Happy Valley showed everyone in Mosheim why they are the No. 6 ranked team in the state of Tennessee in Class 2A. With a strong ground game, the Warriors powered their way to a 41-0 over the young Buffaloes of West Greene.
“Our kids kept fighting and playing hard. We’re young, at one point there we had seven freshmen on the field. We have a good group of young guys, they’re fighting and battling and getting some good game experience and we’re learning. They’re the number six team for a reason, they’re a good football team.”
Happy Valley opened the game with a 32-yard run from their big full back Tyler Berry to the Buffalo 33-yard line. Then it was Lane Parker running for another 24 yards before Nilique Anderson put the first points of the game on the board from two yards out just 2:27 into the game. Maycol Vasquez added the point after touchdown and the Warriors were up 7-0.
The Buffs went three-and-out, and the Warriors were back on offense. A nine-play drive covering 58 yards, all on the ground, ended with Anderson scoring from eight yards out and the kick made the score 14-0 with 2:53 still to play in the first quarter.
Sophomore quarterback Aiden Thompson hit on a 20-yard pass play to Tristian Banks and the Buffs were out near mid field, but the drive stalled there and West Greene turned the ball over on downs.
The Warriors and their ground attack were back on the move, and the big fullback, Berry, covered the final 25 yards to make it 21-0.
West Greene then put together their best effort of the night. Thompson ran for nine yards and the hit Banks on an 11-yard pass play. A bad snap and a sack put the Buffaloes behind the chains. A 15-yard gain on a Thompson to Ryaln Miller was well short of the first down and forced the Buffs into a punt.
The Warriors returned the punt to the West Greene 25-yard line and scored on a Parker five yard run up the middle. The kick was good for a 28-0 lead with 3:26 remaining in the first half.
The Buffs were moving the ball again, Thompson went for 11 yards then found Banks for nine more yards and pushed the pile forward, simply refusing to go down. A false start penalty and a sack in the waning seconds spelled doom for the drive and the half ended with the Buffs down 28-0.
The Warriors scored on their first possession of the second half with Anderson doing the honors to bring the score to 35-0 and invoking the running clock for the remainder of the game.
The Warriors added a late score and went on to win 41-0 over the West Greene Buffaloes and made in 30 consecutive wins over the Buffs dating back to 1983.
Thompson led the Buffs on offense, accounted for all but 12 of the Buffs yards from scrimmage with 57 rushing and 67 through the air.
The Warriors ground game gained 287 yards and only threw two passes.
Happy Valley improved its record to 8-1 (2-0) while the Buffs fell to 1-6( 1-1).
