Sports
Preview: Athens Prepared For DeSales With Trip To Final Four In Sight [Video]
< < Back to preview-athens-prepared-desales-trip-final-four-sight-videoThere are only eight teams that remain in Div. III high school football and after this weekend, only four will be left standing. Two of the teams fighting for a trip to the state final four in Columbus are the Athens Bulldogs (12-0) and St. Francis DeSales Stallions (10-2).
Both squads have had overly impressive years. Athens went undefeated in the regular season, won the TVC-Ohio crown, and been blowing teams out this year. The Green and Gold’s offense averaged over 60 points per game this season, while their defense only gave up an average 19.
This is the Bulldogs’ third consecutive trip to the Regional Finals.
DeSales has had much success this season as well. After starting the regular season off with a loss, the Stallions bounced back and won seven straight. DeSales is led by head coach Ryan Wiggins who was named Div. III Central District Coach of the Year. Their defense this year has been excellent, holding opponents to just over 14 points per game on average.
DeSales is coming into Friday night’s game off of a huge 24-14 victory against a then-undefeated Jackson Ironmen squad.
Both teams have proven their worth on the field this season; however, only one team can advance to the Final Four next week.
The Bulldogs are led by senior Joe Burrow, who completed 13 of his 19 passes for 180 yards last week in the win over Tri-Valley. Also leading the way for Athens, is senior running back Trae Williams, who had 136 total rushing yards and two scores last week as well.
Jake Gilmore and Austin Andrews, who had 157 yards combined, and two touchdowns lead the Stallions in last week’s win. Under center for DeSales is Josh DeLozier, who had four touchdowns in their first round win.
Although the Athens offense can put some points on the board, so can DeSales. They averaged 31.5 points per game and love to run the ball. The Stallions use a lot of pitch fakes and cut backs, which could cause some problems for the Bulldog’s run defense.
Will the Athens Bulldogs make the trip to Columbus next week? Or will DeSales send the Green and Gold home for the third year in a row. It’ll all go down Friday night Logan High School with kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.