Athens had complete control of the game Friday night against Vinton County. Each week, the offense has become more and more consistent, and it was no different in the 63-14 romp over Vinton County.
Brendan Sano was mistake free. Brody Ball stopped everything that came his way. Treyce Albin played virtually every position on the field, and all the wide outs caught everything thrown their way.
Here are three things learned from Athens’ second Tri-Valley Conference Ohio win.
Competition in the Backfield
Tyler Roback is the main running back for the Bulldogs. After being pulled from last week's game after a fumble, Michael Casteel was put in the game and finished with 127 yards. This week he traded plays with Roback, and both were dominant against a weak Vinton County front.
Tonight, they both pushed each other. Roback finished with 114 yards, Casteel with 93.
“Well, it’s exactly what you want,” coach Ryan Adams said of his two backs pushing each other. “The competition breeds more success out of the players."
Last week there were instances of both backs playing, and it looks like moving forward, Adams is going to switch to a two-back system.
“It’s a good one-two punch, and I think those two are gonna do a nice job complementing each other moving forward.”
Albin the athlete
Albin played just about every skill position you can on the field.
His presence was most felt at wide receiver. He finished the game with three catches, 82 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest touchdown came in the first quarter. It was fourth down, and Sano dropped back and passed to Albin for a 25-yard touchdown.
He was also able to move the ball on the ground. He finished the game with three carries, 45 yards and one touchdown, which went for 27 yards on a jet sweep.
“We knew he was a good athlete. We certainly want to utilize him to the best of his abilities, and I think you are starting to see it,” Adams said.
In addition to wideout, Albin also played tailback and defensive back.
Determined Defense
Like most of the games this season, Athens gave up two big plays, both resulting in touchdowns — a 68-yard TD run and a 47-yard TD run.
Minus those two plays, nothing worked for Vinton County at all, offensively. Balls were overthrown, balls were dropped, and the defensive front for Athens was a wall. Ball, a senior, had four tackles for the Bulldogs, all coming in the first half. Gage Penrod had two sacks as well for the Bulldogs.
Though passing was not great from Vinton County, the defensive line didn’t give much time for Vinton County to make a play.
Athens is off to a strong start in the TVC Ohio. Two wins, both convincing, and mostly mistake free. The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0 TVC Ohio) had a strong, all-around performance and hope to build on against Logan next week.
