After flying high against Woodville two weeks ago, Valley Head came back down to earth. The Valley Head Tigers fell 41-34 to the Appalachian Eagles on Friday. The Tigers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Eagles apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in October of 2023.
Despite the defeat, Valley Head saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Tytan Blevins rushed for 343 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 14.9 yards per carry, and also threw for 74 yards and a touchdown on only seven passes. Those 343 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Blevins.
Valley Head didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. In fact, those interceptions all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Cayson McElrath.
Braden Gilliland continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines for Appalachian, rushing for 208 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 7.2 yards per carry. Gilliland's rushing production has been exceptional for a while as that marked his 11th straight game with at least 101 rushing yards dating back to last season.
Valley Head's loss dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Appalachian, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 8-2.
A feisty cat fight will be fought when Tigers takes on Collinsville at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. They are coming into the match with three straight victories at home, so Valley Head will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. As for Appalachian, they will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Donoho at 7:00 p.m. on November 8th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
