Atlanta traps Sabine Cardinals 50-0

Atlanta hopped back on track in district play last Friday night as they topped the Sabine Cardinals 50-0.

First Quarter

Sabine received the ball to open the game but Atlanta’s defense set the tone for the night as they forced the Cardinals into a quick three-and-out.

The punt was partially blocked and the Rabbs had fantastic field position to open the game at the Sabine 38.

Peyton Harrison, the Rabbit quarterback, started out the drive with a 5-yard pass play to Markeylin Batton and then hit Jayden Riley on a 23-yard pass play.

DC Range picked up five yards on a sweep before Batton sliced his way into the endzone for a 5-yard touchdown.

CJ Whaley nailed the point after and Atlanta was up 7-0 with 8:53 left in the first quarter.

Atlanta’s defense forced Sabine into a quick three-and-out on its next drive and after another horrible punt, the Rabbs began its next drive at the Sabine 38 for the second consecutive set.

Harrison began the new drive with a nice 19-yard pass to Riley followed by a 9-yard run by Marshawn Woodberry.

A holding penalty backed the Rabbs up before Batton picked up nine yards on the ground. Two incomplete passes brought on fourth down and Whaley came in and successfully hit a 36-yard field goal to put Atlanta up 10-0 with 5:13 left in the first quarter.

Sabine did move the ball well on its next drive as they ran more of an up-tempo offensive set, but the result was the same as before with the Cardinals punting the ball away.

Atlanta began its next drive at the 18 and from there Woodberry picked up 12 yards on two carries. Harrison hit Riley for 23 yards on two pass plays but the Rabbs’ drive stalled a few plays later.

The quarter ended with Atlanta punting the ball away.

Second Quarter

Harrison’s punt pinned the Cardinals at the 9-yard line and proved key as Sabine was only able to move the ball 11 yards and five of that was a penalty against the Rabbits.

After a solid punt, the Rabbits started its next drive from the 34-yard line. From there Harrison hit Sye Stroman for 38 yards and connected with Riley for 22 yards. Working from the 6-yard line Batton rumbled in for a score at the 8:20 mark.

Whaley hit the PAT and Atlanta increased its lead to 17-0. Atlanta’s defense continued its dominance as it forced another punt after a quick three-and-out. The punt was partially blocked and the Rabbs began its next set on the Sabine side of the field yet again.

On the drive Batton picked up 14 yards on the ground and Harrison hit DC Range on a nice 18-yard slant pass play for a TD.

The PAT was no good, however, the Rabbs were up 23-0 with 5:43 left in the second quarter.

Sabine turned the ball over on downs during its next drive and Atlanta was primed for another big set as they started off at the Sabine 47.

From that point, Woodberry racked up nine rushing yards, Riley added 18 and Batton finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown off of a screen pass from Harrison.

The PAT was good and Atlanta ballooned its lead to 30-0 with 2:48 left in the first half. The quarter ended with Whaley sacking the Sabine QB.

Third Quarter

Atlanta received the ball to open the second half and promptly went to work.

Woodberry took the handoff and rattled off a 54-yard run and Riley scored on a 7-yard sweep at the 10:47 mark.

The point after was no good but Atlanta was up 36-0. The teams traded possessions for a few sets before Atlanta scored on a nice 93-yard punt return.

Unfortunately, a penalty negated the amazing run and the Rabbs began its drive from the 16. The penalty only delayed the inevitable as the Rabbs scored after a 6-play, 84-yard drive which ended with a 50-yard touchdown trot by Woodberry.

On the drive Jamarion Austin came in and took a majority of the handoffs as he picked up 34 yards before Woodberry bolted for a score.

The PAT was good and Atlanta was up 43-0 with 4:02 left in the third quarter. Another solid defensive stand by the Rabbs forced another Sabine punt and Atlanta started its next drive at the Cardinals 43-yard line.

Austin took the first three carries 21 yards and Woodberry picked up four as the quarter ended.

Fourth Quarter

Runs by Austin and Woodberry, plus a penalty against Sabine, set the Rabbs up at the 3-yard line with the clock running under 10 minutes.

From the three, backup QB Evan Mitchell took the keeper into the endzone for a TD.

The PAT was good and Atlanta had a solid lead at 50-0 with 9:51 left in the game.

Both teams seemed content to run out the clock and get everyone off the field injury free as the next few drives were heavy run plays.

On the final drive of the game, Woodberry racked up 19 yards before Mitchell took a knee to end the contest.

The Rabbit defense was quite impressive as they held Sabine to only 37 yards passing, 50 yards rushing and three first downs.

Sabine had 12 drives in the game with 10 punts, one turnover on downs and one quarter end.

Atlanta had 12 drives with seven touchdowns, one field goal, two punts, one turnover and one quarter end.

Batton was a beast on both sides of the ball but was lock down on the defensive side as he had 10 solo tackles.

Mitchell added six solo tackles, Landon Johnson four, Dailen Collins four, Kason Byrd three and Eli Mitchell three.

Offensively, Harrison passed for 149 yards with a TD, Woodberry earned 162 yards rushing with a score, Austin had 46 rushing yards, Batton 33 with a score and Riley 21.

Riley reeled in 75 receiving yards with a TD, Stroman added 38, Range had 19 with a score and Batton had 17 with a TD. All-in-all the Rabbits racked up 423 yards to Sabine’s 87.

Atlanta (5-2, 2-1) travels up the road this Friday night, Oct. 18, to play longtime rival Liberty-Eylau (5-1, 2-0).

The two teams have played one another for years but this will be the first district matchup between the two since Atlanta dropped from 4A a few years back.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.