The Athens Bulldogs struggled in their home opener against Zanesville, losing 55-0.
In an attempt to get back to .500, the Athens Bulldogs (0-2) struggled in their home opener against the Zanesville Blue Devils.
The Bulldogs couldn’t find their rhythm offensively all night, totaling just 141 yards of offense and failing to put any points on the board during the 55-0 blowout loss at R. Basil Rutter Field.
The Bulldogs are just a year removed from highly profiled quarterback Joe Burrows and a state championship loss. Yet Saturday, Athens looked anything but like a championship-bound team.
After an hour-long lightning delay and a solid first possession to start the game, Athens quarterback Brendan Sano overthrew an open receiver on a play that could've been a touchdown — a symbol of the Bulldogs' difficult night. Sano was pressured the entire game by the Zanesville defensive line and had only 65 yards passing for the evening.
To add to the miscues, running back Zacciah Saltzman fumbled the ball just shy of the red zone, turning the ball over to the Blue Devils and letting Zanesville (2-0) capitalize on Athen's early mistakes.
The Blue Devils scored touchdowns on every drive, including when quarterback Derek Grandstaff connected with junior wide receiver Alessio Amato on 27- and 71-yard first quarter touchdowns. Grandstaff also had a seven-yard touchdown run.
After the trio of touchdowns early, Zanesville took advantage of Athens' lack of offense by utilizing running back Deaunte Goins.
Goins had a pair of rushing scores measuring 73 yards and 76 yards before the half to give the Blue Devils a 35-0 lead into the break. Goins finished with four carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Overall the Blue Devils had 380 yards of offense in the first half, 252 of which came on the ground.
To start the second half, Grandstaff connected on a screen pass to running back Leondre Crosby, who scampered 65 yards to set up the final scoring drive of the night for the first-team offense.
Athens’ defensive unit struggled as well, as the Bulldogs fell to 0-2 for the first time in more than two seasons.
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