6-Man State Championship Preview: Little Snake River vs. H.E.M.

In a much-anticipated matchup, a pair of unbeaten teams, Little Snake River and H.E.M., square off for the Class 1A 6-Man State Championship in Laramie Saturday.

Both teams enter with undefeated records. The Miners are 10-0, while the Rattlers have a 9-0 record.

It’s also been a little while since either of these teams was in the championship game. Little Snake River last appeared in 2012, while H.E.M. was last in a title game in 2010.

The two teams have been on a collision course all season. Adding to the intrigue, Little Snake River just tied a state record with their ninth consecutive shutout in last week’s semifinals. The Rattlers haven’t allowed a point all season and have outscored their opponents 526-0. The record they tied goes back 78 years.

Little Snake River will be looking for their third state championship in school history. They went back-to-back in 2010 and 2011 before losing in the title game in 2012.

H.E.M. is seeking its fourth football championship. They haven’t won one since 1989 and that was in 9-man football. The Miners have played 11-man, 9-man, 8-man, and 6-man throughout their history that dates back to 1926.

The most recent meeting between the two programs was a quarterfinal playoff game in 2017, which was won by the Rattlers, 75-13 in Hanna.

In addition to the shutout streak that Little Snake River has going, the key statistical battle looks to be the ground attack. H.E.M. is the No. 1 rushing team in 6-man football at 377.9 yards per game. The Rattlers only allow 8.1 yards per game and 0.4 yards per rush attempt.

WyoPreps talked with Little Snake River head coach Jack Cobb and Miners’ head coach Zack Scott ahead of this showdown. Both coaches touched on their season to this point and how they got to this game, the key elements to their team’s success, what they see from this opponent, and what they believe has to happen to be successful in the game. WyoPreps did ask Coach Cobb about LSR’s shutout streak.

Kick-off is at 10 a.m. Saturday from War Memorial Stadium in Laramie.

Series History

8-7: Little Snake River leads – only 4 meetings have been in the playoffs (3-1, LSR)

Championship games

2010: Little Snake River won 67-12

Championship Appearances in Laramie (including 2019)

Little Snake River = 4

H.E.M. = 2

Some series record information is courtesy of Wyoming-football.com.