meeteetse's success in Big Sky Country definitely boosted the momentum for six-man's return in Wyoming. The commitment Hagen, AD Rick Paxton and the Meeteetse community showed to six-man -- and the success they've had there since making the jump north in 2003 -- not only helped bring the game back to Wyoming, it helped bring the sport to five new schools and keep it alive at several others.

That's not just leaving a mark. That's establishing a legacy.

(Ten Sleep, too, deserves a bit of the credit for getting the six-man ball rolling in Wyoming. Hopefully a return to Wyoming next year will make things a bit easier for the Pioneers, who haven't been able to field a varsity team in either of the past two years.)

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com