ROAN MOUNTAIN — The Cloudland running game didn’t miss a beat.
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Seth Birchfield and his offensive mates were in high gear as Highlanders ran to a 50-14 victory over county foe Happy Valley on Friday night at Orr Field.
Birchfield tallied six touchdowns and recorded 296 yards on 35 carries to pace an offense that tallied 457 rushing yards.
With the win, Cloudland moved to 7-1 on the season while Happy Valley fell to 1-7.
WARRIORS STRIKE FIRST
Happy Valley set an offensive tone on the first offensive play of the game.
Reagan Ensor hit Andrew Little for a 64-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful as HV held a 6-0 lead seconds into the game.
CLOUDLAND RUNNING GAME TAKES OVER
The Highlanders, however, weren’t fazed.
Cloudland went 67 yards on 10 plays and answered when Birch- field scored his first touchdown of the night from four yards out.
That gave Cloudland an 8-6 lead after a quarter of play, and the hosts never looked back.
Birchfield scored three touchdowns in the second quarter — including one from 45 yards out — to power Cloudland to a 30-6 halftime lead.
Birchfield opened the third-quarter scoring with a 53-yard run before Caleb Sluder added a score late in the quarter.
After Birchfield ended his night with a 4-yard score early in the fourth, the Warrior offense got back on the board.
Ensor hit Blake Garmon for a 44-yard touchdown and then hit Landon Babb for the two-point conversion.
LEADERS
In addition to Birchfield’s big night, Sluder had 120 yards on 12 carries. Chase Shell added 30 yards on three carries.
Ensor finished the night 7-of-13 for 132 yards for the Warriors, while Little had two catches for 72 yards. Garmon added 50 receiving yards on two catches.
UP NEXT
Cloudland is set to return to action on Thursday night with a trip to Mountain City to take on Johnson County. As for the Warriors, they are set to head to Pigeon Forge next Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.