Following a couple of rough setbacks the Lady Longhorns were back home in Mountain City Tuesday night, as they took on the Happy Valley Lady Warriors for the second time this season. Remembering a painful loss their first time around, the Johnson County girls were ready and willing to prove that they had what it takes to come out on top against the Lady Warriors. In a phenomenally close game that wound up going into an equally close overtime period, the Lady Longhorns pulled ahead thanks to two essential steals by starter Brionna Reece, sending Happy Valley home disappointed 53-51.

Acknowledging the Lady Longhorns’ improvement, Happy Valley Coach Erica Beach commented, “We didn’t come ready to play, that’s the difference in this game. Johnson County was mentally prepared for their game. I know we had some bright spots but Johnson County deserves the credit for the win they got tonight. In games like this where it’s close, those are times where you can’t spare to score a basket.”

The Lady Longhorns played an excellent first half, jumping ahead by five in the first two minutes thanks to an early bucket by Brandy Dugger, followed by three free throws from Brionna Reece. Brooke Brown finished out the first quarter with two buckets of her own to bring Johnson County to nine. Happy Valley had considerable trouble facing off against the Lady Longhorns’ defense and was met with a good deal of foul trouble in their efforts to break through. This was due in part to the use of a diamond and one configuration that Coach Todd Whittemore and assistant Robbie McCulloch have been using with a lot of success in earlier games.  More...

Taking on their rivals in a nerve-rending close Homecoming game, the Johnson County Longhorns met the Hampton Bulldogs in an emotionally charged atmosphere that had fans on both sides cheering as loud as they could. Lagging behind in the first quarter, the Longhorns began to pull their game together in the second and held on to the lead with everything they had. The final outcome was up in the air to the very last second, but when the dust settled the Longhorns had prevailed 44-41.

Coach Austin Atwood knew exactly what his team was facing going up against the Bulldogs. “When you play Hampton you know it. Even if they’re the worst they’ve ever been and you’re the best you’ve ever been, when you play Hampton it’s always a close game. It’s a big rivalry even though it’s not a conference game.”

The first quarter started off against the Longhorns with the Bulldogs putting seven up on the board in the first four minutes. Johnson County managed an early two-point pick up from Carlton Tugman along with a free throw by Dusty Stout to give the Longhorns three. Another layup, this time from Ryan Mahala, and a big three-pointer by Chase Phillips gave the Longhorns a one-point lead, but a drive by Hampton ended the period in their favor 8-11. More...

Longhorns cap winning night with victory over Happy Valley

In the fourth win of the night following two Junior Varsity blowouts and a close girls Varsity game, the Johnson County Longhorns completed the set, maintaining their lead over the Happy Valley Warriors throughout the game to finish 44-38. Coming out of a strong first two quarters, Johnson County faced a determined and re-energized team of Warriors in the second half but still persevered despite a few setbacks.

“They came out and did a great job rebounding,” said Coach Austin Atwood. “If he plays someone long enough, Charlie Bayless is going to start to figure out ways to get some buckets. They adjusted well to the 3-2 and started to get that short pointer and that dive down. Our backside guy wasn’t getting there quite quick enough. We just didn’t want them to get the lead. If they had got the lead we would have been in some trouble.”

In the first quarter the Longhorns dominated, preventing Happy Valley from making any gains for the majority of the period, while Brian Dempsey picked up several free throws and Chase Kleine and Dusty Stout finished out a couple of well used plays to give the Longhorns a 12-6 advantage at the buzzer. The second quarter went even better for the Longhorns, with the Warriors making a slow trickle of baskets separated by a nearly three minute long dry spell. Fortunately, Johnson County was able to keep their pace, racking up 14 points to Happy Valley’s five. More...

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