Bulldogs’ sophomore Alex Pero punches in a touchdown against Trimble on Aug. 12 at Joe Burrow Stadium at Athens High School

The night sky takes prominence as Athens and Trimble kick off their 2022 season with a scrimmage on Aug. 12.

Bulldogs’ sophomore Alex Pero punches in a touchdown against Trimble on Aug. 12 at Joe Burrow Stadium at Athens High School

The night sky takes prominence as Athens and Trimble kick off their 2022 season with a scrimmage on Aug. 12.

The youth movement was in full display last Friday night over at Joe Burrow Stadium.

The Bulldogs kicked off the unofficial start to the 2022 season with a scrimmage against Trimble dominated by defense… at least varsity did.

Given the structure of the scrimmage, the varsity teams played the first half before giving way to the JV for the second. Varsity’s half came to an end with a 7-7 tie, but it was far more action packed than what the scoreboard will lead you to believe.

“They did a good job. Bend but don’t break is our philosophy and I thought our effort and physicality was really pretty good,” Head Coach Nathan White said to The Messenger after the contest. “It’s always hard to judge it on feeling after the game. You got to go put on the tape and sometimes it’s the total opposite of what it feels. We’ll go watch it and see what it looked like, but I thought overall the effort and physicality was good on defense.”

Both teams seemed to be driving pretty smoothly during the first half, each having extended drives down the field before ultimately faltering. The difference being in how the drives were halted.

The Bulldogs seemed to be getting gashed down the field early before forcing a Tomcat fumble down near the red zone to flip the field. They followed that up with a taste of the youth movement we’ve been expecting to see.

Athens’ offense relied heavily on the legs of Alex Pero and Marcus Stevers to begin the night. Both were able to shine, breaking out multiple long gains against a stout Trimble defensive unit. It really does look as if they could become important pieces to what the Bulldogs want to accomplish.

The elders still rule ultimately, however. The senior combination of Landon Wheatley and Levi Neal looked ready to roll as both seemed comfortable and poised in their limited time. After the first fumble, the quarterback was able to hit Neal on a 50+ yard catch and run that set them comfortably in Tomcat territory.

“If we’re going to be successful, they better have some big plays. Those are two of our guys that we need to make big plays for us,” White said about Stevers and Neal after the scrimmage. “Offensively we were a little bit rusty, it took us a while to figure out what was going on up front and once we did I think we had a little bit of success.”

The rust was in full effect to start. Once getting into Trimble territory, the Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot with an offensive penalty that stalled the drive.

Trimble was able to score on the next possession when Brandon Burdette punched it in at the goal line to give them the opening lead.

Athens responded quickly, driving down the field a few minutes later that ended with an impressive run from Pero. The sophomore took a handoff around the right side, broke a few tackles, and bulldozed his way into the endzone to tie the game up at seven.

The Bulldogs defense showed out again with another forced fumble on the very next play to set them up with a scoring opportunity as the clock ran down.

“I think we definitely picked it up from last year. The guy’s up front are definitely being a lot more physical, the secondary guys I feel like we’re always ready for the pass but we’re breaking down hill very well. That’s definitely a plus.” Wheatley said about the team’s defensive performance.

They weren’t able to capitalize in the end, ending their night in a 7-7 tie that had both teams looking competitive. Obvious rust was shown from both sides, but that’s fully expected.

“They definitely stepped up. Realized we’ve got to hit a little bit. Time to get physical, get down and do the dirty work and let’s score a couple points. Definitely would’ve liked to put up a couple more points on the board but it is what it is. Move on to Philo next week and see what we can do.” The quarterback noted.

What’s maybe not as expected was the results in the second half. Athens has stressed over this offseason that they’re going to have a younger squad on the varsity level, nobody even considered what it would look like for JV. At least for a night, the Bulldogs proved that they have some talent in the pipeline coming.

The JV Bulldogs team dominated the second half en route to a 30-6 final at the end of the night. It was a feel-good Friday for everyone involved at Athens High School.

Athens kicks off the regular season with a matchup at Philo High School this upcoming Friday, kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Trimble on the other hand has to turn around and get ready for a rivalry game against Nelsonville-York this Friday with stakes that mean much more than just a week one victory.

That contest is set for a 7 p.m. start and be prepared for that one to be the first game of the week here at the Messenger in 2022.

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