By Paul Holden:
It was hall of fame night at Athens High School and the alumni of the school couldn't have been more proud of the Bulldogs, which routed the Watkins Memorial Warriors 53-3.
Led by quarterback Joe Burrow, the Athens (2-0) offense scored 62 points during their week one victory and showed no signs off stopping against the Warriors (1-1) on Friday.
Burrow connected with wide receiver Ryan Luehrman for a 35-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs up 7-0 on their second drive of the game.
On the following Athens drive, it only took one play to find themselves back into the end zone when Burrow found Luehrman again for a 57-yard touchdown pass.
That score would stand until 7:19 left in the second quarter when the Bulldogs again found the end zone, but this time with the ball in the running back Trae Williams' hands. He put the ball across the goal line on a two-yard run after the Bulldogs drove from their own 19-yard-line to put Athens ahead 20-0 before the PAT attempt was blocked.
However, the Warriors showed a sign of life by driving down the field after a 43-yard run from Mike Ford, before Watkins Memorial kicker Jerrod Lyons booted a 40-yard field goal. With about three minutes left in the second quarter, the Warriors then fumbled the ball on an option play that put the Bulldogs offense back on the field.
Burrow did not waste any time, as he connected with Wiserman for a 24-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive. With 2:57 remaining in the quarter, Athens held a 28-3 lead after it completed two point conversion.
The Warriors did not go down easy, though, as Shoyer looked to cut the deficit with a pass into the end zone but Athen's defensive back Freddy Stalder reeled in the pass to end the Warrior's drive, as Athens retained a lead 28-3 heading into halftime.
On their first drive of the second half, the Bulldogs drove back into the end zone when Burrow found Luehrman for a 12-yard, before the quarterback once again led the Bulldogs down field into Warrior territory, but then found himself in a fourth and sixteen situation in which the Bulldogs elected to go for it.
This choice would pay off as Burrow found Luherman for his third touchdown of the night, a 23-yard pass to put the Bulldogs up 41-3 before another missed PAT attempt.
When the fourth quarter began, the Bulldogs scored again — this time on a 64-yard run by Dakotah McFee. Athens missed another PAT, but went ahead 47-3 sending in backups on its next offensive drive.
However, after just two plays the Bulldogs found themselves back into the end zone after a 16-yard carry from DeShawn Horton for the final score of the contest.
"Pretty much in all facets of the game offensively, defensively, and special teams, I felt our team played very solid." Athens coach Ryan Adams said. T
The Bulldogs’ solid performance only seemed to have one flaw in Friday night's game and that was their PAT and two point plays, both of which Adams say are, "a work in progress."
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