Rabbits seal playoff spot with 41-8 win over Jefferson

Atlanta needed a win last Friday night to snag the fourth playoff spot in District 6, and accomplished that with a 41-8 win over the Jefferson Bulldogs.

Looking back now the game was over at halftime due to a solid showing by Atlanta’s defense and great execution from its offense.

During the contest Atlanta practically began every drive near midfield or in Bulldog territory.

First Quarter

Atlanta opened the contest with the ball at its own 46-yard line after a short pooch kick by the Jefferson kicker.

Rabbit quarterback Cooper McClure connected with Caleb Hamilton for five yards on Atlanta’s first play from scrimmage.

That was followed with an 8-yard run by Hamilton and a 5-yard run by Kameron Dickerson, but the drive stalled later and the Rabbs turned the ball over on downs.

Jefferson’s running back picked up three yards on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage, but the drive ended when Dickerson picked off a pass with 8:37 left in the first quarter and returned it to the Bulldog 8-yard line.

From there Hamilton rolled into the endzone for a touchdown.

Daniel Hernandez kicked the point after through the uprights and Atlanta had a 7-0 lead with 8:30 left in the opening frame.

Atlanta’s defense came up big once again on the next drive as it forced a fumble and McClure fell on it to give the Rabbs another possession in Bulldog territory.

Working from the 32, running back Keith Kinney picked up 18 yards on two runs and Hamilton garnered 15 yards on the ground.

Two penalties threatened the drive but Kinney was able to bolt into the endzone from 21 yards out on third down for Atlanta’s second score.

The PAT was good and Atlanta went up 14-0 with 5:15 left on the clock.

Jefferson had to punt the ball away at the 2:22 mark on its next drive and to that point had only gained four total yards of offense.

McClure fielded the ball and made a nice return to the Jefferson 42.

The quarter ended after Kinney had picked up 18 yards on three carries and Hamilton had a 10-yard jaunt on one carry.

Second Quarter

Hamilton picked up where he left off as he took the first handoff of the second frame 11 yards down to the 5-yard line.

From there Kinney found himself back in the endzone for his second rushing touchdown of the game.

The PAT was wide left but the Rabbs increased its lead to 20-0 with 11:33 left in the first half.

After a quick three-and-out Jefferson was in punt formation again.

Atlanta began its next drive at the 46 and made its way into Bulldog country after Hamilton had back-to-back runs of 11 yards and seven yards respectively.

Kinney picked up gains of 19, eight and seven on the next three plays which put the ball at the 2-yard line.

A penalty, an incomplete pass and a stout stand by Jefferson’s defense kept the Rabbits out of the endzone as they fell short of a score by one yard.

Backed up to the goal line the Bulldogs tried to pick up some breathing room with a handoff to its running back but the ball carrier fumbled and the Rabbs recovered at the 2-yard line.

It only took one play for Hamilton to bounce into the endzone for his second score of the night.

The PAT by Hernandez was good and Atlanta was up 27-0 with 5:52 left in the first half.

Atlanta’s stingy defense forced the Bulldogs into another punting situation on its next drive and the Rabbs were gifted great field position after a low snap forced the punter to try and pick up the first down with a pass.

The pass attempt failed and the Rabbs were in business at the Bulldog 21.

Cody Maxie entered the game and picked up four yards before Kinney strolled into the endzone from 17 yards out for his third TD of the game.

On the PAT the snap was high and forced the holder, McClure, to look for an open player to get the ball to.

He ran back and forth from sideline to sideline a few times before heaving the ball into the endzone. The ball caromed off a player and Jackson Warren caught it off the deflection for the successful 2-point play.

With that the Rabbs were in firm control with a commanding 35-0 lead at the 2:21 mark.

The first half ended with Jefferson moving the ball near midfield but not crossing it.

Third Quarter

The Bulldogs received the ball to open the second half of play.

To this point Jefferson may have had close to 20 yards total offense.

That changed quickly as the Bulldogs got on the board with a 61-yard touchdown pass with 11:03 showing on the clock.

The 2-point play was successful and the score stood at 35-8.

Aside from that long TD pass the Bulldogs only made it past the 50-yard line one time during the game.

The teams traded possessions until the Rabbit defense made a nice stop on fourth down which gave them the ball at the Bulldog 37.

In just one play Hamilton picked up 26 yards and followed that up with a 5-yard run.

Hamilton scored two plays after that from three yards out which was his third score of the game.

The PAT was blocked but Atlanta increased its lead to 41-8 with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

The quarter ended with Jefferson running the ball.

Fourth Quarter

The final quarter opened with the Bulldogs having to punt the ball away to the Rabbits after two unsuccessful plays.

Atlanta took over at the Bulldog 40 and looked poised to score again as Maxie racked up 28 yards on four carries which took the rock down to the 12.

Unfortunately the Rabbs fumbled the ball and Jefferson recovered.

The next drive was a good one for Jefferson in terms of moving the ball from the 10 to the Rabbit 48, but a huge third down sack by Isaiah Henderson ended the drive and forced the Bulldogs to punt the ball away with three minutes left in the contest.

The Rabbits ran off plenty of clock time before having to punt and the game ended with Jefferson running the ball.

The Bulldogs managed to garner 140 total yards with a majority of that coming in the second half.

Atlanta had 305 total yards as Kinney racked up 127 yards rushing with three scores, Hamilton added 129 yards with three scores and Maxie posted 37 yards.

Defensively the Rabbs played lights out as Isaiah Henderson led the way with four sacks, two hurries on the QB and two caused fumbles.

Ashton Harper and Trey Adams also contributed one sack each, Matthew Cauley and Warren had a broken up pass apiece and Dickerson had a pass broken up and an interception.

Henderson had 15 total tackles with five of those for a loss, Adams had 13 total tackles with four for loss, and Harper posted nine total tackles.

Other players getting in on the tackling parade were: Cauley, Michael Duckett, Kameron George, Hernandez, Quentin Hill, Zachariah Jefferson, Tyrell King, McClure, Xavier Nash, DK Parker, Logan Shelton, Jordan Stiger, Warren, Austin young and Lakeceion Matthews.

Atlanta plays Mineola in the bi-district round of the playoffs at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday night at Spring Hill High School in Longview.