A year ago the Braves season ended early in a semifinal loss to Cody. This season, Star Valley wasn’t given much more than a cursory pre-season glance with just one returning starter and huge departing senior class.

Then there’s the Class of 2019 themselves.

Smaller in number than the classes in front and behind them and often told they were part of a rebuild, not a reload.

Now after having rattled off nine straight wins en route to a (10-2) season and the program’s third Wyoming 3A state title in the last four seasons, there’s a lot of crow to go around.

The Braves controlled their 35-14 state title tilt with Torrington with the three abilities that most represented their season. Resiliency. Discipline and Larceny.

Players were going down with injuries on a weekly basis early on in the season. Collar bones, shoulders, ankles, knees and hips. So many in fact, that the injured group of players even created their own Instagram gang called “The Crips”. But it is this team chemistry that developed into the moxie needed to pull off the program’s 15th state championship.

Yes, we folks in Star Valley count those mythical championships in the ’60’s.

The team battled through the injuries. Reassigned players found new roles. Existing players stepped up their performance.

While building their repertoire of resistance, there was always a lack of penalties. With the exception of a few halves scattered throughout the early portion of the season, the Braves didn’t beat themselves.

Then there were the turnovers. Star Valley finished the season with a +23 in turnover margin. In 12 games, they lost five fumbles and threw four interceptions. That’s it.

Combine those three elements and it should come as no surprise that the team that was told they weren’t good enough and had too many injuries rolled through the 3A Class and hoisted the trophy at the end of the season.

Nicknamed “The Gritty Bunch” by the coaching staff, the team lived up to their moniker and got the last laugh on all the doubters.

• By The Numbers
Star Valley rushed 58 times for 328 yards and four touchdowns against the Blazers, totals that became routine over the last two months for the Braves. R.J. Cazier finished his season with over 1,250 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. David Castillo rushed for over 500 yards and Wyatt Moore for over 400 despite missing most of the season…In games that he started or appeared as quarterback, sophomore Brant Nelson went 9-0 and threw 10 touchdowns…In the post-season, the Braves defense allowed just the 14 points to the Blazers. In three contests, Star Valley outscored their playoff opponents 116-14…In the championship game Star Valley won the turnover battle 3-0, forcing a pair of interceptions for Chase Merrell, a forced fumble by Will Johnson and a fumble recovery by Logan Hoopes…With the win, Star Valley has now won double-digit games for four consecutive seasons, a first for the program which started in 1928.