Johnson County lived up to its No. 7 state ranking in the Class 3A polls by taking down Happy Valley in convincing fashion. The Longhorns shut down the Warriors’ offense by winning 28-7 on Friday night at Harold Arnold Field.
The Warriors were hoping to avenge last year’s 14-7 loss to Johnson County but couldn’t move the football against their stingy defense.
Happy Valley had only 40 yards of total offense in the first half and much of their output came in the fourth quarter.
Johnson County got on the board first after Happy Valley fumbled the ball while trying to punt out of their end zone. Curtis Lowe recovered the ball giving the Longhorns a 6-0 early lead.
Happy Valley moved the football on their next drive but missed a 29 yard field goal attempt.
The Longhorns scored again in the first quarter with the help of two big pass plays.
Troy Arnold hooked up with Zack Eller on a couple of short passes that netted 35 and 42 yards. Nathan Lane scored on a three yard run then added the two-point conversion for a 14-0 advantage.
Happy Valley scored their only touchdown with the help of a Longhorn miscue. A bad snap forced them to throw the football under pressure that fell incomplete.
The Warriors got the ball on the four but it took four plays to reach paydirt. Eli Ayers scored from one yard out to cut the deficit to 14-7 after Michael Harrah’s PAT with 2:17 left in the half.
Any momentum was quickly taken back by the Horns on their next possession. They marched 65 yards with the help of two big pass plays to score just before the half ended.
Arnold hooked up with Eller for 34 yards then added an 18-yard touchdown pass to Lane with 1:49 showing before intermission. Jared Kimble’s PAT made it 21-7 at the half.
Neither team could muster any offense in the third quarter as both teams were held scoreless.
Johnson County would put the game away in the fourth.
The Warriors drove down to the five yard line but couldn’t score on the Longhorns’ defense. That’s when the dagger came.
Lane broke loose for a 95-yard touchdown run that accounted for the final score with 8:23 remaining.
Lane ended the night with 147 yards on 14 carries. Eller caught 4 passes for 120 yards.
Dakota Cochran supplied most of Happy Valley’s offense. He ended the night with 110 yards on 27 carries, many of them from the wildcat package. The Warriors ended the game with 170 yards of total offense.
Tyler Norris had a big night for the Longhorns with 18 tackles.
Luke Naylor led the Warriors with 10 stops.
The Longhorns rushed for 203 yards and added 152 more in the air.
Johnson County is now 6-1 on the year. Happy Valley falls to 2-5.
