Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Warriors falls 34-0 to No. 1 Star Valley
Senior Warrior defenders Talon Lloyd (left), Brad Lyman (middle) and Daniel Araiza surround the Star Valley ballcarrier during Friday night's game at Warrior Stadium. Worland lost 34-0.
WORLAND - On senior night at Warrior Stadium the Worland Warrior football team needed a victory to stay in the playoff hunt but to do so they needed to take down WyoPreps 3A No. 1 ranked team and defending 3A football champions Star Valley Braves. They fought and battled all Friday night but in the end the Braves left town as the 34-0 victors, knocking the Warriors out of playoff contention.
On the opening kickoff the Braves returned the ball 87 yards and would have scored a touchdown if not for a tackle by senior Kyle Lamb, but on the first play from scrimmage Star Valley ran in for the score. Going up 6-0 on Worland after a botched point-after-try.
Worland responded with a promising offensive drive that broke into Star Valley territory. But on fourth and short the Warriors were stonewalled by the Braves, turning the ball over on downs.
The two teams would trade possessions with offenses unable to get into a rhythm, but as the end of the first quarter drew near Star Valley moved the ball into Worland territory punching it in with a rushing touchdown as time expired to take a 13-0 lead.
The second quarter was a field position battle, both Warrior and Brave offenses could not sustain drives. The only score of the quarter came from a Star Valley defensive touchdown. Worland was pinned on their own 5 yard line when Daniel Araiza was stripped of the ball and the Braves recovered the ball in the end zone.
Down 20-0 to open the second half, things began to snowball in the third quarter for the Warriors as the offense was still unable to get rolling while the Braves broke open the game with big plays that led to two more scores for Star Valley and a 34-0 lead.
In the fourth quarter Worland would still keep pushing to get on the board but those tries would fall short as time ticked away and finally hitting zero, effectively eliminating the Warriors from the playoffs.
Next for the Warriors will be the final game of the season as they travel to Green River to face the Green River Wolves on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m.
Worland High football coach Todd Weber was unavailable for comment.
