• Next chapter in the Star Valley vs Cody rivalry is this Friday night at 5 p.m. for Homecoming

Historically it’s been quite common to see the Powell Panthers and the Star Valley Braves run the ball at each other for four quarters in the 50-year series between the two schools. So one would not have been judged too harshly for assuming that might be the case this past Friday.

But you would have been wrong.

The two schools combined for 69 pass attempts in a 42-7 Star Valley rout that was highlighted by Bryson Nield not just rewriting the Star Valley record books, but setting a new state mark as well. Nield finished the game with official totals of 18 catches for 291 yards and a touchdown in the contest. The yardage total is a new state record, breaking the previous total of 281 set in 1998 by Glenrock’s Brady Mangus. Nield was the focal point in a passing attack from Smith McClure who finished with official number of 390 yards and four passing touchdowns while completing 26 of 39 pass attempts.

Cooper Lancaster caught a pair of long touchdown passes from McClure and finished with 57 yards while AJ Hale caught a short touchdown pass as well, his second straight week with a score after recovering a touchdown on a botched snap in Jackson the week before.

The Braves only attempted 18 rushing attempts and that included three straight sacks in the first half totaling a loss of 28 yards. Overall, the team overcame those losses for a rushing total of 70 yards and touchdowns from Grant Thomson and Jayden Kunz.

Kristoff Buehler made all six of his PAT attempts.

Defensively, the Braves stymied the Panthers who barely crested 100 total yards for the contest. Star Valley held Powell’s running game to just 59 yards on 26 attempts for an average of just 2.3 yards per carry.

The win was Star Valley’s 15th straight dating back to last season and moved them to 6-0 in the 2024 campaign. It sets up a clash of 3A football titans in Wyoming as the undefeated Cody Broncs come into town this Friday for a 5 p.m. kickoff between the two programs. The Braves and Broncs have combined for the last ten Wyoming state titles including the past two, both Star Valley wins. The Broncs won in their last trip to Afton two years ago behind a huge game from current Notre Dame safety, Luke Talich. The game is a true homecoming for the Braves after four consecutive roads games.

The SVI Media stream will begin with pre-game coverage at svinews.com and on the SVI Media YouTube channel at 4:25 p.m. Traditional audio of the game will also be carried on Swift 98 in the Star Valley area and on the SVI News App.