After four straight Idaho opponents to start the season, the Star Valley Braves will get to stay in the Cowboy State for the remainder of their schedule. The Braves moved to (4-0) on the season and went undefeated against the Gem State with a lopsided 56-6 outing in Driggs, Idaho against the Teton Timberwolves on Friday night.
The home team avoided the shutout with just 18 seconds left in the game on a running clock but for the rest of the contest, the highlights were mainly for the visiting Braves who rolled up nearly 550 yards of offense in the win.
Senior quarterback Smith McClure bounced back from an early interception on first and goal to throw for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those went to fellow senior standout Bryson Nield. McClure also led the team in rushing with 93 yards on just nine carries and added a rushing touchdown to his night. Nield finished with 79 yards on six catches.
Wyatt Martiny got the scoring started early with a pair of rushing touchdowns and finished the night with 69 yards on just five carries. Grant Thomson added 59 yards rushing on six carries.
Cooper Lancaster caught four passes for 54 yards, Roman Erickson finished with 60 yards on three catches and a touchdown. Dayton Schwab wrapped the game with three catches for 33 yards.
Defensively, the Braves forced three turnovers in the first half and turned the Timberwolves away on downs on multiple occasions. Riley Erickson had an interception and Thomson collected a fumble recovery.
Teton finished with just over 200 yards of offense which included 62 yards on the ground on 33 carries. Luke Nelson went 16 of 30 for 166 yards and an interception as the Teton signal caller. He scored the lone touchdown for the home team with the late one-yard plunge.
The Braves will begin 3A West conference play next Friday in the Snake River Shootout against the Jackson Broncs while riding a 13-game winning streak dating back to last season.
• Game Notes
Bryson Nield moved into fourth place on the All-Time Receiving Yards list, surpassing Jason Lewis (2009-11). With his next 20 yards he would move past Winston Green (2020-21) for third place on the list.
Catie Nichols became the program’s first female player to carry the ball two weeks ago against the Preston Indians. On Friday night, she added another note by scoring her first varsity touchdown against Teton.
Through four games this season, the Braves have outscored their opponents 176-40.
• Around the West (Scores and rankings courtesy of wyopreps.com)
The #2 Cody Broncs broke open their game against #5 Buffalo with a 49-10 victory to remain undefeated on the season. #4 Powell won on the road in Douglas with a 34-14 finish. #3 Riverton took care of Green River 28-13. The Lander Tigers’ defense held strong on an Evanston two-point conversion attempt to preserve a win over the Devils, 14-13.
In the 2A West, #3 Lovell outscored Lyman 36-22. #1 Mountain View got all they wanted from #5 Cokeville and secured a 14-6 win over the Panthers. #4 Worland routed Pindale 52-0 while the Kemmerer Rangers lost a hard-fought contest to visiting Thermopolis 14-10.
