West Greene (3-7, 1-4) could not find any momentum on either side of the ball as it ended its season with a disappointing 38-0 shutout loss to Happy Valley (7-1, 4-1) on Thursday night.
“It was a frustrating night. We had a hard time stopping the run. We had ten guys in the box and we just couldn’t stop the run. They were great up front and ran the ball well. Hats off to Happy Valley, they played a great game,” West Greene Coach Evan Monroe stated.
When you aren’t able to move the ball offensively or stop the run defensively, it makes for a bad night on the gridiron. It was less than fun for the Buffaloes as Region 1-2A rival Happy Valley pitched a shutout in a dominant win. Lane Parker’s trio of touchdowns and defensive interception made a winning recipe for the visitors.
The Buffaloes received the opening kickoff, but didn’t keep the ball long until Parker swiped the ball away on a diving interception. He finished their first offensive drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown to help Happy Valley lead 8-0 after a successful two-point conversion.
Happy Valley’s next offensive drive was capped off by Parker reaching the end zone again from 14 yards out and bumping the score up to 16-0.
A long 7-minute drive ended with Tyler Bailey scoring a 28-yard rushing touchdown to widen the margin to 24-0 halfway through the second quarter.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half the Warriors attempted their only pass all game and it resulted in a 47-yard over-the-shoulder catch to Jamie Esterline. He was tackled at the one-yard line and set up Tyler Berry with a short rushing touchdown to set the score at 32-0 heading into the half.
Austin Franklin tried breathing life into West Greene’s sideline with a nifty punt return past midfield that was aided by a penalty and landed them at the 28-yard line. They fell short of any points before the half.
Damion Sentelle recovered a fumble backed up in their own red zone to stop Happy Valley from scoring on the opening drive of the second half. West Greene failed to move the ball offensively though.
With time winding down quickly due to a second-half running clock, the Buffs could only watch the clock tick with Happy Valley’s primary rushing offense churning out yards. They scored once more on Lane Parker’s third rushing touchdown of the night. This time from seven yards away.
Happy Valley defeated West Greene 38-0 once the clock hit zeros. West Greene’s season comes to an end. They finished 3-7 (1-4).
“I appreciate what our seniors have done for our program. They came in and gave me what they had. They gave me the best they had and that’s all I can ask for out of a group of kids,” Monroe said about his seniors.
Happy Valley hosts Polk County next week in the first round of the TSSAA playoffs.
