The Warriors used their strong running attack in Mountain City on Friday night. However, the Longhorns used a 1-2 punch to pull away from the visitors.
Happy Valley led at the half, but was unable to rally back as they fell 34-14 to Johnson County. The loss drops the Warriors to 0-5 on the season.
Happy Valley struck first after recovering a Longhorn fumble. Senior Phillip Garland dived into the endzone from a yard out as the Warriors took an early 7-0 lead. Neither team was able to put points on the board for the first of the half.
Johnson County, however, came out firing on all cylinders as Warren Kerley threw two touchdown passes in the third to take the lead. Garland and the Warriors answered early in the fourth quarter with a 70-yard touchdown run by Garland. However, the ensuing drive saw Johnson County march down the field and put a touchdown on the board. After being stopped on fourth down, the Warriors were unable to close the gap while the Longhorns added two scores in the final five minutes.
The Warriors were led by Garland as he rushed for 173-yards, and Happy Valley compiled 218 yards on the ground, which was the total offense for the night.
Kerley finished the game with 198 yards passing.
Happy Valley will host nonconference foe Abingdon (Va.) next week as they continue to search for their first win of the season.
Quotable
“It was a six-point game with about eight minutes to go. We went for it down here because I was afraid of punting the ball and not getting it back. They took the air of the ball. They have a good football team, good backs, good receivers and their quarterback does a good job of throwing it on time. We’re not into moral victories, but our kids played hard and I’m proud of them. It hurts losing.”
-Happy Valley Head Coach Larry Shivley
“We had a big crowd. It was Homecoming and our kids were a little over anxious that first half. We settled down and played a good second half. That’s a good game, a good win for us. It was the first we had beaten Happy Valley since 2008.”
-Johnson County Head Coach Don Kerley
