Correction appended.
Standing at the top of the hill on the north end of Warren Memorial Stadium, the Athens Bulldogs could feel the anticipation of another season reaching its peak.
As the Bulldogs ran down the hill out onto the field and then waited for the home Warren Warriors to be announced, the wait was almost over.
And then, as the opening kickoff sailed through the air, the Bulldogs seemed to find some luck.
A hard hit to the Warren kick returner caused a fumble, but Warren recovered.
Then, it seemed Athens' good fortunes from the opening play might be reversed on Warren's opening play from scrimmage. A 22-yard run up the middle put Warren in good position to take an early lead. The Bulldogs would force a punt, however.
On the Bulldogs' second play, Clay Davis threw an 81-yard touchdown pass to Treyce Albin. This would put Athens on its way to a 47-7 win Friday night.
Davis, making his first varsity start, would go on to throw four touchdowns, all in the first half.
“(Davis) showed good leadership out there orchestrating the offense and getting the ball to the weapons we have out there,” coach Ryan Adams said.
The Athens defense forced three turnovers in the first half, recovering two fumbles and intercepting a pass, which was returned for a touchdown.
The defense forced multiple three-and-outs, which allowed the offense to stay in a rhythm, with Davis tossing one of his touchdowns on the Bulldogs' first play of the drive after the turnover.
The quick strikes by the Athens offense allowed it to build a big lead early.
“We talked about getting momentum as fast as we could,” Adams said.
Going into a new season, there are always some questions about the team. Adams was not sure how physical his team would be.
“I had some question marks left in my mind,” he said. “I think they answered a lot of those questions with how they played.”
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated which team recovered the fumble from the opening kickoff. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
