Atlanta Rabbits fall to Jefferson, 16-8

Atlanta hosted Jefferson last Friday night for its second district game of the season.

The two teams were evenly matched and as Coach Tyler Morton said in a pre-game interview, “both teams mirrored one another”.

The game was a slugfest but Jefferson prevailed 16-8 when it was all said and done.

First Quarter

Atlanta’s first drive was a three-and-out and after the punt the Bulldogs began its drive at the 42.

A big pass play put Jefferson deep in Rabbit country but nice plays by Dim Limbrick and Ike Chandler helped stuff the Bulldogs and keep them out of the endzone.

The Bulldogs did hit a 28-yard field goal and went up 3-0.

Atlanta’s next drive started off well as quarterback Peyton Harrison hit wideout Jayden Riley for seven yards, but a fumble a few plays later killed the drive.

The Rabbit defense stood tall on the next drive and forced a Bulldog punt.

After receiving the ball back the Rabbs went to work as Markeylin Batton and Jamarion Austin picked up positive yardage on runs.

Harrison also connected with Riley again on the drive but an interception stopped the Rabbs’ progress. Jefferson couldn’t move the ball on its next drive and the quarter ended with a nice run by Batton.

Second Quarter

The Rabbits opened the second frame with a penalty and eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Great defensive coverage by Batton and nice tackles by Limbrick and Christian Banks forced Jefferson into a turnover on downs of its own.

The teams traded possessions for the rest of the half which included a fumble recovery by Chandler which was caused by Jalarion Andrews.

Third Quarter

The Rabbit defense continued its dominance to open the second half as Carmello Henderson, Russ Limbrick, Banks, Andrews and Ja’Marion Owens kept the Bulldog offense on its heels.

Jefferson scored the first touchdown of the game at the 2:05 mark and went up 10-0 after the successful point after. That would be the score going into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Bulldogs scored again a couple of drives into the fourth frame but missed the PAT.

With Atlanta down 16-0 at the 7:15 mark the Rabbs were looking for a comeback.

A turnover stopped that thought for a time but the Rabbits eventually put together a nice drive for a score.

On that drive Harrison picked up 11 yards on a QB keeper and connected with Kam Dickerson for a first down.

Two plays later Harrison hit Chandler on a 51-yard touchdown pass. Harrison ran in the 2-point run and Atlanta was down 16-8 with one minute left in the contest. Jefferson was able to hang on for the win.

Harrison had 88 passing yards with a TD and 23 rushing yards, Battyon had 29 yards on the ground, and Chanlder had 48 yards receiving with a score.

Defensively, Marquavion Owens had seven tackles with six of those as solo tackles, Banks and Henderson each had six tackles and both Ja’Marion Owens and Andrews had five tackles.

The Rabbits travel to White Oak this Friday night with kickoff set for 7 p.m.