Valley handles Lanett in renewed rivalry game
BY NICK MINERVA
FOR THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LANETT — For the first time in three years, Valley High School took the short trip to Lanett High School for the 94th edition of the “Battle of Highway 29” and left with a 42-12 win, opening its season with a road victory and improving to 60-32-2 all-time in the series.
Behind the quick, mistake-free decision-making of starter Bryant Hopkins and a ground game the Panthers (0-2) had no answer for, the Rams (1-0) smothered Lanett’s one real second-half push and pulled away late at Morgan-Washburn Stadium on Aug. 28.
Hopkins finished 13-for-19 for 150 passing yards, a passing touchdown and an interception, Mason Yarbrough rushed four times for 89 yards, had two rushing TDs and 11 total tackles and Cole House recorded an interception for Valley.
Javein Washington went 9-for-15 for 134 passing yards and a passing TD, P.J. Stiggers had 14 carries for 107 rushing yards and a TD and Braylon Chambers mad nine tackles and three tackles for loss for Lanett.
While there was plenty of hoopla on social media leading up to the game, Valley head coach Adam Hunter said he and his coaching staff didn’t stress the rivalry too deeply to their players.
He added he was impressed with how well Valley fans travelled and said the school’s band and cheerleaders were a “tribute” to a collective effort.
“We didn’t talk to the guys much [because] they know it’s a rivalry,” Hunter said. “Before the game, we asked them to raise their hand if they had played in this game and none of them did, so they knew the magnitude of it then. Everything’s good and [we] played hard, but we were sloppy on a lot of stuff that we’ve got to clean up.”
Hopkins was brilliant under center. While he appeared somewhat rattled on his first series and not quite ready for game action, he improved as the night wore on and made quick decisions and few mistakes.
When his first read was heavily defended, he was quick to check down to his safety valves and completed shallow 5- to 10-yard passes that Lanett seemed unable to stop.
“I’m probably going to go eat at Waffle House [to celebrate the win],” Hopkins said of his first and last game against Lanett. It’s a very important game. It’s always great to come here and get a win.”
Lanett head coach R.J. McDonald built his gameplan around three quarterbacks — Jayden Stiggers, P.J. Stiggers and Javeion Washington — all young relative to the talent under center for the Rams.
“We’ve got some young guys going. One of them is a seventh grader, one’s an eighth grader and the other one’s a ninth grader. So we’ve got to just keep growing them and getting them better,” McDonald said.
Lanett won the coin toss and deferred, putting the ball first in the hands of Hopkins and the Rams.
Jayden Stiggers answered with a respectable opening drive of his own, completing his first two passes, but the series ended in a fumble that handed the ball back to Valley.
After a flag-riddled drive, Valley drew first blood. With the passing game not quite there early, the Rams leaned on Joseph Hutchinson — who was a gift that kept on giving — and he delivered the first of his two TDs.
Hutchinson kept producing as Valley built its lead, and the Rams took a 21-6 advantage into halftime. Lanett’s lone first-half score came in the closing seconds of the second quarter, when Washington stood at Valley’s 40 yard line and heaved a perfect throw to Treshun Fraizer for a TD.
The Panthers came out of the locker room looking like they might flip the script, with P.J. Stiggers now under center and mostly taking off with the ball. P.J. Stiggers pulled it and scored on a 38-yard TD run to cut the deficit to 21-12.
While Lanett’s new-look offense had some early success in the second half, Hunter said countering the multiple-quarterback look ultimately wasn’t too difficult.
“We kind of knew what was going on, knew the deal,” Hunter said. “It’s just one of those things where you’ve got to get out here and play the game. You’ve got to fly to the football and make tackles.”
Valley answered right back with a monstrous 39-yard TD run by Yarbrough.
The chippiness that had simmered all night finally boiled over with about 10:33 left in the fourth quarter, when a ball carrier was tackled toward the sideline by two Valley players. That hit sparked an altercation that pulled in players, coaches, officials and even fans to a degree.
“We’ve got to be a little more disciplined, right? We’ve got to be a little more locked in,” McDonald said when asked about trying to cool his sideline amid the eruption. “We can’t let our heads get hot. We’ve got to have cooler heads prevail.”
Valley then put the game away late when Kason Varner hauled in a 33-yard TD pass from Hopkins to close the scoring at 42-12. It was a throw McDonald pointed to after the game.
“We kept it in front of us for the most part, except right there at the end, throwing up like that,” McDonald said.
Valley opens at home against Charles Henderson High School at Ram Stadium on Friday, Sept. 4, at 8 p.m. ET for the Rams’ first Class 4A Region 4 contest. The Trojans (1-0) are coming off a 38-13 road win over Alabama Independent School Association opponent Hope Christian Academy.
“We’ve got a long way to go [and] we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got a short time to get there,” Hunter said of the game against Charles Henderson.
After two straight losses, Lanett now hits the road to face Horseshoe Bend High School at Battle Stadium on Friday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. CT to open Class 2A Region 4 play. The Generals (0-2) are coming off a 38-6 home loss to Beulah High School.
“We’ve got region play starting next week, and our goal is to win the region,” McDonald said.
