The Spartan defense knew it would be tested to start the season.
After all, opening the season against rival Athens, who has scored a combined 161 points in the last four games against Alexander, meant that the defense would be tasked with having to slow down an explosive offense.
It looked like the Spartans were in for more of the same at the end of the first half, giving up 20 points to the Bulldogs. Those points didn’t come from long, meticulous drives down the field either. Athens just looked to hit on the big plays and found it on multiple occasions.
Coach Earich Dean knew something had to change if the Spartans had a chance to make a comeback, so he attacked from the source of the Bulldogs’ oft-potent offense: Quarterback Joey Moore.
“We were able to put more pressure on [Moore],” Dean said. “With Logan Neal blitzing and keeping him contained in the pocket, the defense played better in the second half.”
Neal is one of the six seniors on the team this season and was someone who had to step up as a defensive leader for the Spartans. Alexander graduated 13 seniors last year, including Kaleb Easley, who was the team’s leading tackler in back-to-back seasons, as well as a former Tri-Valley Conference-Ohio Defensive MVP.
Losing that kind of production meant someone had to fill those shoes, and Neal seems to have taken that spot.
Even before the second half, Logan Neal was looking to cement himself as Alexander’s defensive leader, coming up with a fumble recovery and a massive hit on Moore in the first quarter that ended a Bulldog drive.
When Dean changed up the defensive attack heading into the third quarter, Neal providing heavy pressure on Moore was one of the focal points that helped keep Athens scoreless in the second half.
The increased pressure up front doesn’t mean anything for Alexander if the Athens’ receivers continue to get open downfield and break away from the defensive backs as they did in the first half.
Dean knew the secondary could be a weakness heading into the season. Many of Alexander graduates last season came from the secondary, meaning they had many new starters having to cover the more experienced Bulldog receivers. The lack of experience combined with the lack of scrimmages and practice time in the summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic really hurt the new starting defensive backs more than other positions.
Knowing this, Dean just needed his secondary to play tighter coverage in the second half. And they stepped up.
With 4:18 left in the third quarter, Athens had the ball and still led 20-7. Moore was looking for what had worked all through the first half: a deep ball to one of his streaking receivers downfield.
Moore looked to have found his man, but a big breakup from junior Cole Holland prevented a potential Athens touchdown and kept hope alive for the Spartans.
In the second half, that’s what Alexander’s defense provided: hope.
Not only hope that the Spartans could come back and win this game, but hope in providing stable play throughout the season, especially as the offense finds its footing.
Alexander’s offense struggled in the first half, which was to be expected after it graduated their starting quarterback, running back and top four receivers from a year ago. The play improved in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to get the win over the Bulldogs and the Spartans still have unanswered questions on that side of the ball.
The defense meanwhile, held its own with one of the most high powered offenses in the conference and gave Dean hope heading into their next game.
“There are lots of new starters this year and they handled pretty well,” Dean said. “I’m proud of our kids, they’ve come a long way.”
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