Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BY AUSTIN ALEXANDER
STAR CORRESPONDENT

HAPPY VALLEY – Happy Valley has been on a roll as of recent and this Friday is a massive opportunity to continue that push as we approach the home stretch of the high school season.

A solid non-conference test stands in their way in the form of Johnson County and the Warriors know they need to play a clean game to continue their winning streak.

Coming off a 33-6 drubbing of Unaka, Happy Valley’s recent success is something that coach Jason Jarrett attributes to the team going back to the basics and not beating themselves.

“We have continued to work and concentrate on the fundamentals of the game,” coach Jarrett said about his team following their good performances as of recent. “The last couple of weeks we have seen our players doing the small things that make all the difference in playing better.”

Another bit of intrigue is the slow, but apparent rivalry that has developed between these two non-conference foes.

“We have developed a nice rivalry with JC (Johnson County) the last few years, so our players are looking forward to traveling up the mountain to battle a really good JC team,” Jarrett said on the informal rivalry the two squads have begun forming through the years.

Even though it is an out of conference game, Jarrett and the Warriors look at every game as their most important. Getting a win every time there is one available is the thing Happy Valley values most and they’ll have to really bring their A-game against a very quick and athletic Longhorn team.

As for carrying the momentum into this game, it’s something the Warriors are certainly not ignoring and are looking to continue.

“Our kids are playing with some confidence now that we have won our last two.” Jarrett continued, “Getting to three in a row would help boost us into 2 critical conference games to finish out the season.”

What could really be a season-defining victory for the Warriors, they have to click on all cylinders to keep this streak of success going. A well-balanced attack on offense should help a defense that has only allowed 6 points over the past two games.

A determined Happy Valley squad will look to make it three straight wins this Friday in Mountain City as they travel to meet the Longhorns of Johnson County. Kickoff for the matchup is at 7:30.