At the beginning of the season, the difficult non-conference schedule of the Star Valley football team had some wondering if an 0-3 start was more likely than a 3-0 start in 2026. After rolling past the Raymond Comets on Saturday afternoon in the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, Idaho, the Braves are now one game away from the latter.

“Getting invited to play in the Rocky Mountain Rumble is an exciting and fun thing for us,” replied Coach McKay Young. “It’s a fun venue to get to play football in. I felt like you play in a college stadium like that it maybe helps you feel more comfortable in Laramie. It’s been an awesome start to the season when you consider how good those two opponents are; it’s exciting.”

Ross Hilton threw for five touchdowns and had just five incompletions as the Star Valley Braves never trailed in a 42-22 victory over the Alberta, Canada team as part of the Rocky Mountain Rumble. Roman Erickson hauled in three of those touchdowns and finished with six catches for 131 yards as well. Junior Kai Frazier had three catches for 66 yards and a score while Landon Peterson had a 17-yard touchdown reception as well. Crew Lancaster scored Star Valley’s one rushing touchdown and had 26 yards rushing. Zach Delgado had 92 combined yards with 60 on the ground and 32 more on four catches.

Special teams consistently helped the Braves with a short field on offense while the defense pitched a shutout until the final play of the first half. The Comets finished with 314 yards through the air but took 47 attempts to do so. The Star Valley defense picked up a pair of turnovers as well. Kemen Filibi had an interception after a tipped pass by Frazier and Krew Morgan recovered a fumble forced by Tommy Beck.

“We’ve got guys who are starting right now who didn’t even start on the JV team last year and they are doing really good and being impact players,” Young noted. “The development and the way that some of them have come along is a bright spot for me.”

Hilton has now thrown for more than 500 yards in his first two varsity starts to go along with six touchdowns and just eight total incompletions while facing a pair of programs who are expected to be title contenders in their respective leagues.

Up next for the Braves is another tough test away from the home turf albeit a much more familiar one. The Sugar-Salem Diggers will host Star Valley in what has been a spirited rivalry over the last decade. After losing their opener to Homedale 33-14, the Diggers have routed Snake River and Shelley in a pair of shutouts with a combined score of 76-0.

“We’re moving close to ten years now with Sugar and they have been a measuring stick for us,” Young commented. “Even as exciting and unique and cool as the last couple weeks have been, there’s no substitute for this rivalry and what it means to us as we chase a state championship. They are the class of Idaho and have been one of the toughest teams on our schedule every year.”

After defending a run-heavy team in Soldotna in their first game and a pass-heavy team in the Raymond Comets this past week, Young knows that the Diggers will be a much more balanced offensive attack.

“On film they look fantastic,” he explained. “Across the board they don’t have any holes. They are really good. They just line up on defense and man-up guys across the board. They are confident that they are better at every position. We’re going to have to win some individual battles and show up to play.”

The Braves extended their school-record winning streak to 35 games. It was also Young’s 100th win at SVHS. The last loss the team had was against Suger-Salem in 2023. A win against the Diggers would put Star Valley three calendar years without a loss as they head into Wyoming play in a quest for the program’s fifth straight 3A title.

Passing

Ross Hilton 17/22 268 yds 5TD

Rushing

Zach Delgado 12 for 60 yds

Crew Lancaster 7 for 26 yds TD

Ross Hilton 4 for 5 yds

Bryce Erickson 2 for 18 yds

Kade Rich 2 for 6 yds

Owen Brown 1 for 17 yds

Carson Clapp 1 for 1 yd

Receiving

Roman Erickson 6 for 131 yds 3TD

Zach Delgado 4 for 32 yds

Kai Frazier 3 for 66 yds TD

Weston Crogg 2 for 4 yds

Crew Lancaster 1 for 22 yds

Landon Peterson 1 for 13 yds TD