Tigers dig teeth into Warriors on Senior Night (With Video)
Published 11:36 pm Friday, October 21, 2022
STAR CORRESPONDENT
The Happy Valley Warriors welcomed Pigeon Forge to Warrior Hill on Friday night to celebrate Senior Night for fall sports.
However, things didn’t go too well for the home team on the field as the Tigers built a 34-13 halftime advantage and went on to down the Warriors by a final of 48-19.
The first quarter played out tight between the two teams as the Tigers dented the scoreboard first when Aidan Howard rambled into the end zone from 25 yards out to stake Pigeon Forge to a 7-0 lead on the point-after.
Happy Valley evened things on the ensuing drive when junior running back Joseph Sowards plowed in from one yard out with 5:13 showing on the first-period clock. Sowards booted the point-after and the game was even at 7-7.
Sowards would go down with a knee injury with four minutes in the quarter and Pigeon Forge turned to senior running back Aidan Littles on their two next possessions as Littles scored on runs of 62 and 77 yards to push the Tigers out front 21-7 with 11:14 left before half.
Happy Valley was able to cut into the lead when Bronson Norman bolted across the goal line from the eight-yard line with 5:12 left in the half. The two-point conversion failed and the scoreboard read 21-13 in Pigeon Forge’s favor.
Littles exploded for his second 77-yard scoring romp of the half on the ensuing possession and the Tigers managed to extend their lead back to 14, 27-13 with 4:47 left in the first half.
The Tigers added another score just 42 seconds before the break when sophomore quarterback Wyatt Howard kept the football on a quarterback keeper for a one-yard score. The point after was good and the Tigers led 34-13 at the break.
Happy Valley received the opening second-half kickoff and quickly scored as quarterback Reagan Ensor got lost in the pile at the line of scrimmage and came shooting out down the Pigeon Forge sideline for a 77-yard gallop to pay dirt. The two-point conversion failed and Pigeon Forge led 34-19.
The Tigers would go on to add two more scores in the contest as Howard would account for his second touchdown of the contest on an 11-yard run and Littles scored his fourth score of the game on a 45-yard scamper to the end zone with 11:14 left in the game to give the game its final score of 48-19.
Happy Valley will close out the regular season this Thursday when they travel to Unaka for a cross-county rival showdown. Kickoff will be at 7:30 pm.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Happy Valley quarterback Reagan Ensor prepares to hand the football off to running back Joseph Sowards.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Happy Valley running back Pedro Colunga follows the block of his teammate for a good chunk of yardage.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Warrior quarterback takes the snap and looks to hand the football off.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Warrior running back Bronson Norman makes a sweet cut on his way to a first-down run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
The Warrior defense upends Pigeon Forge running back Ayden Hood.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Happy Valley’s Cole Deakins has a great run back on a Tiger punt.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders
Warrior running back Pedro Colunga makes a tough run through the heart of the Tiger defense.
Star Photo/Tyler Scalf
Pedro Colunga (20) of Happy Valley runs through a hole for minimal gain.
Star Photo/Tyler Scalf
Bronson Norman (43) runs for a short gain for Happy Valley.
Star Photo/Tyler Scalf
Happy Valley Coach rallies his team early on in the first half.
