Atlanta 9th grade blanks Pitt

By Nick Miller

Atlanta got their second win in a row, bringing their district record to 1-0 as they defeated the Pittsburg Pirates 38-0 last week. 
In the first quarter, the Rabbits struck quickly when safety Cameron Carney came up with a big interception on third down after jumping over two receivers to bring down the ball. After a rough series on offense, the Rabbit defense came back on the field where J.J. Fields came up with an interception and returned it to the 25.  
The Rabbits offense scored on the first play when Max Ebarb handed off to Drae Nelson, who then pitched the ball to Cade Wood on a reverse and he ran 25 yards for the touchdown. Romero Williams took the handoff and punched in the 2-point conversion making it 8-0.  
To start the second quarter the Rabbit defense shut down the Pirates again when they stopped them on fourth down. The Atlanta offense marched down the field and ended the drive with Ebarb running into the endzone from four yards out to score the Rabbits’ second touchdown. After a failed 2-point conversion, the Rabbs kicked off and once again stoned Pittsburg. 
After big stops by Jacobi Dickerson, Cade Fant and Terrence Thomas the Pirates dropped back and threw a bomb that was once again intercepted by Fields who broke a tackle and accelerated down the sideline for a 62-yard touchdown. 
Ebarb then rolled out and hit Fant on the 2-point conversion making the score 22-0. The Rabbits kicked off again and stopped the Pirates four plays in a row to get the ball back. Williams, Jared Cowgill, Thomas Steward and Marquavious White all made tackles for a loss on the drive. 
The Rabbits got the ball back on the 19-yard line and immediately scored when Ebarb threw a swing pass out to Nelson who ran 19 yards for the touchdown. Williams ran in the 2-point conversion making the score 30-0 to end the half.  The Rabbits got the ball to start the second half and after several big catches and runs by Wood, the Rabbits were stopped bringing the defense back on the field at the 20. Pittsburg’s quarterback dropped back to pass and threw the ball across the middle where Fant jumped up and intercepted the ball and returned it all the way to the endzone for a Rabbit touchdown. On the 2-point conversion Ebarb rolled out and launched a pass to the back corner of the endzone where Terrance Thomas jumped up to make a one handed catch over his shoulder to bring the score to 38-0. 
During the fourth quarter, Pittsburg ate a lot of the clock, slowing moving the ball down the field. Degregory King stepped up and made two big hits in the backfield and on third down Jay Joslin, Connor Samples and Trayvon Powell stopped the Pirates at the line of scrimmage. 
On fourth down, Pittsburg ran a draw and after a big hit by Wood caused a fumble, Cowgill recovered the ball and the Rabbits took over with three minutes left to play. On the final drive, Reece Utley, Marques Banks and Hunter Clark all came up with big runs, but the clock ran out before the Rabbs could score again. The final score was Atlanta 38, Pittsburg 0.