It's senior night in Athens this week, but the Bulldogs won’t need the extra motivation.
Athens will face River Valley, a conference opponent with double the amount of wins as any opponent the Bulldogs have faced this season. Both teams are amongst the 6-2 log jam at the top of the conference and need wins to stay alive for a playoff spot.
Athens is undefeated in conference play at home, but coach Ryan Adams said the Tri Valley Conference (Ohio) is in the midst of a year where the favorites should be on their toes, as River Valley learned about a month ago. River Valley was upset 38-34 by Meigs on Sept. 23, and will look to spoil Athens’ senior night proceedings in a similar fashion.
The River Valley highlights on maxpreps.com show the team’s affinity for spreading out the defense with multiple receiver formations that set up sweeps and short passes. That kind of offense could be challenging for an Athens defense that has struggled at times with open-field tackling, and Adams was concerned with how versatile the Raider offense appears on film.
“I think they do a good job of mixing it up and playing some power run mixed with the spread,” Adams said. “And they’re not really trading out a whole lot of personnel in order to do that so you’ve gotta be able to play both with your personnel.”
River Valley defeated Athens last season 35-21. Adams said the inexperience of last year’s offensive line was part of the issue during the loss, but this year the unit has been ready for the challenge —allowing just two sacks all season and leading the way for a rushing attack that averages almost 200 yards a game.
The Bulldogs will again be without free safety Logan Maxfield because of a grade two hamstring tear that Adams believes will keep him out for the rest of the season.
Robert Dickelman, however, has been impressive in taking over that spot. On top of his recent offensive outbursts, he has been credited for 15 solo tackles in two starts.
“I think Dickelman has really come into his own the last two weeks,” Adams said. “I think he’s found in the last two weeks that he’s very capable of playing at a high level on both sides of the ball.”
The Bulldogs have reached the most important and difficult part of their schedule. There is no overlooking a pair of 6-2 teams. Adams knows the emotions involved in the next two weeks, so he’s trying to keep it simple for his players.
“To me it just all boils down to trying to stay consistent,” Adams said. “Try to take care of a lot of the small details so that the big details take care of themselves.”
