Five Minute Introduction: Star Valley

School: Star Valley
Nickname: Braves
Colors: maroon and yellow
Stadium: Braves Field
State championships: 1961, 1980, 1982, 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996
Times worth remembering: Few schools have sustained success like the Braves, but two eras really define the program. From 1961-67, the Braves had five undefeated seasons, including unbeaten streaks of 35 and 26 games, and finished a combined 56-7-3 in the seven seasons; throw in 1968-72 seasons, and Star Valley went 94-14-5 in 12 seasons. Then, from 1990-98, the Braves went 74-16 and won four state championships in the span of five years. Star Valley competed in eight state championship games in the ‘90s.
Times worth forgetting: Finding smudges on Star Valley’s records is difficult. But most of the 21st century has not been up to the Braves’ high standards. In the six seasons from 2003-08, the Braves have had four losing seasons, including a school-worst 1-7 mark in 2004.
Best team: Star Valley has plenty of great teams from which to choose, but the 1967 team stands out because of how utterly dominant it was. The ’67 Braves went 10-0 and outscored their opponents 442-45. They had six shutouts and broke 50 points in each of their final four games. That sort of domination still wasn’t enough to win a mythical state title, though; the Braves finished second in the final Class AA-A voting behind Powell, the school’s highest final ranking of the 1960s.
Biggest win: Star Valley’s 49-0 victory over Buffalo in the 1961 Class A championship had implications far beyond Afton. For the Braves, it was the school’s first championship and it capped an 11-0-1 season, the school’s first undefeated season. But the game itself was one of the big reasons used when the Wyoming High School Activities Association suspended football playoffs; the claim was that travel distances and weather were greater factors in the Bison’s loss than the Braves were. So, for 14 years, teams below the Class AA level didn’t have playoffs. Star Valley built a 1960s dynasty despite the lack of playoffs, and every other Class A school in the state breathed a sigh of relief knowing they didn’t have to go to Afton in November to challenge that dynasty.
Heartbreaker: For all the Braves’ success, they’ve had some heartache, too — Star Valley lost the 1975, 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2005 state championship games by three points or less apiece. Each one carries its sting, but the 2002 title game is the one that stands out because it’s the one Star Valley had the most statistical dominance. Even though the Braves out-gained Worland in that game by 100 yards, two blocked kicks by Worland in the second half — one a punt in the third quarter that set up Worland’s game-tying touchdown, the second a block of a 23-yard field goal in the fourth quarter — shifted the game to Worland. The Warriors won 17-14 in overtime. The game also marked the second consecutive year that Star Valley beat Worland in the regular season, only to lose to the Warriors in the state championship game.

Star Valley team page.