Atlanta suffers defeat to Mount Vernon Tigers

Atlanta traveled to Mount Vernon last Friday night to take on the Tigers.

The Rabbits were coming off of a close 32-29 loss to Hughes Springs and wanted to avoid back-to-back losses.

The two teams were only separated by seven points at the halftime break, but the Tigers pulled away in the second half to take a 42-7 decision.

First Quarter

The Tigers won the toss and elected to receive.

Mount Vernon lost two yards right off the bat as Logan Shelton made his way into the backfield.

A penalty and an errant backwards pass set the Tigers up at third-and-long, but a roughing the passer call against the Rabbs gave Mount Vernon new life.

Fortunately a stout stand by Atlanta’s defense and a snap over the head of the opposing quarterback squashed the drive from moving past the 39-yard line.

At the 10:30 mark the Tigers punted the ball away to Atlanta.

The Rabbs’ first drive looked promising as running back Caleb Hamilton took the first handoff from quarterback Cooper Mc-Clure and bolted 23 yards from the 28 to the Mount Vernon 49-yard line.

Hamilton followed that up with a 6-yard outburst and running back Keith Kinney entered the game and instantly picked up 10 yards.

Four plays later the Rabbits turned the ball over on downs at the 8:11 mark.

The Tigers’ next drive ended with a touchdown after just six plays.

The PAT was successful and Mount Vernon was up 7-0 with 6:53 left in the first quarter.

Atlanta began its next drive at the 34.

Hamilton took the initial handoff four yards before McClure found receiver Kade Wood for a 6-yard gain.

A sack and a penalty against Atlanta put the Rabbs in a third-and-long situation in which they couldn’t recover.

With 4:15 on the clock Atlanta punted the ball away.

A nice punt by McClure put the Tigers at the 17-yard line.

Mount Vernon moved the ball to the 40 before another snap over the head of the QB put the Tigers back at the 27.

A big pass play followed by a penalty against Atlanta set the Tigers up at the Rabbit 10.

Two plays later Mount Vernon scored with 1:14 left in the first frame.

The PAT was good and the scoreboard now read 14-0 in favor of the Tigers.

Atlanta was on the moving end as the first quarter ended with McClure hitting wideout J.J. Fields for a 22-yard pickup.

Second Quarter

Three plays into the second stanza and Atlanta turned the ball over on downs with 11:12 showing on the clock.

Mount Vernon’s next drive ended with a turnover on downs with 8:43 left in the first half and the Rabbs took over near midfield.

McClure opened the drive with an 18-yard pass to Wood and a few plays later found Wood again on a 24-yard pass play as the Rabbs faced fourth-and-13.

The drive nearly stalled in the redzone but a penalty against the Tigers moved the ball to the 7-yard line.

Two plays later and Kinney was in the end zone on a 2-yard blast to put the Rabbs on the board.

Daniel Hernandez hit the PAT and the Rabbs were down just 14-7 with 5:05 left in the second quarter.

Both teams traded punts before Mount Vernon worked its way into Rabbit country as the first half was near to closing.

Mount Vernon drove the ball to the Rabbit 22 but a nice sack on the QB by Kentrell Andrews forced the Tigers to attempt a 47-yard field goal as time expired.

The field goal was no good and the score stayed at 14-7 as the teams entered halftime.

Third Quarter

Atlanta opened the new half with the ball but three plays into the drive Mount Vernon intercepted a pass and set the Tigers up at the Rabbit 40.

The Tigers scored after six plays and the kicker split the uprights to give Mount Vernon a 21-7 lead with 9:50 left in the third quarter.

In Atlanta’s attempt to answer, Hamilton dashed the Mount Vernon defense for 24 yards to open the next Rabbit drive followed by a 3-yard pickup by Hamilton and a 5-yard gain by Mc-Clure.

A sack for a loss later in the drive forced the Rabbits to punt the ball away with 7:02 on the clock.

Mount Vernon increased its lead to 28-7 at the 4:44 mark after scoring on an 8-play drive.

The Rabbs punted on its next drive and the quarter ended with the Tigers moving the ball across midfield and down to the 27-yard line of the Rabbits.

Fourth Quarter

Two plays into the final frame and Mount Vernon crossed the goal line for another touchdown.

The PAT was good and the score was now 35-7 with 11:40 left in the contest.

The final score of the night came on the very next drive as a Mount Vernon defender scooped up a Rabbit fumble and scored with 11:05 left on the clock.

The good PAT made the score 42-7.

That’s how this game ended as the Tigers ate up plenty of time off of the clock on its final drive of the game.

Zachariah Jefferson was a beast on defense for the Rabbits as he amassed nine solo tackles and assisted in 11 more.

Conner Samples added eight solo tackles with seven assisted, Xavier Coleman had 10 tackles on the night, DK Parker had 10, Logan Shelton 12, Terunte Neal seven and Trae Adams posted seven.

Jefferson led the attack in sacks with two and Adams, Andrews, DeGregory King and Parker each had a sack apiece in the game.

The Rabbs host the Jefferson Bulldogs this Friday night Oct. 25, with game time set for 7:30 p.m.