To say Sheridan High School football has been successful would be putting it mildly.
The Broncs just clinched their fourth state championship in a row last weekend, beating Cheyenne East 21-0 in the 4A final at War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming.
It’s the program’s 31st state title overall and the second time the Broncs have four-peated, having done it from 1990-1993 as well. In fact, Sheridan’s domination on the gridiron goes back to the beginnings of high school football in Wyoming, winning the first three state championships in 1921, 1922 and 1923.
Last weekend’s victory also pushed the Broncs’ win streak to 43 games, a state record.
Earlier in the season, Sheridan broke the previously held Wyoming record for most high school football games won in a row of 34 games. Sheridan has the fourth-longest active win streak in the country, according to MaxPreps.
Next season, the team will try to break the state record for most consecutive state championships. Along with Sheridan’s other four-title streak from 1990-1993, Worland won four straight from 1924-1927, according to historical resource Wyoming-Football.com.
Building A Culture
When Sheridan head coach Jeff Mowry joined the team as an assistant coach in 2007, the program was not where it is today.
After losing in the state title game in 1997, Sheridan posted nine straight losing seasons.
In 2007, Don Julian, a former UW assistant football coach, took over as head coach. Mowry said Julian brought immediate change to the team by setting higher standards and a new culture for the program.
“Coach Julian just tried to bring a culture of excellence and high expectations,” he said. “You should be held accountable, and you should be great men on and off the field.”
Over the next 10 years, Sheridan went on to win five state championships, including a string of three in a row from 2015-2017.
Mowry became head coach in 2018, winning championships in five of the following seven seasons.
Much more important than achieving wins and breaking records, Mowry said, is the significance of growing young boys into men through the game of football.
“In the end, football is just a small window in our lives, and we want to create great young men that go out into the community and give back and are very productive citizens in our community,” he said.
A math trainer in Sheridan School District No. 2, Mowry sees a lot of similarities between teaching kids to develop math skills in the classroom and playing abilities on the football field. Mowry said developing relationships is one of the biggest motivational factors in life, a trait that crosses over from the football field to his algebra classes.
“If you can establish that strong relationship, a lot of things can happen,” he said.
The Sheridan High School football team celebrates its fourth straight state championship on Saturday. (Courtesy Photo) 
Sheridan fans gather to watch their team play at War Memorial Stadium last weekend. (Courtesy Photo) 
Sheridan coach Jeff Mowry has made loving the game of football one of the foundations of the game for his players. (Courtesy Photo)
Feeder System
Another significant factor in Sheridan’s success is the strength of its youth football program, a shared commonality among many successful high school football programs across the country.
Natrona County came the closest to beating Sheridan this season, losing 24-8 in the state semifinals. Natrona head coach Steve Harshman credits Sheridan’s coaching and youth system for playing a big role in their success.
“They’ve got great kids, they’ve got great coaches,” Harshman said. “They’re doing a great job, it’s a nice system.”
Mowry agreed and said the Sheridan community’s genuine love and support for the game of football is critical.
Sheridan kids start out by playing flag football before moving to tackle football in the fifth and sixth grades. By the time they reach high school, many of the kids will have already spent dozens of Friday nights watching their local football team win under the bright lights of Homer Scott Field.
“Kids come into school, and they watch the Bronc games and they love Bronc football,” he said. “The kids have the love for football and the desire to be a Bronc, and then they get into those programs.”
During his pregame speech before Saturday’s championship, Mowry encouraged players to have fun on the field and celebrate their teammates. Mowry said building an enjoyable atmosphere where the kids love the game of football is an important priority for all of Sheridan’s coaches.
“We really want to keep football fun for those kids and make them want to play again next year,” Mowry said.
Also, when it comes to motivating kids to stick with football, it’s not such a hard sell when they have a near-guarantee that they’ll win a state championship at some point in their careers, a point Mowry brings up each spring when he talks eighth graders preparing to join the team each spring.
“They just get really excited,” Mowry said.
Higher Goals
A handful of Broncs have continued playing football at UW and Montana State University over the past decade, which is another testament to the quality of the program and an incentive for kids to join the team and stay with the sport.
But those players only represent a small fraction of the total players who laced it up for the Sheridan Broncs. Rather than advancing to the next level, Mowry said the biggest draw for his players is the experience of playing on a team.
“I think the big excitement is playing for something that’s bigger than yourself and it’s not just about you, it’s about the team,” Mowry said. “That draw of something bigger than just your individual skills and individual self is really big.”
The team hasn’t lost a game since 2021, meaning no member on this year’s varsity roster ever experienced a loss at the varsity level.
“That’s one of the biggest challenges for our staff is how do we keep creating learning opportunities for our kids even though it may not come through a loss?” Mowry said. “Through different types of adversity, we’ve got to continue to find learning opportunities with our kids.”
To help overcome this challenge, Mowry focuses on whether his team improves game-to-game rather than whether they won or lost.
“Ultimately, we want to improve every single game, and if we improve every single game, it doesn’t matter if we win or lose,” he said. “We just got to continue to grow as a team.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
