In the 2026 edition of the Fall Brawl, the Star Valley Braves rolled to a 41-8 victory in Jackson which earned them home field advantage in the playoffs which starts next weekend. 

The match up was billed as #1 versus #3 in the latest wyopreps.com Coaches and Media Poll and a result that would have major potential to affect the seedings for the post-season. It was a one-sided game from the beginning. 

“If we would have lost this game we would have had two away games and senior night would have been our last home game and I wasn’t ready it to be over, said senior Gabe Delgado. “We trusted each other the whole game, everybody did their job. We brought the physicality.”

That physicality manifested itself in the form of an early Star Valley gamble on fourth and two at their own 28-yard line as Crew Lancaster broke through a hole and outran the Jackson defense for the touchdown in the first two minutes of the game. It was a trend as Lancaster finished with 109 yards and three scores on just ten carries. Zach Delgado also finished with ten carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. The Braves’ offensive line bullied the Broncs all night, helping the offense tally 565 yards. 

The weather was not pleasant as a steady rain and a pesky wind combined for a cold, wet night that never really subsided. Coach McKay Young noted some teams get better and some teams get worse in that kind of weather that the Star Valley crew excels when things aren’t sunny. 

“Just to be clear, our freshman started us out down 13-0 and came back and won 14-13 and we rolled that momentum into this game,” he noted. “But we play better when the weather gets worse. We feel like that’s in the Star Valley DNA. We embrace adversity, we embrace nasty, we embrace pain [and] discomfort and it was that way tonight for sure.”

A large contingent was on hand in those conditions from Lincoln County as they watched their Braves win their 36th straight game against a Wyoming opponent. Both sides of the matchup wanted the win but the visitors were treated to an all-around dominating performance. The Star Valley defense which was coming off two shutouts, only allowed one touchdown to a Bronc offense that averaged 41 points coming into the game. Gabe Delgado, Kemin Filibi and Weston Crogg all intercepted Jackson quarterback Ace Emery who finished with 108 yards passing. The Broncs’ lone score came on their best drive of the night just before half as Emery hit Kintzler on an 11-yard strike over the middle with just 11 seconds left in the second quarter.  Jackson then shifted to a two-point conversion attempt which was good. 

The Jackson running game, led by Cooper Kintzler, was held to just 89 yards on 30 total carries. Kintzler, who was coming off a monster game in Green River where he compiled nearly 400 total yards and four touchdowns, was limited to 71 yards on 19 carries. 

Despite the weather, the Star Valley passing game was prolific as Ross Hilton finished with 332 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His favorite target was senior Travis Thomson who had 12 catches for 131 yards. Krew Morgan caught four passes for 74 yards while junior Kai Frazier nabbed three catches for 65 yards and found the end zone twice. 

The Braves finished the season with a record of (8-1) overall and went undefeated in the 3A West. They will now host the Rawlins Outlaws next weekend in the quarterfinals. A time for that game has not yet been determined. After giving up a home game to play Raymond (CA) in the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho early in the season, the team will now get two more at Braves Field. 

“It feels great to be back with the family in Star Valley,” said senior Weston Crogg. “It will be great to have the home field advantage with the student section getting hyped and everything. We came out being really physical and it was awesome to see everybody getting big hits. Even our JV running backs it was just really great to see those big hits.”

The game also brings out a bit of class tribalism with a casual nod to the blue collar versus the blue bloods as the Jackson area has evolved into a destination for millionaires and billionaires. This element is not lost on Coach Young.  

“The speech I generally give before the Jackson game is there are a lot of people who may not care about any other game that care about this one,” he concluded. “We send a lot of people through that canyon before the sun goes up and they don’t come back to Etna, to Smoot or Auburn or wherever, until the sun goes down. I’m proud of these boys to making sure this one went the way it needed to go.”

Filibi summed it up in one final post-game sentence. 

“We just needed to be a family and come here and beat Jackson.”

POST-SEASON GAMES

The first round of the 3A West playoffs will begin next Friday with the following matchups. Times will be added as they become available. 

3A

(E4) Rawlins at (1W) Star Valley

(W3) Jackson at (E2) Lander

(E3) Buffalo at (W2) Cody

(W4) Evanston at (E1) Riverton  6 p.m.

2A

(W4) Lovell at (E1) Big Horn  6 p.m.

(E3) Torrington at (W2) Thermopolis  6 p.m.

(W3) Mountain View at (E2) Burns  6 p.m.

(E4) Glenrock at (W1) Cokeville  1 p.m.

4A

(8) Kelly Walsh at (1) Natrona County

(5) Cheyenne Central at (4) Laramie

(6) Thunder Basin at (3) Cheyenne East

(7) Campbell County at (2) Sheridan