The Braves extended their winning streak to 19 games on the same night that coach McKay Young also become the program’s all-time wins leader, snapping a three-way tie with Jerry Hart and Robert Linford with a 52-0 win over visiting Lander. 

“We talk about how our program stands on the shoulders of giants,” Young replied in the post-game interview. “This goes back to the first conference championship in 1959 and then followed by Coach [Lew] Monsen in the 60’s and Coach [Jerry Hart] in the 70s and 80s and Coach [Van] Hokanson in the 80s and Robert Linford in the 90s. Then Coach Ballard [Johnson], Dale [Anderson] and Coach [Chris] Howell. It’s a privilege to coach here where you already have good kids by the time they get to us. It’s a blessing to coach here.”

Young now has 84 wins for SVHS Football which was started in 1928 by C. Newell Peterson.

Young also praised his current staff including Kelly Merritt who joined him in the interview after his defense pitched the shutout and held Lander to just 70 yards of offense. 

The Braves will now host Riverton next Friday, November 8, with a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Wolverines rallied from a 20-0 deficit against Powell to force overtime and then won on a two-point conversion in double-overtime, 36-35. 

Game Recap – 

Smith McClure had his second consecutive game with five passing touchdowns as he threw a pair to sophomore Roman Erickson before hitting Eli Matautia, Andrew Daniel and Hayden Morgan all by the third quarter. McClure finished with 251 yards while completing 19 of 27 attempts. Bryson Nield led the team with seven catches for 73 yards.

Grant Thomson needed just two carries to lead the team in rushing yardage as he broke a 68-yard score on the first offensive play of the third quarter and added another long run for 99 yards. 

Defensively, Erickson added another touchdown, this time on defense as he intercepted Lander’s Paxton Hollingshead for a 35-yard pick-six. Wyatt Martiny had the game’s second touchdown on a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first quarter. 

Riley Erickson forced a fumble which was recovered by Ryan Talbot. Jayden Kunz also recovered a fumble for the defense.

It was the fifth straight win over the Tigers dating back to 2011 including three of the last four years in the 3A quarterfinals. 

Post-season Roundup (Scores provided by wyopreps.com)

On the other side of the 3A bracket, Cody routed visiting Torrington 63-6 but will have to make the trip in the semifinals to Douglas to face the Bearcats who blanked Evanston 28-0 in a bit of a payback for the Devil upset a year ago in the same round. 

In the 2A classification, Cokeville trekked nearly 500 yards each way to edge Newcastle 28-20 to advance to the semifinals. The Panthers will have a much shorter road game as they will face off against Mountain View who blanked Wheatland, 40-0.

Lovell romped over Burns 54-6 which will have the Bulldogs traveling to Big Horn High School where the Rams handled Worland 34-13 in the Warriors’ first season in the class. 

In the 4A class, all four top seeds won with Sheridan winning their 41st straight game with a 48-6 win over Laramie. Natrona won the battle of Casper as they beat Kelly Walsh 28-10. Cheyenne East shut out Thunder Basin 27-0 and will travel to Gillette to face Campbell County with the Camels blanked Rock Springs, 38-0.