BIDWELL — Clay Davis took the snap and dropped back. He stepped up and delivered a ball deep over the middle to Treyce Albin, who then outraced his defenders for a 83-yard touchdown.
That score put Athens up 26-0 en route to a 39-7 win over River Valley on Friday night.
At the beginning of the season, the Bulldogs had multiple plays just like the Davis to Albin touchdown. Over the last few weeks, though, the Bulldogs have not found much success in the vertical passing game.
The Bulldogs' offense had been finding more short passes, but were not scoring as much as they were early on.
Friday, when Davis was able to connect on the deep ball, the offense found some scoring success. Davis had connected with Albin earlier in the game for a touchdown, going 27 yards on a vertical pass. Albin finished the game with three touchdowns.
The two receiving touchdowns Friday gives Albin seven on the season. With the Bulldogs going away from the deep pass over the last few weeks, Albin did not have a chance to use his speed to create the long touchdowns.
“It’s always good to see some of the things we saw earlier in the season come together here tonight before we go into the big game next week,” Adams said.
Whether the deep ball or passing in general, Adams saw something in the offense that had been missing since the season's first few games.
“(Davis) and (Albin's) hookups — it’s good to see them come together the week before a big game,” coach Ryan Adams said.
That big game is Nelsonville-York. The two teams will play for the Tri-Valley Conference Ohio division title next Friday.
Being able to put a lot of points on the board will be key for Athens against Nelsonville-York, who have scored at least 21 points in every game this season.
The Bulldogs will not only need the vertical passing game to have success against the Buckeyes, but they must play a complete offensive game. Adams had been looking for his team to play that complete game over the past few weeks.
“I think they were close,” he said. “Certainly proud of their effort — they took care of business.”
