ATHENS BLANKED BY DANVILLE IN DISTRICT 4 SEMIFINALS
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | October 31, 2020 | Photo courtesy Matt Patton
DANVILLE — K.J. Riley threw a 61-yard TD pass on the first play from
scrimmage, and added four more first-half TD throws to lead Danville to a
37-0 lead at the intermission en route to a 43-0 win over Athens here
Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the District 4, Class AAA
playoffs.
“We really didn’t have any answers. We wanted to come
in and mix up some coverages but we had two breakdowns in coverage on
their first two touchdowns, ” said Athens coach Jack Young. “When that
happens it puts you on your heels and gives you a little doubt in your
mind, takes away your confidence and it’s all uphill from there.
“We
knew it was important for us to start well and first play of the game
giving up a touchdown on a coverage breakdown, it put us in a bad place
and it was a tough day,” added Yount.
Riley completed 12 of 19
passes for 219 yards — all in the first half, with Carson Persing
hauling in four for 192 yards and two TDs, and Jagger Dressler adding
five catches for 79 yards and one TD.
“It was nothing that we
didn’t see on film. They did the same thing to their previous opponents
that they did to us today and when you don’t put pressure on the
quarterback and contain him, it’s a struggle,” said Young. “That’s a
really good football team and it’s a different time of the year when you
get to the playoffs.”
Riley’s first TD was a 61-yard strike to a
wide-open Carson Persing on a crossing route just 19 seconds into the
game. Athens blocked the PAT kick, but still trailed 6-0.
Athens’
first play from scrimmage had the exact opposite result as sophomore QB
Mason Lister was stripped of the ball while rolling out to pass, and
the Ironmen recovered at the Wildcat 16.
The Athens defense held,
and Riley split the up rights with a 31-yard field to give Danville a
9-0 lead just 77 seconds into the game.
Four of the next five Wildcat possessions ended with a punt, and the other with an interception.
Riley
threw two more TD passes in the second quarter — a 20-yarder to Carson
Persing with 5 minutes remaining, and a 5-yarder to Dressler with 3:49
remaining — to make it 23-0.
Riley added a 5-yard TD pass to
Hayden Winn with 10:30 remaining in the first half, and an 8-yard TD to
Ian Persing just 62 seconds later to give the Ironmen a 37-0 lead.
With the clock running in the second half due to the so-called “mercy rule,” Athens ran 26 offensive plays to Danville’s eight.
The
Ironmen, however, blocked two punts in the third quarter, the second of
which was scooped and returned 10 yards by C.J. Outt with 2:09 left in
the third quarter for the only points of the second half.
Sophomore
Caleb NIchols led Athens with 45 rushing yards on eight carries, while
junior Shayne Reid had 40 yards on eight carries, and sophomore Chris
Bathgate added 24 yards on two carries.
Lister completed 7 of 15
passes for 33 yards, with one interception. Junior Karter Rude led the
Wildcats with four receptions for 32 yards.
Athens ends the season at 5-2, and will not be looking to play another game.
“We
weren’t supposed to be here,” said Young. “A lot of people didn’t think
we’d even play a season this year, never mind playoffs, so for our kids
to get better each week and finish 5-1 and come play a really good
football team, it was a special time for us.
“We didn’t want it
to end like it did today, but I’m super proud of these kids for working
hard and we only have seven seniors, so the future is bright for us,”
added Young.
FOR MORE PHOTOS, visit Valley Sports Report.
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