Second Football Game a Great Learning Experience

The Hayfork football team lost to Big Valley 50-32 on Sept. 9. The game was close for most of the night until Big Valley put the game away with a couple touchdowns in the 4th quarter.    

Big Valley scored on a 45-yard TD pass on their first possession to take an early 8-0 lead.  Hayfork responded with a 40-yard TD run by Devin Nanez and trailed 8-6 at the end of the first quarter.  

Nanez scored again to start the second quarter on a 25-yard TD run and Kaden Lee ran in the 2-point conversion giving the Timberjacks a 14-8 lead. Big Valley scored on their next two possessions with a 9-yard TD pass, and a 51-yard TD run to give the Cardinals a 24-14 lead.  Hayfork closed out the half with a 60-yard TD run by Lee. The score at the half was Big Valley 24 and Hayfork 20.

The second half didn’t start well for the Timberjacks as they lost three fumbles within the first three minutes of the 3rd quarter. Big Valley capitalized and scored on a 43-yard TD run to increase their lead to 32-20. Lee scored on the next Hayfork possession on a 27-yard TD run and the lead was cut to 32-26.  

Both offenses stalled on the next two possessions until Big Valley was able to complete a 78-yard TD pass at the end of the quarter to make the score 38-26. The Timberjacks seemed to lose the momentum at that point as Big Valley scored two more times on runs of 55 and 45 yards to go ahead 50-26. Hayfork scored on their last possession with a 10-yard TD run by Nanez and the final score was 50-32.

Lee carried the ball 33 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Nanez had 24 carries for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, Nanez led the way with 13 tackles (12 solo) and had an interception. Aidan Lorton had 10 tackles (6 solo).    

“Our kids played hard, but we made crucial mistakes that Big Valley took advantage of,” said Coach Mike Miller. “We had four lost fumbles, an interception, and a bad snap on a punt on the opening possession. The odds of winning a game with six turnovers against a tough opponent such as Big Valley is almost impossible. We have to take better care of the football, and we need to create more turnovers when we are on defense. We have a very inexperienced team, so we still have a huge learning curve. We will continue to get better.”