The Star Valley defense set the tone and held it there through three quarters as the Braves built a 26-0 lead in Preston before a pair of late Indian scores made the final 26-14. 

Through three quarters the Star Valley defense had only allowed 90 total yards and picked off Preston quarterback, Reggie Larsen, four times in a one-sided outing.

While the Star Valley defense set the table, the offense feasted in the first half with a 99-yard drive and a 54-yard drive on back to back possessions to jump out to a 13-0 lead. 

Jesse Leavitt rushed 19 times for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground. McClure ran for a score and Tristen Hilton threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Simon Gaskell for the Braves scoring. 

Larsen found the end zone on a running play to break the goose egg and then Karson Winder picked off Smith McClure for a 70-yard pick-six for the final score.

Just like the Zero Week outing in Shelley, the Star Valley offense used Hilton, McClure and Cooper Lancaster at quarterback and they combined for 25 completions on 36 attempts for a total of 226 yards. The offense spread the ball around even more in Preston with 13 different pass-catchers on those 25 completions. 

Defensively Porter Merritt, Grant Thomson, Kash Lancaster and Gaskell collected the interceptions. Bryson Nield led the team in receptions and receiving yardage for the second straight game. 

Complete highlights from the game can be found by clicking here or visiting the SVI Media YouTube channel.

The 2-0 start now sets up the Braves for a big early-season clash with the Sugar-Salem Diggers who moved to 3-0 on their season with a 42-14 win over the Shelley Russets. The game on Friday September 8 will be Star Valley’s first home game of the season with a 7 pm varsity start time.