2022 BlueCross Bowl Class 2A First Round: Warriors set to hit road against Monterey Wildcats

Published 10:24 am Tuesday, November 1, 2022

STAR CORRESPONDENT

With regular-season records tossed out the back porch like a pan of dishwater, the Happy Valley Warriors look to get their second season off to a 1-0 start when they hit the road Friday night to square off with a high-octane Monterey Wildcat team in the first round of the 2022 BlueCross Bowl Class 2A football playoffs for Tennessee.

The Wildcats finished with an 8-2 record during the regular season scoring 308 points while holding their opponents to 153 total points.

Including in those wins were victories over Rockwood (28-14), Oneida (42-9), and WCHS (35-2) in Region 2A while dropping a 34-20 defeat to York Institute.

Mason Bowman leads the Wildcats averaging 187 yards per game rushing while recording 19 touchdowns on the season. He has 1,681 yards leading the Wildcats on the ground.

Quarterback Matthew Montgomery has completed 49-of-108 passing covering 755 yards with eight tosses going for a touchdown.

Happy Valley will be traveling nearly three and a half hours by bus which is in itself is taxing on a team but must step off the bus ready to entertain the challenge presented by Monterey.

It will be the first meeting between the two teams under Happy Valley head coach Jason Jarrett.

“They are explosive and well coached,” said Jarrett.  “You watch their offense play and they are almost identical to us and they run a spread-type offense with an ample supply of talented, physical big athletes. I don’t think they have lost a game since the month of September.”

One thing that Jarrett and his coaching staff have preached to the Warriors is that reaching the playoffs is not just a given as many teams have completed their football season without the opportunity to play a week 11 football game.

“We were talking to the team today and any time you get the opportunity to play in the playoffs, it’s a privilege,” Jarrett said. “Not every team in Tennessee is going to be playing Friday night. We have the ability to do so. I would like to see our bunch have a great week of practice working with excitement. It’s a long trip down there, but we put ourselves in that position finishing third in our region.”

The Warriors have the opportunity to put a roller coaster of a season behind them and now can prove that they are a much better team than they showed in the regular season. Even with a long bus ride, the game is a coin toss until it’s played and anyone that is competitive loves that part of the sport.

“Personally, as a coach, I enjoy the pressure of it,” Jarrett said. “The playoff atmosphere is fun with the excitement and pressure. If you are a true competitor, you enjoy being placed in those positions and hopefully as the week progresses, our team will understand that. The records are 0-0. It’s not about how you started the year, it’s about how you finish.”

Kickoff for Friday night’s contest will be at 7 pm.