Rabbs topple Hawks with 14-7 district victory

By Tim Emmons
temmons@casscountynow.com

Atlanta and Pleasant Grove both entered last Friday’s contest in need of a district victory.
The winner of the game would get a foot up on the other in one of the toughest districts in the state.
The battle wasn’t pretty for either team, but Atlanta came out on the winning end with a 14-7 decision.

First Quarter
Both teams ate up tons of minutes off the clock as PG ‘s opening drive was a 10-play drive which ended with  a punt at the 7:03 mark.
Atlanta took just a little over six minutes off the clock with a 17-play drive which ended with a punt at the 1:03 mark.
On the drive Kelton Young recorded 23 yards rushing and Layton Henson garnered 26 yards which could have been more if not for a penalty after a huge gain on the ground.
The quarter ended with the score knotted at 0-0.

Second Quarter
The Hawks opened the second quarter on the move, but after a big loss on a snap that went over the head of the QB; the Hawks had to punt the ball away with 8:03 left in the half.
The Rabbits had trouble moving the ball as well, and after six plays they had to punt the ball back to PG.
The Hawks blocked the punt and set up shop at the Rabbit 15.
Four plays later, including two failed attempts from the 1-yard line, and PG was on the board first.
After the PAT the Hawks were up 7-0 with 3:30 left in the second stanza.
On Atlanta’s next drive Young started out with an 11-yard gain but three plays later the Rabbits were in punt formation.
Andrew Samples took the snap and dashed 16 yards for the first down.
Atlanta enjoyed nice runs from both Henson and Young but penalties ended any hopes of the Rabbs getting into the endzone as the half ended with PG up 7-0.

Third Quarter
Atlanta opened the second half on a mission to score.
Nick Cooper came in and picked up 36 yards on five carries, Henson added a run of nine and Jawan King posted 18 yards on the ground.
Cooper finished off the 12-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown run.
Zee Barfoot’s PAT was successful and the score was tied 7-7 with 7:00 left in the third frame.
The next play nearly sucked the momentum the Rabbs had going out of the stadium.
A nice kickoff return put PG at the Rabbit 13, but a stout defensive stand forced the Hawks to attempt a field goal from 32 yards.
On the snap the Rabbits broke though and blocked the attempt with 5:34 left on the clock.
A big run by King and a personal foul against PG put the Rabbs at the Hawk 34.
Four plays later Henson dashed across the goal line on a 12-yard scramble for a touchdown.
The PAT put the score at 14-7 with 3:18 left in the third.
The Hawks punted the ball away five plays later, and the clock ran out with the Rabbits facing third-and-short.

Fourth Quarter
Penalties and a large sack eventually forced the Rabbits to punt with 10:22 left in the game.
The Hawks went four-and-out on their next drive, and Atlanta went on a running spree which covered 24 yards in seven plays, but after an incomplete pass the Rabbs were back in punt formation.
A penalty on PG extended Atlanta’s drive, but the Rabbs would turn the ball over a few minutes later at the 3:20 mark.
PG, in desperation mode, picked up a huge gain through the air on third-and-long. 
Two plays later a bad snap fumble put them back at the Rabbit 40 before pressure from the Rabbit defense forced an errant throw by PG’s QB which picked off by an Atlanta defender with 1:08 left in the contest.
Three kneels later and the contest was over.
Atlanta (1-1) travels to Gladewater (1-1) this Friday night with game time set for 7:30 p.m.