Unioto pulls away from Athens after a sluggish first half
By: Luke Ream
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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WOUB) – The Unioto Shermans overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from the Athens Bulldogs in the second, winning 33-14.
The matchup was the third time in their program’s histories that they faced off, with the last matchup taking place in 1987. Athens is undefeated against Unioto in their two prior matchups, but both programs are drastically different since the 1980s.
Unioto won the coin toss and chose to receive. Following an immediate first down off the legs of running back Yusef Wilson, three straight incompletions would shut down their opening drive.
The Bulldogs were looking better early, nearly reaching the red zone before the Shermans shut down their momentum with a sack, forcing a punt comfortably in Unitoto territory. Turnovers would consume the remainder of the first quarter; the Bulldogs would take over following a Unioto turnover on downs, a drive that was immediately ended following an interception by Laykin Langolf, leading to another interception off a desperate heave from Isaac Coy that was easily snagged out of the air by Tristan Judy.
Unioto was starting to get something going halfway through the second, finally breaking into Athens’ territory. The Bulldogs’ defensive line quickly shut that down, halting three straight attempts on the ground and stopping the drive just one yard short of the line to gain, on fourth down.
Athens’ final drive of the half brought them right back where they were in their first drive of the game, following a 14-yard pass by Coy to bring them to Unioto’s 30-yard line. A dropped pass in the end zone looked like it would end the drive for the Bulldogs, but on fourth-and-10, Tyriq Cunningham broke through the secondary and gave the crowd in Chillicothe the first score of the game, with a 31-yard touchdown.
The first play of the second half brought the drama that the first half lacked, when Cunningham was blown up by Walker Sams on the opening kickoff, forcing a fumble near the Bulldogs’ red zone. The turnover would be a massive blow for the Bulldogs, leading to a Unioto 17-yard rushing touchdown off the legs of Wilson on fourth down, three minutes into the second half and they were tied again.
The theatrics continued for Unioto as Bulldogs quarterback Briar Thomas was intercepted on the first play of the next drive which was taken into the endzone for the score by Carter Elliot. Unioto leads 13-7 after the missed extra point.
Athens struggled to recover from the quick turnaround of the game’s momentum, quickly going three-and-out on their next drive. Coming off their new sweeping momentum, the Shermans were finally able to put together a full offensive drive, concluding with a 25-yard passing touchdown to Levi Beam.
The Bulldogs’ struggles continued for the remainder of the quarter, with Langolf able to collect his second interception on the next drive. The Shermans spent the remainder of the game pulling away from Athens, only giving up one more touchdown while grabbing two of their own.
Wilson ended the game with 120 yards on the ground, capped with a rushing touchdown. Coy finished with 172 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Athens falls to 1-1 and will face off against the winless Marietta Tigers next Friday. Unioto remains undefeated at 2-0 and will play their first away game on Friday against the Waverly Tigers.