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SISSONVILLE — Sissonville wasn’t a pleasant place to be on Friday night if you are a Chapmanville Regional High School football fan.

That’s because the Sissonville Indians took it to the Tigers, 40-21, in the season opener for the two Cardinal Conference teams at the Sissonville High School football field.

It wasn’t a welcome outcome for the Tigers.

Chapmanville had spanked the Indians to the tune of 47-7 and 45-6 the last two seasons and had beaten Sissonville four years in a row.

Not this time, though.

It was a big win for Sissonville, which has won just two games in two years. The Indians were 2-8 overall last year and 1-6 in the Cardinal Conference. Two seasons ago, Sissonville was 0-10. It was Sissonville’s first win over Chapmanville since the 2006 and 2007 season openers.

The Indians were led by senior running back Trent Stowers who rushed for 187 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Sissonville was able to rally from a 21-14 halftime deficit. The Indians then outscored the Tigers 26-0 in the second half.

Austin Crawford, Sissonville’s senior quarterback, was a dual threat as he passed for 101 yards and rushed for 98 more. He hit Nathan Miller for a 22-yard touchdown pass and also scored on a 1-yard sneak.

Chapmanville got off to a bad start as the Tigers fumbled the ball away on the second play from scrimmage. Jarrett Mowrer then ran in from 14 yards out as the Indians led 7-0.

Tigers’ quarterback Max Spradlin then was intercepted by Houston Hill on Chapmanville’s second drive of the game.

The turnover bug bit the Tigers the entire game as Chapmanville lost the ball four times, including three interceptions and a fumble.

Chapmanville then bounced back to take a 21-14 lead at halftime on a Devin Wiley 15-yard run, a 38-yard TD pass from Spradlin to Wiley and a 4-yard touchdown run by senior running back Dustin Smith. Stowers also scored on a 51-yard TD run for Sissonville.

Chapmanville finished the game with 302 yards of total offense but was held to only 48 total yards in the second half.

It was all Sissonville in the second half as the Indians outscored the Tigers 26-0 to get the win.

The Indians scored on a 22-yard pass to Miller, a 7-yard TD run by Stowers, a 1-yard run by Crawford and Mowrer’s 2-yard run.

Smith led Chapmanville on the night with 87 yards rushing on 17 carries. Wiley had 35 yards on the ground and added another 43 yards receiving.

Spradlin was 7-for-18 passing for 115 yards and three picks.

Trevor Payne had three carries for 55 yards for the Tigers.

Brandon White had one carry for eight yards and one catch for 28 yards. Brady Cox had two catches for five yards for the Tigers. Zac Casto had one grab for 14 yards. Paul Workman had two rushes for four yards.

On defense, Austin Watts led the way for Chapmanville with nine solo tackles and two assists. Payne had eight solos, one assist and one fumble recovery. Cox had seven tackles and one blocked extra point kick. White had six solos and one assisted stop.

Matt Chapman finished with five solos and two assists, while Matthew Dingess had four solos. Paul Workman and Frankie Thompson each had three solos and one assist. Casto and Smith each had three tackles.

Dustin Conley, Gabe Maynard and Dakota Sowers each had a solo tackle.

Conley also punted three times for an average of 44 yards a kick.

The Tigers were penalized eight times for 75 yards. The Indians had three flags for 25 yards.

Chapmanville played the game without running back DeShawn Alexander, who remains ineligible. If the former St. Albans tailback is eligible soon, he would still have to go through a mandatory 14 practices, making his possible return to somewhere around midseason.

The Tigers have their home opener next Friday night against Herbert Hoover in another Cardinal Conference contest.