Rabbits cage Lions, 21-14

Atlanta’s varsity football squad upped its record to 2-1 after outlasting the New Boston Lions 21-14 last Friday night.

First Quarter

Atlanta started the game with the ball at its own 31 and immediately went to work.

Running back Markeylin Batton took the first three snaps and picked up 50 yards with runs for 22, 27 and one.

Working from the New Boston 19-yard line, the Rabbs were in perfect position to score the game’s first touchdown, however, a fumble recovered by the Lions ended the drive.

New Boston had trouble moving the ball on its first drive as defensive tackle Wesley Stewart gave the running back fits.

Atlanta’s SWAT team was in full force and on display as cornerback Sye Stroman swatted another pass away; this one on third down.

The Lions punted the ball back to Atlanta with 7:51 left in the first quarter.

Batton picked up where he left off as he took the first play from scrimmage 31 yards.

Quarterback Peyton Harrison connected with wideout Jayden Riley on a nice 36-yard pass play during the drive and again on a 5-yard touchdown pass at the 3:38 mark.

The 7-play, 71-yard drive ate up nearly four minutes off the clock as Atlanta struck first.

CJ Whaley nailed th4 point after and Atlanta was up 7-0.

New Boston answered quickly on its next drive as the Lions’ QB hit his receiver on a 59-yard touchdown play with 2:17 left in the first frame.

The PAT was good and the game was knotted up at 7-7.

The first quarter ended with the Rabbits moving the ball.

Second Quarter

Atlanta answered on its next set of downs as well with the Rabbs putting together a solid 4-minute, 8-play, 67-yard drive which spanned two quarters.

On the drive, DC Range picked up six yards on the ground, Harrison scrambled for nine yards, Harrison hit Riley for 13 yards and Batton picked up 41 including a 29-yard touchdown run.

Whaley hit the PAT and Atlanta was up 14-7 with 10:21 left in the first half.

The teams traded possessions for the rest of the quarter.

Defensively for the Rabbs, big tackles were made defensively by Zamarian Ivery, Harrison, Kam Williams and Stewart.

Offensively, Batton obtained 59 yards on the ground, Harrison added 13 of his own and Marshawn Woodberry picked up four yards on the ground.

The Rabbits did get within striking distance of the red zone twice before the half ended but could not add points to its total.

Third Quarter

The second half started off with a bang for Atlanta’s defense as Stroman and Landon Johnson made great plays on the ball.

With the solid hustle the Rabbits forced New Boston to punt the ball with 9:47 showing on the clock.

The Rabbs had good field position for its next drive which started at its own 45.

From there Batton galloped 25 yards on a nice run but offsetting penalties negated the pickup.

Starting over, Batton carried the rock 15 yards before Harrison connected with Whaley on a nice 19yard pass play.

The drive ended with Harrison connecting with Riley on a 27-yard touchdown pass.

Whaley hit the PAT and Atlanta was up 21-7 with 7:15 left in the third quarter.

New Boston literally chewed up six minutes off the clock on its next drive which started at its own 15 and made it to Atlanta’s 16 in 12 plays.

A couple of penalties against the Lions hurt some but they still had a first-down-and-10 situation at the Rabbit 16.

Fortunately for the Rabbs the Lions fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Atlanta with 50 seconds left on the clock.

The quarter ended with Atlanta running the ball.

Fourth Quarter

A quick three-and-out gave the Lions back the ball after a Rabbit punt, but the Lions could not move the ball at will with Dailen Collins, Kinney and Williams making big plays on defense.

New Boston turned the ball over on downs with 6:31 left in the game.

Batton picked up a nice 15 yards on the ground to begin Atlanta’s next drive but three plays later the Lions intercepted the ball and returned the rock to the Rabbit 14.

Two plays later and New Boston was back in the endzone. The PAT was good and the Lions were down just 21-14 with 3:07 left in the contest.

On the kickoff Braylyn Rowe made a nice return up to midfield.

Riley, working out of the wildcat, picked up 30 yards on one play and iced the game with a couple more runs.

With New Boston out of timeouts the Rabbs won 21-14.

Atlanta travels to Mount Vernon (0-4) this Friday night, Sept. 20, to take on the Tigers. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.