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BY AUSTIN ALEXANDER
STAR CORRESPONDENT
In Class 2A football, playing both ways is inevitable. The schools involved are simply too small to imagine rosters much bigger than about 30.

This makes coaches’ jobs at this level and lower extra hard as they try and juggle results with rest and so on.

For Happy Valley, it’s something they’ve been dealing with for years, but they need to get better at it to find the results they want. That’s what they’re hoping to do on Thursday night against South Greene.

This past Friday night, the Warriors of Happy Valley simply ran out of gas against Chuckey-Doak.

“Tough game, tough loss. We were physically drained and that turned into a mental drain,” head coach Jason Jarrett said about how his team simply hit a brick wall.

He continued saying that his players have to understand that’s just how things are and in order for them to win they have to find their own ways to cope with it.

The simple solution Coach Jarrett says is to “get in shape.” But the issue for the Warriors was more than the physical aspect.

“I was afraid that physical fatigue would creep in going into the game, but the issue I have is the mental breakdowns, and the lack of capitalizing on key opportunities to put points on the board,” Coach Jarrett commented on his team’s struggles mentally. “When you are in the red zone as many times as we were and cannot put points on the board, that really zaps you mentally.”

The key to fixing all these issues lies within. Obviously, the Warriors will prepare for South Greene, but it’s more than that.

“We must fix ourselves. At this point, it is not about South Greene,” Jarrett said. “We know what they have and the challenges they bring. However, it starts with ourselves.”

Jarrett went on to say that it’s a complete effort from coaches and players that will be the only way the team sees results.

For Happy Valley, the key is fundamental execution.

The Warriors have to conquer their own mistakes before moving on to South Greene. Converting red zone opportunities is also a must as South Greene is not the typical 2A school.

As Coach Jarrett said, they’re likely one of the top five to ten in the state. The Warriors know the Rebels are going to play well, now they have to rise to the occasion and cash in on the potential they’ve shown.