Star: Gabe Cartwright, Walker Valley, 19 carries, 102 yards, go-ahead TD
Perhaps never has a victory lap been as telling as it was Friday night when the visiting Mustangs from Walker Valley galloped around Raymond James Stadium following their 20-10 season-opening victory over East Ridge.
It was telling primarily in the fact that Walker Valley had the energy to make the happy trek on a hot and humid evening in which Pioneers players were falling to the turf with cramps all around.
“I told our kids at the half that we were in better shape than they were and we were going to pick up the tempo,” first-year Mustangs head coch Glen Ryan said. “Unfortunately, we kept them in the game with our turnovers.”
For all but a handful of the Walker Valley players, it was the first victory lap in quite some time as the Mustangs snapped a 16-game losing streak dating back to 2010. Rarely has joy been so evident in a group of 15 seniors.
“I can’t tell you how critical this game was for us,” Ryan said. “This year is all about those kids, and all that hard work we have put in to this point, just learning how to win a game like this was critical. If we had lost, then those self-doubts would have started to creep back in.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this group.”
The Mustangs were their own worst enemy with penalties inside the red zone and turnovers, but in the end it was the fast tempo and a stellar defensive effort that proved the ultimate difference. East Ridge was held to 177 yards rushing, and 109 of it came on three plays.
The Pioneers were shut out after taking a 10-7 lead on Tad Whitaker’s 26-yard field goal early in the second period.
Walker Valley turned the ball over five times but amassed 322 yards on 46 running plays. Gabe Cartwright was the workhorse with 19 carries for 102 yards, including a 1-yard run to put Walker Valley on top for good just before halftime. Colton Morrow and Chandler Hunt added TD runs as seven backs wore down the Pioneers.
The Mustangs looked good early, but after losing three games last year by a TD or less, fans on the visitors’ side had to be nervous when the turnovers kept piling up. Three of the fumbles were inside the East Ridge 25, and the game was not decided until Hunt’s 19-yard jaunt with just 1:35 left sealed it.
The Pioneers were hurt by penalties. It didn’t help, either, that seven East Ridge players had to be toted off the field, including Torrey Hughes, who was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Hughes was having a brilliant game with 122 yards on 11 carries but was hurt on the first play of the final half on a 51-yard run.
East Ridge will travel to Boyd-Buchanan next Friday, while Walker Valley travels to Hixson.