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Star Photo/Jefff Vonglis The Warrior defense swamps the Raiders running attack.

Star Photo/Jeff Vonglis Happy Valley's #22 Matthew Bahn finds tough yardage in the middle of the Raiders line.

Star Photo/Jeff Vonglis Happy Valley's #8 Gabe Nickles gets into the open field for big yardage.

Star Photo/Jeff Vonglis A Warrior sends this Golden Raider for a hard spin and landing!

Star Photo/Jeff Vonglis Warrior QB #16 Eli Ayers keeps his eyes downfield for open receivers while avoiding the Raider rush.

BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN
STAR CORRESPONDENT
Happy Valley senior running back Matthew Bahn reached a milestone and the Warriors took advantage of six turnovers by Sullivan North and took a 51-8 conference victory at Warrior Hill on Friday night.
Bahn reached the 1,000-yard milestone early in the second period on a six-yard touchdown run that staked the Warriors to a 44-0 first-half lead.
When asked about the milestone Bahn was humble saying, “It feels great to be honest. It’s a special night being Homecoming so that made it special. That’s all I can say. The guys up front – the offensive line – really put in the work every day.”
Senior quarterback Eli Ayers struck quickly as he connected with junior Andrew Little on a 49-yard shuffle pass for an 8-0 lead after the two-point conversion pass from Ayers to fullback Landon Babb.
HV (5-3, 2-1 conference) took a 51-0 halftime lead on Homecoming with Bahn rushing for 117 yards on 17 tries with three rushing touchdowns and a 10-yard pass reception touchdown.
Ayers passed for 107 yards on five for seven completions in the first half with two scoring passes.
“I was really proud of our kids tonight,” Warriors head coach Jason Jarrett said. “I was worried about kids looking at the records, but we played well from the opening kickoff.
“We talked about being more efficient in the passing game and we did that tonight. That’s a great credit to our quarterback and the protection from the line.”
The Warriors took advantage of five Golden Raider turnovers with three lost fumbles and a pair of interceptions from Little including a 24-yard return for a touchdown.
North has struggled offensively all season scoring just 22 points – with two games lost to COVID – and they struggled against the stout HV defense with Ethan Norris rushing for 34 yards on nine first-half carries.
Senior quarterback Bryant Herron was zero-for-six passing in the first half with two interceptions and one fumble.
The Raiders broke through late in the fourth quarter when Chase Gill scored on a 17-yard scamper and Herron added the two-pointer on a pass to Joe Flanigan with under three minutes left and a running clock.
Happy Valley will have an extra week of practice before facing South Greene on September 30 as Trinity Academy closed down and will not play.
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Happy Valley 51-8
Sullivan North 0 0 0 8 – 8
Happy Valley 31 20 0 0 – 51
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
H – Little 49 pass from Ayers (Ayers pass to Babb) 8:01
H – Bahn 1 run (Ayers pass to Nickles) 4:34
H – Little 24 interception return (Ayers pass to Babb) 3:18
H – Bahn 10 pass from Ayers (Cochran kick) :43.0
Second Quarter
H – Bahn 20 run (kick failed) 9:04
H – Bahn 6 run (Cochran kick) 5:33
H – Nickles 8 run (Cochran kick) 1:56
Fourth Quarter
S – Gill 17 run (Herron pass to Flanigan) 2:52