Sports
Recap: Athens Continues Dominant Season With 49-0 Victory Over Meigs [VIDEO]
By: Andrew Hines
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The Athens Bulldogs kept their dominant season rolling on Friday, as they rolled over the Meigs Marauders in a 49-0 victory.
Even with all the heart the Marauders had, they just couldn’t handle the Bulldogs’ dominant duo of Joe Burrow and Trae Williams. The field conditions didn’t help either, as a night full of rain left a cold and muddy game in Pomeroy.
It was a quick start for Athens (7-0, 3-0 TVC-Ohio) after Burrow handed it off to the speedy Williams on the very first play for a long 72-yard run down the sideline to the house, giving the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Meigs (3-4, 2-2) fumbled on the return, and Athens recovered with great field position on the Marauders 25 yard line. Later in the drive, Williams had a 14-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 early in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs defense continued to stop Meigs and the offense continued to score. On a third down and short, Burrow tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Zacciah Saltzman, after which the Bulldogs converted on a two-point conversion, to make it of 28-0 in favor of the Bulldogs still in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs didn’t wait to score in the second quarter when they quickly drove down the field and Williams finished it off with another 14-yard touchdown run for a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Then the Marauders gave their home fans a little bit of hope when they quickly drove down the field, but it was lost when quarterback Cody Bartrum tossed an interception to Athens’ Kolby Rodgers and Rodgers returned it for an 85-yard touchdown to make it a 42-0 score and put an end to the vicious first half.
Neither teams played to their potential in this sloppy matchup, however Athens just simply played better in the rainy conditions. Williams was simply unstoppable tonight for the Bulldos, and Burrow didn’t air it out too much, throwing a lot of screen passes and short routes, but Meigs still couldn’t stop the pass.
Athens finished the night with 412 total yards of offense. Burrow led the way as he finished 17 of 24 passing with 274 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Williams finished with 15 carries for 156 yards and 4 touchdowns. Zacciah Saltzman was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver in the game, as he finished with 5 receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Meigs finished with a total of 245 yards of offense, led by running back Michael Davis with 85 yards on 25 carries. Bartrum finished a meager 5-18 passing for 102 yards.
The Bulldogs return home next Friday for a conference game with Wellston (3-4, 1-2), and Meigs goes on the road to Ironton (5-1).
'Gridiron Glory' airs every Friday night at 11:30 p.m. on WOUB. You can follow the show on Twitter @gridironglory, like the Gridiron Glory page on Facebook, and follow along on Instagram @woubsports. You can also join the conversation throughout the season by using the hashtag #GridGlory!