It may have been a nonconference game, but it was a fierce county battle.
A two-point conversion proved to be the difference as Unaka captured an 8-6 victory over Happy Valley on Friday night on Stoney Creek.
It is the first time that the Rangers have defeated the Warriors since 1995. With the win, Unaka improves to 3-2 on the season, while HV falls to 0-5.
Points came at a premium throughout the whole evening as both defenses set the tone.
After Unaka recovered a fumble on the opening kick, HV’s Blake Garmon jumped on a Ranger fumble inside Warrior territory.
The Rangers, however, kept the HV offense from getting anything going and forced a punt.
Landon Ramsey and the Unaka offense got things clicking on their next drive. However, a fumble near the HV 30 ended the drive as the Warriors jumped on the ball.
Neither team was able to break onto the board until the 6:55 mark when Andrew Little scored on a four-yard run.
The two-point conversion was unsuccessful for the Warriors.
Both teams traded possessions as HV maintained a 6-0 advantage at the half.
Unaka’s offense came up started the third quarter on a roll. L. Ramsey found Devin Ramsey for a 28-yard run and key runs from Jamol Blamo and L. Ramsey put the Rangers in scoring position.
The Rangers got on the board as L. Ramsey drove into the endzone from four yards out, and Blamo added the two-point conversion as Unaka took an 8-6 lead with 9:03 left in the third.
From there, the defenses took over.
Neither team was able to get much going as both defenses bent but didn’t break. The Warriors were unable to mount a rally, and Unaka’s Takoda Freeman secured the win with an interception with a minute remaining in the game.
Blamo finished with 87 yards on 14 carries for the Rangers. L. Ramsey was 14-of-18 for 176 passing yards, while Lydick had 88 yards on six catches.
D. Ramsey finished with five catches for 65 yards.
Little had 44 yards on 13 carries for Happy Valley, while Drew Blevins went 5-of-9 for 34 yards passing.
The Rangers are set to return to action with a trip to Harlan (Ky.) next Friday night, while HV is set to host Cumberland Gap.
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