NTL FOOTBALL: ATHENS RIDES FAST START, FIVE TDs BY DAVIDSON TO 56-22 WIN OVER CANTON (22 PHOTOS) (2025-09-05)
BY TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportATHENS — Athens could not have gotten off to a better start, scoring three touchdowns in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the game on its way to a 56-22 shellacking of Canton here Friday night in NTL Large School football action at Alumni Stadium.
"It was a good team effort in the first quarter," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley.
"We played great defense. We had the turnover on defense for a touchdown, the kids were in the right spots and were being very aggressive.
"We kept our nose clean and out of the penalties in the first quarter, and were able to move the ball with some explosive plays," noted Bradley.
"We also made some plays on some things we've been working on, so that's encouraging," he added.
On the third play from scrimmage, Canton had a first down at its own 36, but an errant pitch resulted in Athens junior Connor Davidson, who accounts for five TDs in the win, scooping up a loose ball and racing 21 yards for a score just 50 seconds into the contest.
Junior Zach Fisher split the up rights for the first of his eight PAT kicks on the night to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.
After a 33-yard return by Bailey Gardner, Canton started its next possession at its own 48. On fourth-and-one, however, Davidson blitzed into the backfield and dumped Rylan Wesneski for a 6-yard loss to the Athens 49 for a turnover on downs.
After runs of 12 yards by junior Brendan Cooke, and 38 yards by Davidson moved the ball to the Canton 1, Cooke bulled in for the score with 7:36 remaining in the first quarter. Fisher's kick made it 14-0.
Three plays later, Athens senior Sean Peters picked off an Owen Moore pass at midfield, and returned it 38 yards to the Warrior 12.
On the first play, Davidson found senior James Friend open in the front corner of the end zone with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter. Fisher's PAT kick made it 21-0.
After the Wildcats forced a three-and-out, Athens took over at its 47.
Athens marched 53 yards on six plays, highlighted by runs of 12 yards by Cooke, and 24 yards by Davidson, to up its lead to 28.
Senior Karson Sipley capped the drive with an 11-yard TD run with 1:32 remaining in the first quarter.
The Warriors, thanks to a pair of critical penalties against the Wildcats, put together a 12-play, 70-yard drive to get on the scoreboard.
After three plays, Canton punted the ball away on fourth-and-14, but a roughing-the-punter gave the Warriors new life.
Moments later, a roughing-the-passer call against the Wildcats on third-and-11 gave Canton another first down.
The rest of the drive was more conventional with Wes Moore connecting with Wesneski on a 19-yard TD pass to the Athens 21. Three plays later, on third-and-8, Monte Whitehead boxed out an Athens defender in the end zone for a 19-yard TD catch from Moore.
Alexis McRoberts' PAT kick closed the gap to 28-7 with 8:35 remaining in the half.
Just 20 seconds later, the Wildcats were back in the end zone. On the first play of Athens' ensuing possession, Davidson found Gage Marmor open in the flats, and he bounced off a pair of would-be-tacklers, then outraced the defense on a 65-yard scoring play. Fisher's PAT kick made it 35-7 with 8:15 remaining in the half.
After forcing Canton into another punt, Davidson nearly added a TD on special teams, but his punt return to the house was called back for an illegal block.
Three plays later, on fourth-and-10 at the Canton 40, Davidson hooked up with Friend for 13 yards, then found Lucas Persun for 8 yards.
Davidson finished off the drive with an 18-yard TD pass to a leaping Friend in the back of the end zone with 3:06 remaining in the first half. Fisher's PAT kick made it 42-7.
Two plays after the ensuing kickoff, Athens' Brady Flynn pounced on a botched snap at the Canton 23. Three plays later, Davidson scampered in from 15 yards out.
Fisher's PAT kick made it 49-7 with 1:08 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats amassed 259 yards of total offense in the first half — 139 on the ground and 120 through the air, while the Warriors were limited to 52 yards, including 18 rushing yards on 19 carries.
"The kids have looked good on defense, and did again tonight," said Bradley.
"Coach (Steve) Satterly is doing an awesome job," he added. "These kids are really buying into what he's teaching them, and playing really well on defense right now — storming to the football and making some plays."
The only negative for the Wildcats were eight penalties for 66 yards in the first half, and 10 for 92 yards in the contest.
"We don't want the penalties, but the kids are not letting the penalties get them down and stop the drives," said Bradley. "They are working through them and moving on to the next play, and just keep fighting on."
The Wildcats opened the second half with a nine-play, 67-yard drive to finish off its scoring. Sipley carried the ball seven times for 46 yards, including 7-yard TD run with 5:37 left in the third quarter, and Davidson added runs of 13 and 14 yards in the drive.
Canton added a pair of fourth-quarter TDs — a 40-yard pass from Moore to Whitehead, and a 4-yard run by Moore — to provide the final margin.
Connor Davidson completed 7 of 9 passes for 120 yards and three TDs — all in the first half. Freshman Shea Davidson completed 5 of 10 passes for 53 yards and one interception in the second half.
Friend led Athens receivers with three receptions for 44 yards and two TDs, and Cy Yeager had two catches for 36 yards.
Davidson also led the Athens ground game, which accounted for 219 yards on 22 carries, with 104 yards and one TD on five carries, while Sipley had 57 yards and two TDs on eight carries, and Cooke chipped in with 51 yards and one TD on seven carries.
Moore completed 5 of 13 passes for 86 yards and two TDs, with one interception. Whitehead led Canton with three catches for 62 yards and one TD.
Moore also led the Warriors with 22 yards and one TD on nine carries. Canton finished the game with 42 rushing yards on 29 carries.
Athens, now 3-0, hosts Class AA defending state champion Troy (2-1) Friday. Troy won the match-up 55-0 last year, and 62-6 in 2023.
"Troy is an animal we need to conquer," said Bradley. "You can't do much better than to win your last game of the season, and that's what they did last season. It's everybody's goal, and they did it. 16-0 is a fantastic year, but this is a new year.
"We haven't stood up to them in the last couple years," he noted. "(Troy) could have scored 100 points the last two years, they really could have.
"Our kids have done the work," added Bradley. "Now, they get to go out and put it to work, and show what they can do."
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens junior Brendan Cooke. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens junior Connor Davidson. ... PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
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