Seth Birchfield and the ‘Lander offense weren’t going to be denied in a county matchup Friday night.
Birchfield scored six touchdowns and the ‘Landers rushed for 457 yards to take a 50-14 victory over Happy Valley at Orr Field in non-conference action.
Cloudland improved to 7-1 overall on the season, while the Warriors move to 1-7.
Happy Valley struck first as Reagan Ensor hit Andrew Little for a 64-yard touchdown pass on the first offensive play of the game.
The ‘Landers, however, methodically moved down the field and took an 8-6 lead when Birchfield scored on a four-yard run and added the two-point conversion.
Cloudland held an 8-6 lead after a quarter of play.
Birchfield struck again in the second quarter as he scored on a one-yard run and added the two-point conversion. After the Warrior offense was unable to get anything going, Birchfield scored on a 45-yard run as CHS held a 24-6 advantage.
The Cloudland offensive line paved the way for a three-yard scoring play from Birchfield to end the half with Cloudland up 30-6.
In the third quarter, the ‘Landers continued to stay hot as Birchfield scored on a 53-yard run before Chase Shell added the two-point conversion and Caleb Sluder added a three-yard touchdown as the ‘Landers led 44-6 after three complete.
Birchfield capped off his impressive night with a four-yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter – this one from four yards out.
Happy Valley continued to battle and got back on the board as Ensor found Blake Garmon for a 44-yard touchdown pass. Landon Babb caught the two-point conversion from Ensor to cap the scoring.
Birchfield finished with 296 yards on 35 carries, while Sluder had 120 yards on 12 carries.
Chase Shell had three carries for 30 yards for the ‘Landers.
Ensor was 7-of-13 passing for 132 yards, while Little and Garmon had 72 and 50 receiving yards, respectively.
Both squads stay in non-conference play next week as the ‘Landers are slated to return to action on Thursday night at Johnson County, while Happy Valley is set to travel to Pigeon Forge on Friday.
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