The Valley Lumberjacks shut out the home standing Hannan Wildcats 74-0 Sept. 26, but they had only 15 minutes to warm up prior to the game.

A chartered bus carrying the team got lost, stuck in a ditch, and was eventually traded for a school bus carrying the Valley marching band. Band members boarded the chartered vehicle, which was eventually extricated and arrived late in the first quarter.

But, never mind that. A 10-yard run by Valley’s Liam Midcap highlighted a 10-play 80-yard drive that ended with Peyton Palmer’s three-yard TD run and PAT kick for the only scoring in the opening quarter.

However, the ‘Jacks scored another 30 points in the second stanza, starting with a safety and a 30-yard scamper into the end zone by Palmer. It was the fourth consecutive game in which Valley scored a safety.

Trey Streets scored on a 74-yard run in the second period and Palmer nailed the conversion kick. Valley scored twice more on passes from Streets to Tucker Cain and again on a Midcap 25-yard dash that built a comfy enough cushion for Valley Head Coach Shane Highley to send in the reserves.

Valley freshman Cole Sell scored on a two-yard touchdown run, while classmate Travis Leek kidnapped a Wildcat pass and returned it 55-yards to paydirt for the first-ever high school touchdowns for both players. Sophomore Matthew Throckmorton then ran it in from 40 yards out for the Lumberjacks’ final touchdown. Levi Streets scored a touchdown on a run and scored a pair of two-point conversion runs. Dillon Heater tallied his first ever TD and the last one of the game. Palmer nailed eight extra point kicks that broke the school record for PATs.

Defensively, Kale Lloyd made six tackles and had a pair of quarterback sacks, while freshman Levi Streets added six stops. The defense held the Wildcats to only three first downs on the night and 26 yards of total offense. They also made Hannan turn the ball over five times on three fumbles and two interceptions.

Offensively, Valley accumulated 404 yards rushing and six touchdowns, while netting 48 yards passing on two completions and two scores.

Streets was 2-4 to Cain for 48 yards and a pair of TDs, while Palmer paced Valley with 105 yards on 12 carries and two scores. He also converted seven extra point kicks. Midcap rushed for 78 yards on seven carries and a TD, while Trey Streets tacked on 93 yards rushing and one TD on five totes. Cain hauled in two Street passes for 48 yards and a pair of TDs.

The Lumberjacks were guilty of five penalties for 48 yards lost while Hannan lost 35 yards on six infractions.

The Valley Lumberjacks will next take on the Clay-Battlle Cee-Bees Friday, with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The winner of that contest gets a strangle hold on the top spot in the WVSSAC Class-A race.