By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens scored on its first six possessions, and piled up 507 yards in total offense in a 48-21 romp over Towanda here Thursday night in NTL Large School Football action.
Athens coach was concerned about playing on Thursday, but his team stepped up.
"We weren't quite sure what to think coming in tonight," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley. "There's a lot to prepare for, and a short week, it stinks, but they had to deal with the same thing.
"I was worried we were looking at a trap game because they have some really good athletes on that team, but our kids played a complete game today, they played really well," added Bradley.
Senior Connor Davidson had another standout game, accounting for five TDs, including four in the first half.
He rushed for 148 yards and three TDs on 21 carries to lead the Athens ground game, with senior Brendan Cooke added 79 yards on 14 carries.
Connor Davidson also threw for 193 yards and two TDs, completing 15 of 18 passes. He also threw one interception.
Sophomore Shea Davidson completed 6 of 9 passes for 77 yards, and two TDs.
Bradley saw improvement in the passing game this week.
"We've been struggling a little bit there (in the passing game)," he said. "We were working with Connor (Davidson) and Shea (Davidson) to make better decisions, and tonight they both had really good games throwing the football.
"It's definitely something to build on, and it makes us a lot tougher to play when we can run and throw it," added Bradley.
Junior Kade Rowe led the Wildcat receiving corps with nine receptions for 114 yards and two TDs.
"Kade (Rowe) is a really good wideout, he's a hammer," said Bradley. "I think he had the best hands on our team last year, and we graduated some really good receivers ... he's just a really good football player."
Senior Gage Marmor had three grabs for 74 yards and one TD for the Wildcats, while senior Lucas Persun had three receptions for 54 yards and one TD, Connor Davidson had two catches for 33 yards, and senior Dom Robbins added two catches for 17 yards.
The Wildcats opened the game with a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive, which featured a 31-yard run on a QB keeper by Connor Davidson, who capped the 5 1/2-minute possession with a 4-yard TD run. Senior Zach Fisher's PAT kick made it 7-0 with 6:25 remaining in the first quarter.
The Black Knights answered with a quick five-play, 69-yard scoring drive that only took 89 seconds. Reese Sluyter put the Knights on the board with a 1-yard QB sneak, and Brayden Spencer's PAT kick tied the game with 5:06 remaining in the first quarter.
The Wildcats had a quick response, driving 85 yards on six plays to take the lead for good. Cooke's 24-yard run early in the possession, set up Connor Davidson, who covered the last 48 yards on runs of 8, 11, and 29 yards for the score with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. Fisher's PAT kick made it 14-7.
Towanda punted after three plays, and the Wildcats needed just one play — a 53-yard scoring strike from Connor Davidson to Gage Marmor on the final play of the opening stanza. Fisher's PAT kick made it 21-7.
Following another Towanda punt, Athens drove 53 yards on eight plays with Shea Davidson at QB. He completed all three of his passes for 44 yards, including a 26-yard pass to his brother, and an 11-yard TD pass to Rowe with 6:58 remaining in the first half. Fisher's kick made it 28-7.
Towanda caught two breaks on its next possession, and cashed them in for a score. On third-and-21, Towanda QB Reese Sluyter scrambled toward the Athens sideline and was hit as he was throwing. One official blew his whistle for an incomplete pass, and another ruled it a fumble. After a brief meeting, the officiating crew ruled it an inadvertent whistle and gave Towanda third down again.
This time, Sluyter hit Evans for a 15-yard gain, and the Wildcats were flagged — one of 12 for 115 yards in the game — for roughing-the-quarterback. Two plays later, Sluyter hit Jazick Brown on a short pass across the middle, and shifty receiver made a pair of Athens tacklers miss for a 36-yard TD to close the gap to 28-14 with 2:54 left in the half.
With Connor Davidson back at QB, the Wildcats went into two-minute mode, driving 70 yards on six plays. Davidson hit senior Dom Robbins for gains 9 and 8 yards, and added a 15-yard run, before hitting Rowe for a 31-yard TD pass with 13 seconds remaining in the half. Fisher's PAT kick made it 35-14.
The Athens defense stopped Towanda on downs on its first possession of the second half, and the Wildcats took over at their own 39.
The Athens offense then put together its most sustained drive of the game, a 16-play, 61-yard drive, overcoming three penalties in the process, and taking seven minutes off the game clock.
The big plays in the drive were a 21-yard Connor Davidson pass to Marmor, and a 14-yard pass to senior Aiden Vanderpool, as well as a 15-yard scramble by Davidson, who was brought down the face mask to move the ball to the Towanda 2.
Three plays later, Connor Davidson scored on a 1-yard QB sneak to make it 41-14 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
Towanda's next two possessions ended with Athens interceptions — one by Connor Davidson and one by Persun. In between, Towanda's Brown picked off a Connor Davidson pass.
Athens finished off its scoring with a 42-yard TD pass from Shea Davidson to Lucas Persun with 4:15 remaining in the game.
Towanda's final score — a 2-yard TD run by Evans — came with 55 seconds left in the contest.
Athens improves to 4-1 on the season, and will host Wellsboro next Friday.
"We're coming into some NTL games now," said Bradley. Canton is playing well, and Wellsboro is a really good team, that has probably played a little better competition than us.
"We have to keep moving week to week and ramp up toward the end of the season, and, hopefully, we're playing really good football come the playoffs," added Bradley.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Connor Davidson. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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ATHENS 48, TOWANDA 21
TOW — 7- 7-0-7 = 21
ATH — 21-14-6-7 = 48
First Quarter
A- Connor Davidson 4 run (Zach Fisher kick), 6:25;
T- Reese Sluyter 1 run (Brayden Spencer kick), 5:06;
A- C.Davidson 29 run (Fisher kick), 1:56;
A- Gage Marmor 53 pass from C.Davidson, (Fisher kick), 0:00.
Second Quarter
A- Kade Rowe 11 pass from Shea Davidson, (Fisher kick), 6:58;
T- Jazick Brown 36 pass from Sluyter, (Spencer kick), 2:54;
A- Rowe 31 pass from C. Davidson, (Fisher kick), 0:13.
Third Quarter
A- C.Davidson 1 run (Kick blocked), 2:45.
Fourth Quarter
A- Lucas Persun 42 pass from Shea Davidson, (Fisher kick), 4:15.
T- Gage Evans 2 run (Spencer kick), 0:55.
ATHENS
Passing
C.Davidson 15-18-193-2-1; S. Davidson 6-9-77-2-0.
Rushing
C.Davidson 21-148-3; Cooke 14-79; Raupers 2-8; Butler 2-(-2).
Receiving
Rowe 9-114-2; Marmor 3-74-1, Persun 3-54-1; C.Davidson 2-33, Robbins 2-17; Vanderpool 1-14; Cooke 1-2.
INTs by: C. Davidson, Persun.
TOWANDA
Passing
Sluyter 7-11-99-1-2.
Rushing
Evans 12-107; Brown 7-83; Maynard 4-29; Sluyter 6-8-1.
Receiving
Brown 5-79-1; Evans 1-15; Maghamez 1-5.
INT by: Brown.
PENALTIES
Athens: 12-115; Towanda: 6-50.
