Rabbits fall to Liberty-Eylau on Homecoming night
Atlanta hosted rival Liberty-Eylau on Homecoming night last Friday.
Both of the teams’ defenses played lights out in the first half as L-E only had a 7-0 lead at the half.
Eventually injuries and turnovers cursed the Rabbs as the Leopards went on to win the contest, 36-0.
Earlier in the day De’Korian “DK” Parker was crowned Homecoming King and Destinee Wells was crowned Homecoming Queen.
First Quarter
Atlanta received the ball to open the game and after the kickoff the Rabbs set up shop at the 34-yard line.
A couple of quarterback scrambles by Kam Dickerson and a 5-yard pass from Dickerson to Ahmani Jackson pushed the Rabbits to the 49.
L-E’s defense stood firm and the Rabbs punted the ball away with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
A big stand by Atlanta’s defense forced a quick three-and-out for the Leopards, but a batted ball interception gave L-E another set of downs at the Atlanta 14.
Again the Rabbit D stood tall and on fourth-downand-1 Adrian Kennington dropped the Leopard ball carrier in the backfield. Atlanta took over at the 6-yard line but a couple of run plays were snuffed out by L-E which forced the Rabbs into a third-and-12 situation. Dickerson picked up 16 yards on the third play of the drive followed by a short pickup by running back La’Randion Dowden. Two incomplete passes put the Rabbs back in punt formation. The two teams traded possessions before the quarter ended, and L-E faced third-and-long going into quarter No. 2.
Second Quarter
Atlanta’s defense continued to stifle the L-E offense throughout the second quarter.
On the other hand the Leopard’s also kept the Rabbs’ offense off balance.
The Leopards scored the first touchdown of the night on a 12-play drive that ate up four minutes off the clock.
The point after was good and the Leopards had a 7-0 lead with 59 seconds left in the first half.
A couple of tough runs by Rabbit RB Daniel Hernandez ended the second quarter.
Third Quarter
L-E opened the second half with the ball resting on the 39-yard line.
A huge run play set the Leopards up at the Rabbit 24, but big plays by freshman safety Markeylin Batton and sophomore Marquavion Owens kept the cats out of the endzone.
L-E’s drive ended when Batton intercepted a pass on fourth down and returned it to the 20.
A quick three-and-out and Atlanta was back in punt formation with 9:18 left on the clock.
Dickerson sustained a foot injury between the teams’ drives and never came back into the game.
L-E scored on its next drive and took a 14-0 lead after the successful PAT with 7:27 left in the third stanza.
Justin “Catfish” Pierce played the Field General position for Atlanta the rest of the contest.
Atlanta’s next drive took off with tough runs by Hernandez, who racked up 21 yards on the ground.
Unfortunately the Rabbs turned the ball over on a fourth down attempt at the 5:15 mark.
Atlanta’s defense continued to terrorize L-E as two forced fumbles on the Leopards next drive nearly gave Atlanta great field position.
L-E fell on both but lost considerable yardage because of it.
The two teams traded possessions until Batton got his hands on the ball once again, intercepted a pass and returned it deep into L-E territory.
A penalty on Atlanta negated the pick and two plays later L-E was back in the endzone.
The PAT was good and the score was set at 21-0 with 2:28 left in the third quarter.
A turnover gave the Leopards the ball back with just a little over a minute left in the quarter.
The quarter ended with the Leopards driving deeper into Rabbit country.
Fourth Quarter
Seven plays into the final frame and L-E scored again with 9:22 left in the game.
The PAT was good and L-E was up 28-0.
Another turnover during Atlanta’s next drive led to another score for L-E with 4:25 left on the clock.
The Leopards went for two and made it and the score was set at 36-0.
The contest ended with Hernandez picking up 20 yards on the ground and Dowden adding seven.
Hernandez ended the night with 49 yards on 12 carries, Dickerson added 50 yards on 10 carries and Dowden posted 14 yards on nine carries.
Jackson and Darty both had catches in the game.
On the defensive side of the ball Xavier Nash had 12 tackles, M. Owens had 11, Batton added seven and Chris Banks, Isaiah Chandler and Mike Banks had six tackles apiece.
Chris Banks had two sacks on the night and Ty Graf added one, and the quad package of Banks, Graf, Banks and Parker put pressure on the Leopard QB.
Atlanta opens district play with White Oak coming to town this Friday night.
Before the slated kickoff at 7:30 p.m. three more Atlanta standout athletes will be inducted into the Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame.