Campbell County is one win away from a high school football championship in the state of Wyoming. The Camels will be without head coach Orah Garst for the second game in a row.
He was fired right in the middle of the playoffs.
This surprising high school football shakeup took place just one day prior to the semifinal game on Friday. Garst chose to take full responsibility for his actions instead of trying to fight the ruling.
Campbell County is on a roll.
Campbell County High School serves approximately 1,200 students in Grades 9-12. It is located in the city of Gillette, Wyoming, which is the third most populous city in the Cowboy State behind Cheyenne and Casper.
The Camels were not very good prior to Garst’s arrival in 2023. They went 11-46 in the six years prior. They went 0-9 in back-to-back seasons in 2017 and 2018.
Garst, who graduated from Campbell County in 2006, immediately turned around the program. The Camels went 6-4 in his first season at the helm and 9-2 last year. They finished the 2025 regular season at 8-1 to earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Their only loss was to Sheridan, the No. 1 seed.
Now, four weeks later, Campbell County is preparing for a rematch.
It defeated East High School on Friday in the state playoff semifinals. Sheridan is waiting.
Orah Garst was fired as the high school football coach.
Even though Garst completely changed the trajectory of the high school football program at his alma mater, he will not be there to coach the Camels at the state championship game. He was fired on Nov. 6.
Garst was terminated for a profanity-laced outburst after a win in the quarterfinals on Halloween.
The incident was caught on film. However, it is unclear as to what triggered the outburst.
According to Cowboy State Daily, Garst can be heard yelling, “you can f—— quit. We don’t f—— need you. Do you understand?” He later tells the player, “I don’t want to deal with that f—— s— ever again,” in regard to whatever set him off. The audio also references something that happened “outside in front of my family,” which presumably refers to the player’s family.
Garst is choosing to take the high road.
“I’m not going to do anything other than cheer them on from afar,” he said. “I’m super proud of them. They’re incredible kids having a great season […] I will let (the haters) smear my name.”
The former head coach does not plan to fight the termination. Garst will instead seek a new opportunity elsewhere.
“I yelled at a player and used profanity, and you can’t do that,” he said. “I deserve the consequences.”
Fair enough. Campbell County plays Sheridan in the state championship on Saturday.