Athens football dominates second half to advance to Class 2A quarterfinals
ATHENS — The Athens football team revved up in the second half.
The No. 4-seeded Warriors dashed away with three scores after the break en route to a 34-13 victory over No. 5 Red Bud in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs on Saturday.
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Athens (9-2) will visit No. 8 Nashville (8-3) in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 1 p.m.. The Warriors previously met the Hornets, who defeated No. 16 Quincy Notre Dame 27-18, in a 35-14 loss in the 2015 quarterfinals.
"We were a second-half team today," Athens senior running back Camren Bigard said, "but we’ve got to be more well-rounded and work together the whole game."
Athens led 14-13 at halftime before Bigard reeled off two touchdown runs in the third period. Senior teammate Cory Craig Jr. added another score with just over a minute left in the final frame.
The Musketeers (8-3) mustered just three first downs in the second half, including two on their final possession.
"I felt we were close defensively in the first half," Athens coach Ryan Knox said. "I felt like we cleaned some stuff up and tightened up the windows for the QB to complete passes in."
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Craig totaled 150 rushing yards and one TD on 33 carries while Bigard had 83 yards and two scores on 17 carries.
Senior QB Drew Cushman completed two passes for 51 yards and a TD. He hit senior tight end Zac Laird 50 yards for a score on a play-action pass late in the second quarter for a 14-6 advantage. Laird also chipped in 34 rushing yards.
"We were running it the entire game and we hadn’t thrown a pass yet," Laird said. "Their safety bit really hard and once I saw him bite, I knew I was going to be wide open.
"We were slow coming in. That spark sent us rolling in the second half."
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Seniors Owen Boyer and Carson Muller each had a fumble recovery for Athens. Both turnovers led to to TDs. Senior linebacker Brayden Leathers had two tackles for loss while Laird had a sack.
Red Bud junior quarterback Dylan Oliver finished 9 of 22 for 98 yards and a score. Senior receiver Owen Liefer hauled in four catches for 44 yards.
Athens limited the Musketeers to 59 yards on the ground, including just 19 in the second half.
"Our defense, we’re tough," Laird said. "We don’t let people score on us very easily."
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA football: Athens reaches 2A quarterfinals in win over Red Bud
