There were a lot of standout numbers in Star Valley’s Friday night win over the Riverton Wolverines which will put them into Laramie to play in the Wyoming 3A state championship next week. There was the 40 points the team scored in the win. There was the zero points allowed, their second playoff shutout in as many weeks. It was the 20th consecutive win dating back to last year and it was the 11th win of season. 

But the number that has been on the minds of the players, coaches and fans has been there since last November. Three. As in three-peat. It’s hard and rare to even get the chance, but the Braves will have that opportunity next Friday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium. Their opponent  is the Cody Broncs, a team that will be in that title game against Star Valley for the third straight year. It’s the match up that was supposed to happen and now it will. 

Friday night’s 40-0 win over Riverton didn’t start out as a one-sided decision. At the end of the first quarter, the teams were both scoreless as Star Valley saw a first and goal opportunity evaporate into a turnover on downs and the Wolverines missed a 37-yard field goal attempt in the 32-degree weather. 

The second quarter was all about the home team as Star Valley scored 27 of their 40 points. Two touchdowns came from Grant Thomson who rumbled for a 55-yard score and the other two came from the arm of Smith McClure to Bryson Nield who set a new school record for most receiving touchdowns in a season. 

Wyatt Martiny scored on a 21-yard run and Tayson Titensor added a one-yard plunge to cap off the offense. 

McClure finished with 211 yards passing and 52 yards rushing. He will have the chance to become Star Valley’s first-ever player to pass for over 3,500 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in his career next week. Nield finished with five catches for 117 yards and those two scores in the first half. Thomas had 68 yards on just four carries. Martiny finsihed with 63 yards on just three carries.

The other number on display over the course of the season, the 21 seniors who have a chance to do something that Star Valley hasn’t done since two years before Americans landed on the moon. But that chance will have to wait until next week. 

In the post-game, Coach McKay Young met the camera and did the interview with five injured players who echoed the program’s efforts to try and find joy in the success of others. Garrett Carlson, Cooper Lancaster, Ty Johnson, Dayton Schwab and Dylan Hirschi all had their seasons come to an end before they wanted but have enjoyed seeing their teammates play on their behalf. 

Playoff Roundup – (Scores provided by WyoPreps.com)

The Cody Broncs were running away from the Douglas Bearcats to the tune of 35-13 at the half but had a few anxious moments as they fended off a comeback with a 49-42 final. 

In 2A, the Cokeville Panthers steamrolled the home team Mountain View Buffalos to earn their first trip to the state title game since opting up to the class five years ago. They will meet up with the other team who used to be in the 1A 11-man ranks, the Big Horn Rams, who came back to defeat Lovell 35-25. Both the Panthers and Braves will be playing next Friday in their respective title games. 

The 6-Man class is a rematch of Burlington and Little Snake River after the Huskies survived Encampment 74-68 in triple-overtime. The Rattlers pitched a shutout in a 67-0 win over Dubois. 

The 9-Man and 4A title games will have to wait until Saturday with games yet to be played. Pine Bluffs took care of Saratoga 42-12 and will play the winner of Big Piney and Lingle-Ft. Laramie while Cheyenne East survived a 2-point conversion to knock off Campbell County. The Thunderbirds will play the winner of Sheridan and Natrona County. 

The 6-Man, 9-Man and 4A championships next weekend will be played on Saturday, November 16.