Through sheer dominance, Athens won against River Valley at home, 58-0. The game was decided in the first quarter, but the home team still played its tail off like this was the only game they had a chance at winning.
“We focus on every play,” Bulldogs coach Nathan White said. “There’s a right way to play this game with great effort and physicality, and these kids have really bought into that.”
Not a better game could’ve occurred for Athens, especially since it was senior night for the team, cheerleading squad and marching band.
In the first quarter alone, the Bulldogs scored a whopping five touchdowns. The first was generated off a fumble by the Raiders which was then quickly recovered by the Bulldogs.
In three plays, senior running back Alex Pero scored with 11:26 left. A successful PAT from junior kicker Griffin Porter put Athens on the scoreboard at 7-0 Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs’ chance at a second touchdown began with an interception by senior defensive back Leo Martin. A 36-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Daniel Heightland to senior wide receiver Kaiden Bycofski plus another PAT from Porter made it 14-0 Bulldogs.
On the defensive end, the Bulldogs forced the Raiders to punt, and in two plays the home team scored once again with a 19-yard rushing touchdown from junior wide receiver Anthony Sutton. At this point, the score was 21-0 Bulldogs.
But the game from Athens wasn't all about offense, as after the Raiders got possession of the ball back, sacks on the opposing team’s quarterback by senior tight end Seth Hart, junior defensive lineman James Irwin and senior defensive lineman Isaiah Roberts resulted in the Raiders having to punt.
The Bulldogs would take over, inching closer to scoring a fourth time with difficult first downs from Sutton and senior tight end Brady Wharton. The fourth touchdown eventually came in the form of a carry by Heightland himself. Another good PAT tallied up the score to 28-0 Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs used their defensive prowess to force the Raiders to punt again with another sack on their quarterback by senior defensive linemen Daniel Mulligan and Isaiah Arocho.
To cap off the first quarter, Wharton received a 16-yard pass from Bycofski and ran into the endzone for the fifth touchdown to make the score 35-0 Bulldogs.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs took some of their foot off the gas but not all of it. The Bulldogs' defense resulted in the Raiders having to punt again, and after some inconvenient plays, the home team scored with Sutton on a 39-yard rushing touchdown.
Porter continued his hot streak for the evening and delivered another successful PAT to make it 42-0 Bulldogs.
At this point in the contest, enough damage was done by the varsity lineup for Athens. So, Coach White made a clever chess move and let the JV players get some time in the spotlight.
At first, the younger lineup had a tough time getting by the Raiders’ suffocating defense, but that didn’t last long. The Bulldogs added more to the scoreboard with a pass from sophomore quarterback Briar Thomas to sophomore wide receiver Blake Taylor.
A successful two-point conversion made it 50-0 Bulldogs. The inexperienced but mighty JV team would score yet again late in the fourth with the final touchdown and two-point conversion of the night to make it 58-0 Bulldogs.
Next week, Athens travels to face off against the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes. When asked if the Bulldogs would need to prep more for that matchup, Coach White made it clear it’s only the next game.
“We get to go and play another game and I’m excited about that,” White said. “I’m ready to go and spend another week with these kids and it doesn’t matter if we’re 9-0 or not. Come Monday we go back and look at how we are going to win this week.”
