In a must-win game at home, Athens prevailed under pressure and defeated the visiting Linden-McKinley Panthers 21–8 to advance in the 2024 OHSAA Division III Region 11 football playoffs.
It’s the first time in ten years the Bulldogs get to experience a postseason victory. In 2014, the Bulldogs were led all the way to the Division III state championship game under famous Athens alumnus, Joe Burrow.
“These kids have worked so incredibly hard,” Bulldogs coach Nathan White said. “The best thing about it is that this team gets to stay together for another week. I cannot wait till Monday.”
The contest was a tale of two very different games for each team. For the Panthers, it was injury-prone players who shaped the night. For the Bulldogs, it was having the most penalties called against them this season.
The first play of the game was an interception on a pass from the Bulldogs’ junior quarterback Daniel Heightland to the Panthers’ senior defensive back, Briyon Jamison.
The first and second halves of the game were also very different for both the home and away team. In the first half, the Panthers took up most of the game clock trying to score, but were met by the season-long great defense by the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs, along with the ocean of penalties, couldn’t quite find their rhythm until Heightland found senior wide receiver Leo Martin wide-open deep in the Panthers’ territory for a 28-yard touchdown pass. A good PAT from junior kicker Griffin Porter made it 7–0 Bulldogs.
Martin was, as he has been all season long, crucial for the Bulldogs’ win. He would score all three touchdowns for Athens with sometimes multiple Panthers defending him in coverage.
“It was great to see him have such a big night,” White said. “It’s kind of overshadowed by Leo scoring three touchdowns, but our O–line and running game was outstanding. That helped open up our play action stuff very well.”
When the Bulldogs ran the ball, one man in particular had the most touches of the football: Alex Pero. Whenever passing the ball didn’t seem like a good option for Athens, White and the entire coaching staff knew they could rely on Pero to get the job done.
“He’s been our workhorse for two years now,” White said. “The guys upfront love blocking for him and he runs hard and so physically. Tonight, he grinded for every yard and was just fantastic.”
In the second quarter, after exchanging possession of the ball a few times and committing even more penalties, the Bulldogs finally saw another chance at scoring and they did with another touchdown pass from Heightland to Martin. Porter’s successful PAT would tally up the score to 14–0 Bulldogs.
Coming out of halftime, the Bulldogs scored their final touchdown of the game, with Heightland finding Superman yet again in Leo Martin in the endzone. Porter kicked his final PAT and made it 21–0 Bulldogs.
With nothing to lose, the Panthers willed their way to the endzone and got their one and only touchdown of the game, with senior wide receiver Came’Ron Gunnell sneaking through the thick defense of the Bulldogs. The Panthers also scored a two-point conversion to make it 21–8, with the Bulldogs still in the lead.
For the remaining time of the fourth quarter, the home team’s defense stopped any more attempts at scoring another touchdown from the Panthers.
Next week, the Bulldogs face off against a familiar foe in the form of the Steubenville Big Reds.
“It will be a heck of a challenge next week against Steubenville,” White said. “We haven’t watched any film yet, but they’re one of the most storied teams in the state and perhaps the country. It will be a truly special experience for our guys to go there and get to play them.”
