The ball soared toward the end zone landed in Treyce Albin’s hands.
Any other week, this could be the scene of a Bulldog touchdown.
This week, however, it ended in a touchback.
Albin had made a over-the-shoulder interception at the back of the endzone.
The interception was one of the four turnovers the Bulldogs forced in their 27-0 win over Watkins Memorial on Friday night.
A week after losing three fumbles to Canal Winchester, the Bulldogs forced four turnovers and only lost one.
The two interceptions the Bulldogs had, the other coming from Logan Maxfield, were in key spots. Watkins Memorial was moving down the field and on the verge of scoring.
Maxfield stepped in front of a pass when Watkins Memorial was in the redzone. Albin had his man beat by a step in the endzone to secure his interception.
“It helped bail us out of some tough spots,” coach Ryan Adams said. “In a game like this in the first half if they could have put a score on the board and got a little momentum on their side it could have created bigger problems for us.”
The Bulldogs were able to get to the Watkins Memorial quarterback, forcing bad throws.
The Bulldog defense all season has been able to swarm the ball carrier, not allowing the big play. There were no big plays Friday night, and they were able to get to the quarterback faster than they have all season.
In addition to the four turnovers forced, Athens also forced Watkins Memorial into multiple three-and-outs, allowing the defense to get off the field, something that the Bulldogs could not do last week against Canal Winchester.
The four turnovers and the shutout gives the Bulldogs confidence going into Tri-Valley Conference play. Also, it gave them a chance to give some of their key players, like allowing Albin, someone who normally plays the majority of the snaps, some time off.
“We’re trying to give both of them guys (Albin and Robert Dickelman) some rest so they can be more productive offensively,” Adams said.
