Rabbs contend with state-ranked Tatum Eagles

The quote, “anybody can beat anybody else on any given day” rings true.

Last Friday night Atlanta nearly pulled off an upset win over state-ranked Tatum.

The Eagles and its fan base may have expected an easier game against a Rabbs’ team decimated by injury, but what they received was nearly a second loss on its record.

Atlanta was just five and a half minutes from pulling the upset but Tatum scored twice in the span of a minute to win 30-20.

A 10-point loss is not indicative of how well the Rabbits played on both sides of the ball throughout the contest.

First Quarter

The Eagles looked up to form on its first drive as they marched 83 yards for a touchdown in just over three minutes.

The point after was good and Tatum led 7-0 with 9:28 left in the opening frame.

Atlanta’s first drive began at its own 27-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage running back La’randion Dowden took the ball eight yards.

Atlanta quarterback Jack Plunk hit wideout Justin Pierce for a 3-yard pickup on the next play; then connected with receiver Cooper McClure on a nice 57-yard gain down to the Eagle 5-yard line.

A bad snap, a short run and two incomplete passes later kept the Rabbs from putting points on the scoreboard as they turned the ball over on downs with 7:10 showing on the clock.

Atlanta’s defense stood tall on the next Tatum drive and forced a quick three-and-out.

The Rabbits were gifted good field position at the Eagle 46 after the punt, and drove down to the 27- yard line with a run by Dowden and two passes from Plunk to Ahmani Jackson.

Unfortunately the Rabbs turned the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth-and-1.

The two teams traded possessions for the rest of the quarter.

Atlanta’s last drive of the first stanza began at the 40-yard line.

Plunk connected with McClure for eight yards, Dowden picked up nine yards on the ground and Plunk hit Dowden on a screen pass for 28 yards.

That set up Atlanta at the Eagle 15 going into the second quarter.

Second Quarter

Atlanta scored on a 10-yard run by Dowden just 36 seconds into the new quarter.

With kicker Daniel Hernandez out with an injury, the Rabbs went for two but couldn’t get the ball across the goal line.

The score was set at 7-6 with 11:24 left in the first half.

Tatum scored on its next drive at the 11:02 mark but missed the PAT.

Down 13-7 the Rabbits put together an impressive drive which covered 77 yards and ate up nearly four minutes of clock time.

On the drive, Plunk connected with Ahmani Jackson for 15 yards, Zackyus Jackson for 23, Dowden for two and Pierce for six.

Ahmani Jackson picked up five yards rushing on a sweep play and Dowden accrued 26 yards on the ground.

The drive ended with a 9-yard TD run by Dowden. Plunk hit Ahmani Jackson on the 2-point try and Atlanta was up 14-13 with 7:16 left in the first half.

Despite tough tackles and great coverage from Adrian Kennington, D.K. Parker, Ty Graf, Xavier Nash, Christian Banks and Isaiah Chandler throughout Tatum’s next drive; the Eagles would put three points on the board at the 2:10 mark and take a 16- 14 lead.

Not to be outdone, Atlanta drove 83 yards in two minutes and capped off the drive on a 32-yard TD scramble by Dowden.

The 2-point try was no good but the Rabbs regained the lead at 20-16 with 16 seconds left in the first half of play.

The quarter ended with Tatum trying to lateral itself down the field.

Third Quarter

Aside from stellar play by Atlanta’s defense throughout; the third quarter was relatively quiet.

Atlanta did begin a 16-play drive with three and a half minutes left on the clock.

On the drive, Plunk connected with McClure, Dowden, Pierce, Markeylin Batton and Owens.

Fourth Quarter

The Rabbs continued its march towards the endzone with a 10-yard pass play from Plunk to McClure to open the final frame.

Dowden picked up 14 yards on the ground as Atlanta looked poised to score.

A tough stand by the Tatum defense left the Rabbits stranded at the 10-yard line.

A Tatum TD and a pick-6 put the Eagles ahead to stay as they outdistanced the Rabbs by 10 points to close out the game.

The Rabbs had chances to put more points on the board throughout the game but fell short in that quest.

Plunk was 22-of-38 with 237 passing yards, Dowden had 166 yards rushing with three TDs and 36 receiving yards, McClure added 89 receiving yards, Ahmani Jackson had 63, Zackyus Jackson 23, Batton 10 and Pierce 16.

Nash led the way with 13 tackles on defense, Owens had 11 and Banks had seven.

Nash, Owens, Banks and Parker each had sacks in the game.

The Rabbs host New Boston this Friday night and will celebrate Senior Night.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.