Joey Moore took advantage of the opportunity to showcase his speed the first time he received the ball on Friday night. He took the opening kickoff to midfield before being brought down by a Warren defender. From there, senior quarterback Clay Davis and the Athens offense took control as it marched down the field and scored a touchdown in the first two minutes.
The Athens offense continued to put on a show, doing so almost effortlessly, for the remainder of the night. It put up 51 points and tallied 26 total first downs. Player after player stepped up as Athens went on to dismantle Warren in an easy 51-26 victory Friday night.
Multiple players filled the offensive stat sheets as the Bulldogs showed off their versatility and depth. Davis, Moore and running back Evan Adams, who averaged 6.6 yards per carry and rushed for three touchdowns, all had huge nights. And the running game wasn’t the only part of Bulldog offense that was detrimental for the Warriors.
The Bulldog passing game caused harm as well as Davis connected with a talented receiving core that featured Logan Maxfield, who recorded 79 total yards, and Nate Trainer, who racked in a total of 49 yards receiving.
The Athens passing and rushing game went hand in hand, combining for 510 yards of total offense.
“It’s great not being one-dimensional,” Davis said. “I’ll be honest. Last year, we had games where we’d just run the ball and that’s what was working or we had games where we’d just pass the ball and that’s what was working. This year, I think it is going to make us more dynamic on offense.”
Athens not only boasts depth in the skill positions, it boasts depth on the line, too.
As impressive as the backfield and receiving corps was, the Athens front five were arguably the most impactful against Warren, opening up holes for Adams and giving Davis plenty of time to throw throughout the entirety of the game.
“(Holes) were opening right where the play is supposed to be ran,” Adams said. “Right off the A gap, it was just a wide-open straight shot down the middle. I didn’t really have to make too many cuts, it was perfect.”
Bulldog head coach Ryan Adams agreed with the sentiment regarding the dominance of his offensive line.
“We knew (the line) was going to be a big strength for us this year,” he said after the game. “We have a lot of bodies we can keep rotating in and out.”
It is without a doubt that teams will have a hard time scheming up ways to defend the Bulldogs this season. With a profound amount of depth at every position, the Bulldogs are confident in what they can bring to the table each game.
“If I was playing us, I wouldn’t know what to defend or what to game plan for,” Davis said. “With the guys up front doing what they do, there’s nothing this team can’t do.”
