GREEN RIVER — The Green River Wolves closed out their regular season Friday night against one of Wyoming’s toughest teams, falling 47-7 to the defending 3A champions, the Star Valley Braves, in their senior night matchup.
Both teams entered the contest already locked into their playoff positions, Star Valley as the No. 1 seed out of the West and Green River as the No. 4 seed. For the Wolves, the loss doesn’t affect their postseason fate, as they’ll now head to Riverton next week to face the East’s top seed in their first playoff appearance since 2017.
Star Valley set the tone early, striking first with 7:43 left in the opening quarter when quarterback Phoenixx Hovey connected with Sam Gaskell for a 15-yard touchdown. Just one play later, the Braves extended their lead as Roman Erickson intercepted a Max Hintz pass and returned it for a touchdown. The point-after attempt was blocked by Hintz, keeping the score at 13-0.
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The Braves continued to roll in the second quarter, with Hovey tossing three more touchdown passes, a 15-yard strike to Nathan Haderlie, a 14-yard connection to Dax Button, and a 40-yard bomb to Preston Ross. This gave Star Valley a commanding 34-0 halftime lead. Green River’s best scoring chance in the first half came with 12 seconds remaining, but a 43-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Star Valley’s ground game took over in the second half, led by Caleb Erickson, who scored on runs of 67 and two yards in the third quarter to push the lead to 47-0 and trigger the running clock.
The Wolves finally broke through in the fourth quarter when Hintz capped a late drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 47-7, ending the Braves’ shutout bid and the running clock.
Friday also marked an emotional night for Green River’s seniors, who were honored before kickoff in their final home game. Despite the tough loss, the Wolves have reason to be proud as their return to postseason play ends a seven-season drought, and they’ll get another shot to keep their season alive next week in Riverton.
Check out photos from the game below.
