No. 9 Mustangs Cruise Past Ooltewah
OOLTEWAH — Walker Valley didn’t deliver its sharpest performance Friday night, but the ninth-ranked Mustangs still had little trouble putting away Ooltewah in Region 3-5A action, rolling to a 41–6 victory.
Head coach Drew Akins admitted the effort felt flat despite the lopsided final score. “We were sluggish and not as crisp up front as we should’ve been,” he said. “We’ve set a standard for how we want to play, and tonight didn’t meet it. We made plays, but too many of them came around mistakes instead of through clean execution.”
Quarterback Chase Stephens turned in another efficient outing, connecting on 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns. His scoring throws went to Reece Davis, Luke Hayden, and Sawyer Boyd, who hauled in two TDs on the night. Running back Cason Cunningham added a short rushing score, while kicker Christopher Malick knocked through two field goals and all five of his extra points.
Walker Valley jumped out to a 24–0 halftime lead, scoring on all four of its first-half possessions. Stephens hit Davis on an 8-yard toss to open the scoring, Cunningham punched in a two-yard run, Malick drilled a 34-yard field goal after a blocked punt, and Hayden caught a 15-yard strike just before the break.
Ooltewah capitalized on a Mustang fumble early in the third quarter, as Luke Wood found Griffin Patterson for a 17-yard touchdown, but the Owls failed on their conversion attempt. That was their only highlight of the night, as Walker Valley answered quickly with a Malick field goal and back-to-back touchdown passes from Stephens to Boyd to put the game out of reach.
The Mustang defense sealed the win with an interception return deep into Owl territory by Michael Wood, setting up Boyd’s second touchdown grab.
Walker Valley (4-1, 2-0 Region 3-5A) now turns its attention to Soddy-Daisy (3-2, 0-2), which visits “The MAC” next Friday after dropping consecutive region games.
Final Score
Walker Valley 41
Ooltewah 6
Head coach Drew Akins admitted the effort felt flat despite the lopsided final score. “We were sluggish and not as crisp up front as we should’ve been,” he said. “We’ve set a standard for how we want to play, and tonight didn’t meet it. We made plays, but too many of them came around mistakes instead of through clean execution.”
Quarterback Chase Stephens turned in another efficient outing, connecting on 18 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns. His scoring throws went to Reece Davis, Luke Hayden, and Sawyer Boyd, who hauled in two TDs on the night. Running back Cason Cunningham added a short rushing score, while kicker Christopher Malick knocked through two field goals and all five of his extra points.
Walker Valley jumped out to a 24–0 halftime lead, scoring on all four of its first-half possessions. Stephens hit Davis on an 8-yard toss to open the scoring, Cunningham punched in a two-yard run, Malick drilled a 34-yard field goal after a blocked punt, and Hayden caught a 15-yard strike just before the break.
Ooltewah capitalized on a Mustang fumble early in the third quarter, as Luke Wood found Griffin Patterson for a 17-yard touchdown, but the Owls failed on their conversion attempt. That was their only highlight of the night, as Walker Valley answered quickly with a Malick field goal and back-to-back touchdown passes from Stephens to Boyd to put the game out of reach.
The Mustang defense sealed the win with an interception return deep into Owl territory by Michael Wood, setting up Boyd’s second touchdown grab.
Walker Valley (4-1, 2-0 Region 3-5A) now turns its attention to Soddy-Daisy (3-2, 0-2), which visits “The MAC” next Friday after dropping consecutive region games.
Final Score
Walker Valley 41
Ooltewah 6