Quarterback in mid-pass during a night football game, football in air as teammate runs downfield in the background. — Happy’s Kreid Cluck delivers a pass against Kress during a Distirct 3-1A Division I game Friday at the Cowboy Corral. [Roy Wheeler/ Press Pass Sports]

HAPPY — A year ago, things were not all smiles in Happy.

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What We Learned from Week 11 in High School Football across the Texas Panhandle

The Cowboys were trading in the shoulder pads for gym shorts and getting ready for basketball season.

That’s far from the case this season. The Cowboys are back to being where they belong after clinching the outright District 3-1A Division I championship with a 68-50 win against Kress at the Cowboy Corral on Friday night.

That’s the 10th district championship for for tradition-rich Happy over the past 13 years.

“The football tradition is huge here in Happy,” said Stacy Perryman, who is in eighth year as the Happy football coach. “You’re expected to excel and win district titles. This group didn’t do that last year and a lot of these guys were back. They had a chance to do their part and they redeemed themselves.”

The Cowboys (7-3, 3-0) overcame an early 14-point deficit against the Kangaroos (3-7, 2-1), who will be the No. 2-seed out of the district. Happy was able to outscore Kress 54-22 over the final three quarters to secure the 18-point win.

The Kangaroos found the end zone four times in the opening quarter, capitalizing on an early onside kick recovery and building a 28-14 advantage. Quarterback Jaek Lovvorn connected on four touchdown passes in the first quarter alone, spreading the ball around and putting Happy in an unfamiliar position.

Happy responded with a touchdown of its own before the quarter expired, but Kress maintained its two-score advantage heading into the second.

Cowboys player #11 in black runs with the football at night, evading a defender in white and camo in pursuit. — Happy’s Luke Dempsey ran for 252 yards with seven touchdowns against Kress. [Roy Wheeler/ Press Pass Sports]

The Cowboys answered with a 30-point second quarter that completely changed the direction of the contest.

Senior Luke Dempsey took control of the ground game, finding the end zone on touchdown runs of 20 and 30 yards. Happy also capitalized on a Kress fumble, while quarterback Kreid Cluck tossed a touchdown pass of his own.

Dempsey added a 22-yard rushing touchdown late in the half, and Happy took a 44-36 lead into the break after trailing by 14 early in the contest.

The offensive production continued after halftime. Dempsey added touchdown runs of 8 and 1 yard in the third quarter, extending the Cowboys’ advantage.

The Kangaroos were not ready to go away, however.

Lovvorn connected with Kingston Brumley on a 67-yard touchdown pass with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Kress then recovered another onside kick and needed just one play to capitalize, as Lovvorn found Jayston Lovvorn for a 34-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 10.

Happy responded by turning back to its senior workhorse.

With 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Dempsey broke through for a 22-yard rushing touchdown, his seventh rushing score of the night and eighth touchdown overall. The score restored the Cowboys’ 18-point advantage at 68-50.

Happy’s defense kept Kress off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, with sophomore Grady Holstein coming away with an interception to help secure the district championship.

Dempsey powered Happy’s comeback, finishing with 252 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Dempsey added another 40 yards and a touchdown through the air, accounting for eight of Happy’s nine touchdowns.

Cluck completed the scoring picture with 122 passing yards and two touchdown passes, connecting with Dempsey and AJ Seal, who hauled in a 25-yard touchdown. Gabriel Mosser also contributed 117 yards from scrimmage, rushing for 60 yards and adding 57 receiving yards.

Football player in a dark uniform leaps to catch a pass during a nighttime game, ball in hands. — Happy’s Gabriel Mosser hauls in a catch against Kress. [Roy Wheeler/ Press Pass Sports]

The victory represents a significant turnaround for a Happy program that entered the season coming off a 2-8 campaign and a missed postseason. The Cowboys also faced an uphill climb early this fall, dropping their first three games before finding their footing and putting together the run that ultimately carried them to the district championship.

Head coach Stacy Perryman said the difference between the team that took the field in Week 1 and the one celebrating Friday night’s championship is substantial.

“Where we were from week one until now is light years different,” Perryman said. “Our defense is playing better. Our offense is clicking. It’s one of those deals where we can really move the ball when we need to, and then whenever we have to have a stop, we can get it.”

The early-season losses helped prepare the Cowboys for the adversity they would encounter later in the schedule. After opening with a defeat to rival Nazareth and dropping their next two contests, Happy began learning how to respond in close games and avoid allowing setbacks to carry over into the following week.

“After losing to Nazareth, we did lose the next two, but those were games that could have both been won,” Perryman said. “That really got us better playing in tight games like that. And then from that point, we were able to just keep stacking wins together because of the experiences that we had in those first three games.”

Returning to the playoffs was a major objective for a group that experienced the disappointment of being left out last season.

“We knew that we didn’t perform when we needed to and that we had to get back to what makes us special,” Perryman said. “And that’s just being tough and playing hard-nosed football.”

That mentality was tested Friday when Kress jumped out to its early lead. Rather than panic, Happy continued to trust its offense and focused on eliminating the mistakes that had put the Cowboys in an early hole.

“We don’t really panic, we just kind of go back to work,” Perryman said. “And we just know that we have to keep working.”

The championship also marks a major milestone for Dempsey, whose production on the field has been matched by his growth as a leader within the program.

“These guys, we’re brothers now,” Dempsey said. “It’s been a real great accomplishment.”

The senior pointed to effort and discipline as two of the team’s core values, particularly when things do not go according to plan.

“It’s not the end of the world if it’s just the first or second quarter, or even starting in the third,” Dempsey said. “We still got a whole ball game left to play.”

Perryman credited Dempsey as an important part of the team’s leadership group, noting that his development has extended beyond Friday night performances.

“If you would ask him at this point last year if this is who he would be this year, I don’t know if he would believe it,” Perryman said. “So I’m pretty proud of that guy.”