The Preston Indians struck first but the Star Valley Braves rattled off 49 straight points before the visitors found the end zone again in a 49-13 rout that amounted to the biggest margin of victory for SVHS in the series history which dates back to 1951. 

Both teams came out looking to push the tempo of their respective offenses but both teams stalled as they turned the ball over on downs. The Indians got a break as a tipped pass wound up in the hands of Miles Henrie on a 37-yard reception. The next play was a 28-yard bomb to Reggie Larsen in the corner of the north end zone and Preston led 7-0. 

It only took ten seconds for the Braves to answer. 

Bryson Nield fielded the ensuing kickoff and returned it 92 yards for the score with the PAT coming from Kristoff Buehler. After being set up by the defense on a short field, the offense didn’t look back as Grant Thomson scored his second rushing touchdown of the season. 

Smith McClure ran in for a touchdown and then hit Nield for the duo’s fourth scoring connection of the season to put the Braves up 28-7 at the break. 

The Indians didn’t turn the ball over in the first half but that all changed in the third quarter. 

Thomson picked off Carter Perry just 30 seconds into the second half setting up another McClure rushing score. On the next possession, Wyatt Martini picked off Perry again and returned it 55 yards for the defensive score.  Dayton Schwab added another interception on the next possession and the rout was on. 

McClure finished with 153 passing yards and a passing touchdown and ran for three more and 70 yards on just nine carries. Defensively, Hayden Morgan picked of Perry one more time on the game’s final play. 

While the offensive yardage between the two schools was close with Star Valley outgaining the Indians just 308-293, the home team racked up over 150 yards on special teams and over 100 more on defense after turnovers while scoring in all three phases. 

The 36-point margin surpassed the previous largest gap in a Star Valley win over Preston of 29 points which was a 41-12 final in 2016. 

The win now sets up another interstate clash with the Sugar-Salem Diggers who were the only team to beat the Braves last season. The Diggers have won the last four meetings against the Braves who last won in the series in 2019. 

Sugar-Salem defeated Shelley 34-0 to move to 3-0. 

The game will also be the first of four straight road games for Star Valley who will also travel to Teton, Jackson and Powell before returning home with a monster game against rival Cody for Homecoming. 

• Friday Night Roundup (Scores courtesy of wyopreps.com)

The Cody Broncs defeated Riverton, 47-24 to improve to 2-0 on the season. Douglas pulled away from Jackson late for a 33-23 final. Lander snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 21-14 win over Green River. (History provided by Wyoming-football.com)

The Evanston Red Devils fell to Vista Ridge (CO) with a final score of 38-14. Powell scored three times to break open a 0-0 tie with Worland and win 17-0. 

 In the 2A classification, Lyman beat up on Burns, 48-6 while Mountain View shut out Rich County (UT) 28-0. Cokeville fell 27-7 on the road against West Jefferson (ID). In what may very well be a state championship game preview, Big Horn outlasted Lovell 28-24 with a late interception.