At JC Campbell Stadium, Hampton capitalized on miscues in a big way.
The Bulldogs took advantage of Happy Valley mistakes to take a 17-7 victory on Friday night in Region 1-2A action. The win snapped a two-game losing streak to the Warriors for Hampton.
With the win, Hampton improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in region play, while the Warriors fall to 0-2 on the year and start region play 0-1.
The game delivered a defensive battle from the opening kick.
Hampton’s Tubby Carden intercepted a Warrior pass on the game’s opening drive to set HHS up at midfield, but the Happy Valley defense stood strong and fired a three-and-out.
After the Warriors saw a snap sail over the punters head on the ensuing drive, Hampton pounced as Alex Hardin hit Isiah Greenwell in stride for a 13-yard touchdown as the extra point gave Hampton a 7-0 lead with 2:45 left in the first.
Happy Valley, however, wasted no time to answer.
Jordan Campbell escaped and eluded Bulldog tacklers and scored on a 71-yard run as the extra point evened things up at 7-7 going to the second quarter. Early in the quarter, Dakota Cochran and the Happy Valley defense forced Hampton off the field on a fourth down inside the HV 20. The Warriors were unable to get anything going and another errant snap on the punt caused a short punt that set Hampton up in prime field position.
The Bulldogs took advantage of the field position as Caleb Oaks caught a Hardin pass for a 21-yard touchdown with just under four minutes left in the half. Lane Potter, the Climate Controllers Player of the Week for Week 2, intercepted a Warrior pass on the next drive that set up a 30-yard field goal from Michael Harrison.
The kick from Harrison gave Hampton a 17-7 advantage at the half.
In the second half, the teams were able to move the ball, but was unable to sustain drives as the defenses took control as neither team was able to get in scoring position.
Potter finished with 16 carries for 76 yards to pace Hampton, while Hardin went 7-of-12 passing for 78 yards. Oaks had 54 yards of total offense for HHS.
Campbell led the Warrior rushing attack with 10 carries for 84 yards. Will Tittle added 70 yards of total offense.
The Bulldogs look to extend their hot streak next week as they host Gatlinburg-Pittman, while the Warriors will welcome Unicoi County to Warrior Hill.
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