“The game was over before halftime” is cliché and has been said to describe many games in every known sport created by man. Although overused, no better way could recount the Athens Bulldogs’ (5-0) 52-0 victory over the Vinton County Vikings (0-5).
Athens came out of the gate hot, and it took the Bulldogs only three minutes to get on the scoreboard.
A pass from junior quarterback Briar Thomas to sophomore wide receiver Tyriq Cunningham gave the Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead with nine minutes remaining in the first. Athens attempted to score a two-point conversion but failed to convert. This was a strategy Bulldogs head coach Nathan White was forced to do for the evening after kicker Griffin Porter was hurt.
“Griffin dinged himself up a little bit yesterday, and this was kind of a last-minute decision,” White said. “It’s not something I really wanted to do … but our kids did a good job.”
Every time the Bulldogs kicked, Porter could barely get the ball in the air. For this game in particular, Athens didn’t necessarily need him to kick PATs efficiently.
After the Vikings failed to reach a first down, the Bulldogs took over midway through the first quarter and further tallied up more points. Senior running back David Sharp scored with four minutes and seven seconds left, plus a successful two-point conversion, making the score 14-0 Athens.
If that wasn’t enough, the Bulldogs would score one more touchdown before the beginning of the second quarter. A pass from Thomas to junior wide receiver Weston Wheatley made it 22-0 Athens, adding on a second successful two-point conversion after the play with two minutes and one second remaining.
From start to finish, the Vikings had zero room to get by the Bulldogs’ smothering defense. Now and then there were spurts of excellence from players like junior quarterback Jase Moore and freshman wide receiver Dom Eli.
However, none of those plays were enough to even get close to kicking a field goal, let alone scoring a touchdown. A pass to sophomore wide receiver Liam Kline made it 28-0 Athens with a no-good two-point conversion with nine minutes and 24 seconds left in the second.
After sacking Moore twice in a row, the Bulldogs regained control and didn’t take long to score again. Not one of the Vikings could catch up to Sharp as he ran in for the long touchdown with four minutes and 46 seconds left. A successful two-point conversion tallied up the score to 36-0 Athens.
Sharp didn’t rest just yet as he recovered a fumble by Vinton County. The Bulldogs were quick to capitalize on another one of the Vikings’ mistakes. Sharp yet again was the man Athens’ offense was primarily focused on, as he carried the ball into the endzone with three minutes and 19 seconds left.
Sophomore wide receiver Luke Pero managed to break free of Vinton County’s defense and completed the two-point conversion, making the score 44-0 Athens. Even with two offside calls on the Bulldogs, the Vikings couldn’t go anywhere. An intercepted pass by Taylor made it even worse for the home team.
Taylor ran it in for the touchdown with one minute and five seconds left before halftime, and Athens’ final attempt at a two-point conversion was a success. The score at half would be the final, 52-0 in favor of Athens.
After two incredible performances from two enthusiastic and well-orchestrated marching bands, the second half of the contest was condensed to only 13 minutes of playing time. White sent in most of his JV squad to get more experience.
“Throughout the week, they get less reps than our varsity guys,” White said. “We really work hard to teach them the same scheme and give them as many reps as we can, but when they get a chance to go play on Friday night, they get in and enjoy it.”
The Bulldogs are on the road again next Saturday as they face the Warren Warriors in Vincent, Ohio. Meanwhile, the Vikings travel to Alexander to compete against the Spartans next Friday.
