WELLSTON — All that could be heard was the thud of a football hitting hands and a roar from the Athens sideline.
That was the result of Treyce Albin blocking a Wellston extra point, leading to a 14-13 win for the Bulldogs on Friday night at C.H. Jones Field.
Wellston had scored on a 15-yard touchdown run, capping off a long drive. The extra point would have tied the game with 10:11 left.
Albin blocked the potential game-tying extra point, however, and the Bulldogs would hold on to win.
“We knew that every point mattered,” Albin said. “We knew that we needed a big stop, so obviously paid off in the end.”
The field goal block was something that the Bulldogs had gotten away from in recent weeks, but coach Ryan Adams decided to re-implement it at practice this week — on Wednesday.
And on the two field goals Wellston attempted Friday, both extra points, Adams thought his team could get a block. On the second, the Bulldogs did.
“I told (Albin), ‘cross your hands, man’ instead of having them apart,” Adams said. “And sure enough, he made a huge play.”
The blocked extra point wasn’t the only impact that Albin had on the game.
He missed last Friday’s game against Meigs, another one point win for the Bulldogs. It was obvious his presence was missed on the field.
On Friday, Albin allowed the Bulldogs to be more open offensively, and, while they didn’t score often, Wellston had to focus and contain the Bulldogs’ most explosive offensive weapon.
The Bulldog secondary had some struggles against Meigs, and, while Wellston runs a wing-T offense that keeps the ball on the ground, Albin’s presence in the secondary was felt.
“It’s really easy as a defensive back to stay committed to the pass — which is your job — and have to deal with some guy running down your throat,” Albin said.
Albin played the balance well, for the most part.
He also may have saved a touchdown before the end of the first half. Athens had a field goal blocked, and when it appeared that Wellston may return it for a touchdown, Albin seemed to fly across the field to make the tackle.
Aside from just the performance of Albin, and how close the game was, the Bulldogs took some steps in making the improvements Adams has been looking for his team to make.
Earlier this week, Adams said he didn’t need to see his team play its best game, but he wanted to see them put together improvements as a team.
He might have got what he wanted.
“The whole team — offensively, defensively and special teams, the whole nine yards — played with great effort tonight,” Adams said. “That’s what we expected them to do, that’s what we wanted them to do.”
