Warriors make 44-16 statement over Sullivan North
Published 12:30 am Saturday, October 13, 2018
- Star Photo/Bryce Phillips Happy Valley's Dakota Cochran celebrates a 39-yard touchdown run during Friday's 44-16 win over Sullivan North.
KINGSPORT—Looking to get out from under a three-game skid, the Happy Valley Warriors got the job done with a 44-16 win at Sullivan North Friday.
Defensive dominance and a huge game from Happy Valley quarterback Dakota Cochran spearheaded the Warriors’ win.
Cochran had four touchdowns while rushing for 91 yards on 16 carries. The senior also connected for 4-of-8 passes for 81 yards passing.
“We had a losing streak going,” said Cochran. “Our mindset was family and to play as a team. That is what we did.”
The win moved the Warriors to 2-1 in the conference and 3-5 overall.
The Golden Raiders got on the board first as they capped their opening drive with North’s Zack Scott scoring from 4-yards out to help give his team an 8-0 edge.
After the Warriors came up short on their first drive, the Raiders drove into Happy Valley territory before a miscue allowed Warriors Blake Young to get on top of a Raiders’ fumble on the HV 21.
From there, the Warriors marched down the field before closing out their second drive with Cochran running in a 1-yard run for a TD. On the 2-point conversion attempt, HV’s Eli Ayers hit Cochran, who made a highlight reel catch to tie the game up at 8-8 with 5:50 left in the second quarter.
A big tackle for loss by Happy Valley’s Dylan McKeehan and Josh Hyatt allowed the Warriors to bring the Raiders third drive of the night to a halt. On the ensuing HV drive, Cochran hit Hyatt on a 44-yard touchdown pass that gave the Warriors an16-8 lead at the half following a 2-point conversion run by Cochran.
The second half started with the Warriors coughing up a fumble that was recovered by Sullivan North on the opening kickoff. The Raiders following possession, however, was cut short as Young picked off a pass deep in Warriors territory.
In the opening moments of the fourth quarter, HV’s Jordan Campbell broke loose for a 54-yard carry that pushed the Warriors deep into Raiders territory. Campbell finished the night with 76 yards rushing on 4 carries. Campbell’s run allowed the Warriors to find paydirt as Cochran scored on a 4-yard carry. The TD was followed up with HV’s Michael Harrah booting through the first of what would be four straight point-after attempts for the senior kicker in the fourth.
With 8:18 left in the game, Cochran found the end zone once more as he rushed in from 39 yards out to give the Warriors a 30-8 lead.
Happy Valley’s final two TDs would be all defense as Hyatt ran in a 30-yard fumble return before McKeehan recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD. Hyatt’s scoop-and-score was the result of Happy Valley’s Matthew Lawson forcing a Raiders runner to fumble.
“It is a huge win for us,” said Happy Valley head coach Jason Jarrett. “Our pregame message was to play for each other. Our backs were against the wall coming in at 2-5. But our guys were resilient this week. They had to overcome a no practice day yesterday due to early dismissal. Our guys came out swinging tonight, and we saw what they were made of. Hopefully, this will give us a boost for the rest of the season.
Happy Valley (3-5, 2-1) will host West Greene next week.
