Happy Valley all-around play crushes Hampton

Published 10:27 pm Friday, September 1, 2017

Happy Valley exploded out of the gate on Friday night at Warrior Hill with a touchdown on the opening kickoff and the Warriors took a 35-0 lead into the halftime break. The Warriors kept the pressure on in the second half and took a 41-0 victory over Hampton.
Bulldogs Alex Hardin took the kickoff from Michael Harrah on the Bulldogs sideline and was crushed by Josh Hyatt at the 34-yard line. Hardin fumbled the ball and Tittle scooped it up and raced into the end zone to give HV a quick 7-0 lead with the point after kick by Harrah.
“Josh Hyatt laid the hit on Hardin,” Warriors head coach Jason Jarrett said. “He worked hard all summer, put the weight on and worked hard in the weight room. Our special teams, we take a lot of pride in it and it is an integral part of what we want to do.”
The Warriors held the ‘Dogs in check offensively with a three and out and on Hampton’s second possession the ‘Dogs gave the ball up on a punt and Jacob Surcey returned it 41 yards to the Hampton four yard line. From there junior quarterback Brayden Sams ran two yards for the score that made it 14-0.
Hampton’s next possession ended in a blocked put that Sams recovered in the end zone. The PAT kick was wide and HV settled for a 20-0 lead at the end of the first period. Bulldogs quarterback Jason Russell had a pass intercepted on the next possession for Hampton and Luke Phillips returned the errant pass 23 yards.
HV’s next drive covered just 30 yards in five plays with Sams covering the last five on an end run. Sams then connected with Tittle for the deuce and a 28-0 Warriors lead. Russell quick kicked on fourth down and HV took over at the 36-yard line.
In its longest drive of the half, HV covered 66 yards in nine plays with Tittle scoring from two yards out. Hampton stopped HV on the opening drive of the second half and began a drive of their own at the 29-yard line.
The ‘Dogs moved to the Warriors 27-yard line where Hardin lost his second fumble of the night.
“I told the kids, football is like life,” Bulldogs head coach Michael Lunsford said. “When you get knocked down, you have to get back up. Our ultimate goals are still in front of us, we just have to pick ourselves back up.”
After the fumble, Happy Valley rolled 74 yards to score on 13 plays with Tittle scoring from two yards out once again. Sams finished the night with 104 yards on the ground and 84 yards passing with three touchdowns. Hunter Davenport was held to just 59 yards on 17 carries while Jason Russell had 64 yards on nine tries.
“Hunter Davenport is a tremendous athlete and I know he is an even greater kid,” Jarrett said. “We respect Hampton, they are very well coached and have a tremendous offense. Tonight it was a collective effort. Our coaches did a great job of scheming the defense and it took the effort of everyone to get it done.”

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