LOGAN –– Rivalries have a way of evening things out.
Records and talent disparity tend to tell less about the outcome as the intensity of the rivalry increases.
Athens nail biter against Logan on Friday night was no exception to that rule. The Bulldogs, coming off a blowout win last week, fell to the Chieftains 31-30 in stunning fashion.
It was Logan's first win of the season.
Athens was far from its peak form Friday night. A lot that could’ve gone wrong, did. Even with that, kicker Nate Gribble still lined up for a potential game tying extra point with 32 seconds remaining.
The kick was blocked. The elation on Athens’ sideline instantaneously turned into despair.
It took a while for Athens coach Ryan Adams to gather his thoughts on the situation.
“It took the wind out of us I guess,” he said.
Athens appeared to seize control of the game from a pesky Logan group when Gribble scored an eleven-yard rushing touchdown on a fake field goal to give Athens a 24-10 lead. It was a momentum-grabbing score both in style and on the scoreboard.
But, Logan showed extraordinary resolve. The Chieftains scored the next 21 points and scored the eventual game winning touchdown with three minutes to go.
The go ahead touchdown came on a screen pass that appeared to hit the ground before being caught by Logan wide receiver Riley Nelson. Adams said he didn’t see the play, but he wasn’t interested in making excuses for his team regardless.
“I think it was a rivalry game for Logan and I don’t think it was so much a rivalry game for us,” Adams said. “I think that was a big difference in the game.”
Athens’ season-long struggle with penalties continued Friday night, and Adams was not happy with the sloppiness his team exhibited against his former arch-rival.
“Well we’ve talked about it each day,” Adams said. “(The penalties) are something we’ve discussed after the past two games. But unfortunately they still continue to occur.”
Adams said he thought his team took a Logan team, that didn’t look 0-5 on tape, lightly. The team lost a roller coaster game in which it was heavily favored. It was tough to swallow, but Adams quickly shifted his focus to the task ahead.
“We just gotta pick up the pieces and move on,” Adams said. “We’ve got a league title to compete for starting next week and we’re gonna do our best to put this game behind us and move forward.”
