With two games left in the season, Athens is on the outside looking in for the playoff picture.
The Bulldogs currently sit at 11th in their region, according to joeeitel.com. The top eight teams in each region make the playoffs.
With that, the Bulldogs will most likely need to win out to continue onto the playoffs. They will also need some help.
Athens will need one, if not more, of the teams ahead of them in the rankings to lose one, if not both, of the remaining games.
Granville, the seventh team in the region, would be Athens’ best bet, as it plays undefeated Licking Valley this week. Another team that has a chance to lose is St. Francis DeSales, which plays 7-1 Winton Woods.
Improving Running Game
For the most part in the beginning of the season, the Bulldogs weren't finding success running the ball. Most of the offensive success came through the passing game with Clay Davis throwing to his explosive targets — Treyce Albin and Robert Dickelman.
The last few games, however, the Bulldogs have relied more on their running game, with both Evan Adams and Mikel Casteel becoming a more important part of the offense.
The two have found success; Adams had 104 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter alone in his game against Meigs two weeks ago.
For the few weeks before that game, coach Ryan Adams, Evan’s dad, had been stressing the need for his offensive line to improve to open some holes for the run game.
In the last two games, the offensive line has improved.
“That’s a sign of Evan’s success running the football, it’s got to be a sign that your offensive line is performing better,” Ryan said.
As the run game has improved, the Bulldogs passing attack has fell off some, though.
Ryan said he is looking for his team to take steps to improve as a team.
“I’m not looking for our best game,” he said. “I’m looking for signs of improvement.”
Different practice environment
Most days, Athens will practice on the field they play on Friday nights. When the Bulldogs have to prepare for a road game on a non-turf field, however, they will practice on what they call “The Pit.”
“The Pit” is a grass practice field that is also used as a parking lot on game nights, so the field isn’t perfect.
With the area receiving a lot of rain recently, the field has accumulated some puddles and mud.
At the end of practice last Wednesday, some Bulldog players lined up alongside one of these puddles. An Athens coach sprinted from one end of the line, and dove right into the puddle, to the cheers from his players watching.
“We need to loosen up a little bit,” Ryan said. “(We) got to try and get some enjoyment out of this along the way.”
