ATHENS ROLLS PAST COWANESQUE VALLEY, 48-0
By: Tim Birney | AthensWildcats.com | September 2, 2022 | Photo courtesy David Alliger
ATHENS — Senior Mason Lister threw four TD passes, and senior Caleb
Nichols ran for two to lead Athens to a 48-0 win over Cowanesque Valley
here Friday night in NTL football action at Alumni Stadium.
“We were better tonight, but we were far from perfect,” said Athens coach Jack Young.
Athens amassed 318 total yards — 120 passing and 198 rushing — in total offense, while holding CV to just 56 yards.
“We
worked on our spread running game this week, that was one of the things
we wanted to accomplish, and I think we did a pretty good job,” said
Young.
“We’re still trying to figure out what we can hang our hat
on offensively. We have a lot of weapons … we need to be patient and
figure out what we do best,” added Young.
Lister completed 11 of
his 16 pass attempts for 120 yards and four TDs, with senior Lucas
Horton hauling in four receptions for 61 yards, and two TDs, junior Josh
Martin pulling in four catches for 37 yards, and one TD, and sophomore
Xavier Watson adding three grabs for 22 yards, and one TD.
One of
the keys in the win, said Young, was giving Lister time to throw, a
luxury he was not afforded in the Week 1 loss to Executive Education
Academy.
“We had some breakdowns, but again pass protection is an
on-going process,” said Young. “We saw a big improvement on the
offensive line this week.
“We have some depth on the offensive line, so we’ve been moving people around to see what group fits best,” he added.
Nichols
led the Athens ground game with 96 yards and two TDs on seven carries,
and Keathley added 90 yards and one TD on four carries. In all, the
Wildcats had 198 rushing yards on 17 carries.
Cowanesque Valley lost nine yards on its first possession, and punted the ball away.
Athens’ first possession ended on downs at the CV 42, but the Indians gave the ball back on downs at their 45 moments later.
On
the next play, Nichols broke through the right side of the line, slid
to the sideline, and raced 46 yards to paydirt. Lister added the PAT
kick to make it 7-0 with 6:11 remaining in the first quarter.
“(Caleb)
is sneaky back there,” said Young. “He’s a little different than some
of the backs we’ve had. He’s slick hitting the holes, and does a nice
job.”
The Wildcats forced another CV punt on its next possession, and sophomore Kolsen Keathley returned it 35 yards to the Indian 21.
After
a penalty made it first-and-15, Lister and Horton hooked up on a
26-yard TD pass to make it 14-0 with 3:35 left in the first quarter.
Following another CV three-and-out, Athens took over at its own 49.
The
Wildcats lost nine yards on the first play of the possession, but
completions of 14 and 5 yards from Lister to Martin, sandwiched around a
27-yard run by Nichols moved the ball to the CV 14.
On the first
play of the second quarter, Lister dropped the ball over the defensive
line to Martin on a middle screen, and he weaved his way into the end
zone for a 14-yard TD completion. Lister’s PAT kick made it 21-0 with
11:52 remaining in the first half.
CV’s next possession ended on downs when a pass attempt on a fake punt fell incomplete, giving the Wildcats the ball at CV 38.
After
runs of 6 and 8 yards by Lister, Nichols ripped off a 24-yard TD run,
breaking a tackle at the 10 on his way to the end zone. Lister’s PAT
kick made it 28-0 with 8:29 left in the half.
On CV’s first play
of the ensuing possession, sophomore Tim Freeman was sacked and stripped
of the ball by Athens sophomore Caleb Nason. Senior Austin Malanoski
scooped up the fumble and rumbled 10 yards to the Indian 8.
On
Athens’ first play, Lister found Watson open in the end zone for an
8-yard TD connection. The PAT kick made it 35-0 with 8:08 remaining in
the half.
CV picked up its first three first downs of the game on
its ensuing possession, with Freeman and Fletcher Good alternating
carries from the Indian 39 to the Wildcat 16.
On second-and-4 at
the Athens 16, CV QB Graham Hess was sacked and stripped by Glen
Romberger, with Martin pouncing on the loose ball to end the drive.
With
the “mercy rule” in effect to start the second half, Athens chewed up
nearly half the third quarter with a seven-play scoring drive to up its
lead to 41-0.
The key plays in the drive were a 28-yard run by Keathley, an 11-yard scramble by Lister, a 12-yard pass from Lister to Horton.
The Wildcats capped the drive with a 16-yard TD pass Lister to Horton with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
After
another CV three-and-out, Keathley capped a penalty-filled possession
with a 48-yard TD run with 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
Lister’s PAT kick provided the final margin.
“Kolsen Keathley is a playmaker,” said Young.
The Indians had another three-and-out in its next possession, but got the ball back one play later thanks to an Athens fumble.
CV
picked up three first downs, including a 4-yard run by Carter Ackley on
fourth-and-4, and drove the ball to the Athens 10, before turning it
over on downs on the final play of the game.
Good led the CV
ground game with 28 yards on 11 carries, and Freeman added 22 yards on
12 carries. In all, the Indians rushed for 37 yards on 41 carries,
thanks partly to several QB sacks, which count as rushing yards.
Hess completed 3 of 9 passes for 19 yards, with Ackley hauling in two for 8 yards, and Good grabbing one for 11 yards.
Athens, now 1-1, travels to Wyalusing (1-1) Friday, while CV (0-2) hosts Montgomery (0-2) Friday.
About the Author |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
||
Archives
