By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
ATHENS — Sophomore QB Connor Davidson rushed for four TDs, and threw for another to lead Athens in a 44-6 romp over Northwest Area here Friday night in NTL football action at Alumni Stadium.
The Wildcats even their record at 1-1 after a tough loss to South Williamsport in Week 1. Athens coach Shawn Bradley was glad to see his young team respond to the loss.
“It could have gone badly after last week,” he said. “We were in a game we thought we could have won, but came up short.
“The kids came back, and worked hard this week; they didn’t hang their heads.
“We just needed to get better, and we did,” Bradley added.
Bradley is hoping his young charges will continue to work hard.
“I sure hope we can carry this through the season,” he said. “That’s the key, the harder we work, the more football games we’re going to win.
“The biggest thing today was everyone got to play,” he noted. “Every kid on the sideline got in the game, and they all contributed to the win; that what we win.
“If we can get every kid in every game, we’re going to be in pretty good shape at the end of the season,” added Bradley.
Davidson, who rushed for 179 yards on 12 carries, had scoring runs of 23, 1, 5, and 69 yards in the win. He also completed 5 of 9 passes for 89 yards.
Northwest Area opened the game with an 11-yard run by Taylor Dietz for a first down on the game’s first play from scrimmage, but a penalty on third-and-four stalled the drive and the Rangers punted.
The Wildcats’ first possession was a dud, and ended with a punt on fourth-and-15. However, sophomore Zac Fisher’s punt was mishandled, and junior Karson Sipley pounced on the muffed punt at the Rangers’ 23.
Davidson needed just one play as he followed a lead blocker up the middle, cut toward the visitor’s sidelines and sprinted to paydirt with 8:11 remaining in the first quarter. Fisher’s PAT kick made it 7-0.
The Rangers picked up another first down on the ensuing possession on an 11-yard pass from Jace McCoy to Noah Arnett, but the drive fizzled and they were forced to punt again.
The Wildcats needed just three plays to cover 67 yards after the punt, with junior tailback Eli Chapman ripping off a 27-yard run on a counter play, Davidson turning an errant shotgun snap into a 24-yard completion to junior Connor Garrison, then finding sophomore Lucas Persun on a screen play for a 16-yard TD. Fisher’s PAT kick made it 14-0 with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter.
On Northwest’s next possession, a holding call turned a third-and-3 into a third-and-13, and an incompletion led to another punt.
The Wildcats put together another scoring drive, but had to overcome back-to-back penalties on their first two plays that negated first-down runs by Davidson.
In a first-and-21 hole after the penalties, Davidson scrambled for 21 yards to set up a second-and-inches situation, and Persun picked up 4 yards to set Athens up in a first-and-10 at the Northwest 24.
Davidson picked up 17 yards to the Rangers’ 7 on the final play of the first quarter, then scored on a 1-yard run with 11:37 remaining in the half. Fisher’s kick made it 21-0.
On the ensuing kick-off, Garrison jarred the ball loose from the Northwest Area return man, and senior Ethan Elliott pounced on the loose ball at the Ranger 11.
After a holding call erased a Davidson TD run, he connected with junior Ryan Cook on an 11-yard completion, then scored on a 5-yard TD run with 10:40 remaining in the first half. Fisher’s kick made it 28-0.
Northwest put together its best possession of the first half, taking the ensuing kickoff and marching to the Athens 31, chewing up more than 6 1/2 minutes of the game clock in the process, before turning the ball over on downs at the Wildcats 29.
After a 12-yard run by Persun moved the ball to the 41, Athens was hit with another holding call and faced a third-and-20 at its 31.
Northwest called a timeout in hopes of getting the ball back, but Davidson made them pay on the next play, scrambling out of the pocket, breaking a pair of tackles, and racing 69 yards for a score with 2:31 remaining in the half. Fisher’s fifth PAT kick of the game made it 35-0.
The Rangers used a nice return and a 12-yard pass from McCoy to Arnett to move the ball into Wildcat territory, but two plays later sophomore Brendan Cooke picked off a McCoy pass to end the threat.
The Wildcats opened the second half with a five-play scoring drive that included a 23-yard pass from Davidson to Garrison, and a 29-yard run by Davidson. It was capped by a 2-yard run by Cooke to make it 41-0 with 7:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Two plays after the ensuing kick-off, junior Brendan Comstock tipped a McCoy pass, and senior Keegan Congdon picked it off at the Northwest 18.
Three plays resulted in a loss of 8 yards for the Wildcats, but Fisher extended the lead with a 44-yard field goal — the first of his career — to push the Athens lead to 44-0.
Northwest avoided the shutout on a 5-yard run by McCoy early in the fourth quarter.
Athens finished the game with 241 rushing yards on 24 carries, while Northwest was limited to 45 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Chapman, who left the game with an apparent ankle injury, had 27 yards on two carries, and Persun added 17 yards and one TD on three carries.
Garrison led Athens with two receptions for 47 yards.
Davidson led Athens with eight tackles, including three solo stops, while Sipley (three solos) had seven tackles, Comstock had seven tackles (two solos), a forced fumble and two pass break-ups, and Peter Jones (four solos) and Cooke (one solo) each had six tackles.
McCoy completed 17 of 29 passes for 211 yards, but was intercepted twice. Arnett had six receptions for 79 yards, and Loegan Diltz had six catches for 77 yards to lead the Rangers.
Athens, now 1-1, returns to action next Saturday at Canton. Game time is 1 p.m.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore Brendan Cooke. IN TOP PHOTO: Athens sophomore Connor Davidson. … PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
