Rabbits tripped up by Brahmas, 40-21

Atlanta’s varsity football team traveled to Mt. Pleasant last Friday night for another tough showdown with a state-ranked opponent.

Paul Pewitt was as good as advertised and won the game 40-21.

Pewitt is coming off of one of its best years since 2005 when they made it to the state finals. That year they lost to Celina and last year Pewitt lost to Gunter in the final round.

Going into the contest the Rabbits had a 17-8-1 alltime record against the Brahmas.

The two teams began playing one another in 1951 with Atlanta winning the first five meetings.

Up until this past weekend the teams had not played since 1997. Pewitt had won the past two meetings coming into the game.

First Quarter

The Rabbits received the ball first and didn’t disappoint on offense.

Sophomore standout Kameron Dickerson was under center throughout the game and promptly took the first snap from the line of scrimmage 10 yards.

On the second play of the game Dickerson hit Keyshawn Easter in stride for a touchdown just 50 seconds into the match.

Daniel Hernandez hit the point after and Atlanta was up 7-0.

Pewitt tied the game on the kickoff as the returner bolted 90 yards into the endzone. After the PAT the game was tied 7-7 with 10:57 showing on the clock.

Atlanta’s next drive ended with a quick three-and-out and the Rabbs had to punt the ball away.

Pewitt’s next drive ate up nearly seven minutes off the clock.

Starting at its own 29 the Brahmas put together a 14- play, 71-yard drive which ended with a touchdown at the 3:40 mark.

The 2-point play was successful and Pewitt had a 15-7 lead.

With Pewitt not wanting to test Atlanta’s speedy return players a pooch kick to the 47 gave the Rabbs great field position for its next drive.

Running back Caleb Hamilton took the initial handoff and sprinted 20 yards into Brahma territory.

Two plays later Dickerson scored from 24 yards out but a penalty negated the touchdown.

Working from the 34, Dickerson picked up 15 yards on a nice run and that was followed with a 19-yard touchdown by Hamilton.

The PAT by Hernandez was good and the Rabbs pulled within 15-14 with 2:31 left in the first quarter.

Pewitt set up shop at its own 39 on the next set of downs and made its way into Rabbit country with time running down.

The quarter ended with a big run from the 39 to the Rabbit 11.

Second Quarter

The Brahmas scored on the first play of the second stanza and went up 21-14 with 11:53 showing on the clock.

On the 2-point attempt Logan Shelton made a nice play to keep the deficit at just seven points.

Atlanta’s next drive fizzled after a few plays and the Rabbs were forced to punt the ball away.

Cooper McClure put all he had into a 49-yard punt that rolled dead at the 17.

Pewitt went back to eating time off the clock with its next drive.

During its next set of plays the Brahmas faced third down five times and fourth down once.

The 16-play, 83-yard drive ended with another score with 1:35 left in the first half.

The PAT was no good but Pewitt increased its lead to 27-14.

Atlanta’s next drive began with a 21-yard run by Hamilton but ended a few plays later on an incomplete pass on fourth down with 21 seconds left in the half.

Pewitt took a knee to end the first half and had a 13-point lead at halftime.

Third Quarter

Pewitt received the ball to open the second half of play.

Albeit nice tackles by Tyrell King and Jackson Warren on the drive the Brahmas scored on a touchdown pass with 9:41 left in the third frame.

The PAT was good and the score stood at 34-14.

A couple of penalties against the Rabbs at the conclusion of the last drive gave Pewitt the chance to kick off from the Rabbit 30.

With the thought of an onside kick Coach Matt McClure put his hands team out on the field.

Pewitt approached the ball and hit a quick kick which caromed off of a Rabbit player and was recovered by the Brahmas.

Three plays later the Brahmas scored again with 8:34 left in the quarter.

The PAT was no good but Pewitt was up 40-14.

With the need to respond the rabbits did just that on its next drive.

Staring at the 35, Hamilton bolted for 14 yards on the initial snap and followed that up with a 3-yard run.

From the Pewitt 48 Dickerson galloped into the endzone on the long touchdown run to put the Rabbits back on the board.

The PAT was good and the Rabbs pulled within 40-21 with 7:50 left in the third quarter.

Atlanta nearly recovered a fumble on the first play of Pewitt’s next drive after a big hit on the ball carrier from Warren put the pigskin on the ground.

Pewitt recovered, however, and made its way into Rabbit country down to the 29.

A couple of penalties against the Brahmas and a fumble recovered by Atlanta at the 1:48 mark ended another scoring attempt.

Atlanta suffered another three-and-out and McClure came on again and sent a booming punt 63 yards down to the Brahmas’ 13-yard line.

That punt ended the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Neither team scored again but Atlanta’s defense was on full display as big hits from Jordan Stiger and Isaiah Henderson complimented nice plays from Warren, Shelton and King.

Pewitt had a drive which ate up eight minutes off the clock, and after a loss on downs quarterback Justin “Catfish” Pierce got in a few snaps for the Rabbits along with running back Cody Maxie.

The game ended with Pewitt winning 40-21.

The Rabbits host the Gilmer Buckeyes Friday, Sept. 11, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.