Turnovers hurt Rabbs in loss to Sabine

Turnovers are hard for any team to overcome especially if the other team capitalizes on them.

Atlanta battled Sabine in its second district game last Friday night on a wet, sloppy field at Sabine High School.

The Cardinals won the game 38-6 albeit their own troubles with turnovers and penalties.

First Quarter

Sabine began the game with the ball at its own 32-yard line. A few plays into the drive and the Cardinals were in Rabbit country.

One big run play took the ball from the 44 down to the 14-yard line. Two plays later the Cards were across the goal line for the game’s first score.

The point after was good and Sabine was up 7-0 with 9:20 left in the first frame.

Atlanta came out of the gate with consecutive runs by sophomore running back La’Randion Dowden.

Dowden picked up 31 yards on four carries, but a penalty and an incomplete pass killed the drive with 6:42 left on the clock.

After punting the ball away, Sabine drove 70 yards in five plays for another touchdown.

The PAT pushed the score to 14-0 with 4:21 left in the first quarter.

Atlanta’s next drive started out with a bang as senior ball carrier Daniel Hernandez rolled up 25 yards in three carries, but a fumble in Sabine territory ended another promising drive with 3:20 left in the opening quarter.

Sabine made it as far as the Atlanta 28 before turning the ball over on a fumble recovered by the Rabbs.

The quarter ended with Dowden picking up 18 yards on three carries.

Second Quarter

The second stanza opened with a loss on a run play and a penalty against the Rabbits which put Atlanta in a third-and-15 situation.

Sophomore Field General, Jack Plunk, connected with Markeylin Batton on a 6-yard hookup, but it was well short of the first down.

Sabine was stood up by Atlanta’s defense on its next drive and had to punt the ball away, but a fumble on Rabbs’ next drive set the Cards up at the Atlanta 17.

Atlanta’s defense stood tall in the redzone as tackles by Russel Limbrick and Mi’Chari Banks set Sabine back a few yards.

The Cardinals settled for a 38-yard field goal to go up 17-0 with 4:22 left in the first half.

Both teams traded possessions before Atlanta began a long drive in hopes of scoring.

With the ball resting at the 3-yard line Hernandez gave the Rabbs breathing room when he bolted for 18 yards on the first carry of the drive.

Another 10-yard pickup by Hernandez and a penalty against Sabine pushed the ball to the 45-yard line.

Plunk connected with both Dowden and Justin “Catfish” Pierce on the drive which took the Rabbs into Cardinal territory.

Hernandez picked up 10 yards on two runs to inch the Rabbs close to the goal line, but an interception ended the drive and the Rabbs’ hopes to put points on the board.

The quarter ended with Sabine up 17-0.

Third Quarter

Atlanta opened the second half with the ball and promptly drove from its own 35 to the Sabine 20 in eight plays.

On the drive Dowden racked up 20 yards on the ground and Plunk connected with Cooper McClure for 19 yards on two pass plays.

Unfortunately Atlanta couldn’t convert the first down on fourth-and-short and turned the ball over on downs with 8:44 showing on the clock.

Banks continued to devastate the Sabine ball carriers on the cards’ next drive and Sabine punted the ball away.

An interception on the third snap ended Atlanta’s drive and Sabine ended up scoring on its next drive with 1:25 left in the third quarter.

The PAT was good and the Cards were up 24-0.

Atlanta opened its next drive at the 29-yard line and from there Plunk hit Hernandez on a 31-yard pass play.

Hernandez picked up 16 yards on a run and the quarter ended with Dowden picking up 20 yards on three carries.

Fourth Quarter

The final frame opened with Dowden slipping into the endzone from five yards out to put Atlanta on the board.

The 2-point play was no good and the score read 24-6 with 11:25 left in the game.

Sabine ate up plenty of clock on its next drive but had to punt the ball away eventually.

The Rabbs were looking to add more points on its next drive but a fumble killed that plan with 6:52 left in the contest.

Sabine scored again at the 5:32 mark and with the PAT went up 31-6.

Another interception gave the ball to Sabine who scored again at the 4:53 mark.

The PAT pushed the score to 38-6.

Atlanta fumbled on its next drive and Sabine ran the clock out from there.

The Rabbits host Gladewater this Friday night with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.