by Christian Hoppens
To say that tomorrow’s game is critical for the Athens Bulldogs would be an understatement.
The Bulldogs are 3-2 in the conference, two games behind Vinton County in the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio Division standings. With only seven games remaining, Friday’s game against Vinton County is a must-win if Athens hopes to win the division.
In the last matchup between these teams in December, the Vikings handed the Bulldogs a 26 point defeat in the first of its five-game winning streak against division opponents. Athens only shot 29 percent from the field and couldn’t hang on to the ball, turning it over 16 times. Athens will have to improve upon those marks if it hope to hang with Vinton Country.
The Bulldogs do have an advantage when it comes to experience. Athens carries four experienced seniors on its roster. Though Vinton County has three seniors of its own, the only two to letter last season were Ryan Chesser and L.B. Remy.
The player to watch will be Chesser, an Associated Press all-district Honorable Mention player last year. He put up 24 points in the previous contest against Athens and has seven of the TVC-Ohio’s 50 highest single-game point totals. The Bulldogs will need to keep him contained if they want a victory in this game.
ch203310@ohiou.edu
