Football Preview: Athens Academy Spartans vs. Commerce Tigers
After each having a week off, the Athens Academy Spartans and the Commerce Tigers will dust off their jerseys to face off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Athens Academy knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 point or more in their past four games -- so hopefully Commerce likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Athens Academy was fully in charge, breezing past John Milledge Academy 47-14 on the road. The Spartans' offense checked out after the first half but had enough points banked to take the game anyway.
Athens Academy got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Hampton Johnson out in front who rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on only six carries, and also threw for 145 yards and two touchdowns on only ten passes. The dominant performance gave Johnson a new career-high in rushing yards. Jamari Welch was another key back, rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
He was just one part of a punishing run game: Athens Academy was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 304 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in six consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Athens Academy wouldn't let John Milledge Academy keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Athens Academy can thank Kj Whitehead and Cash Cowart for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Commerce). They enjoyed a cozy 28-12 victory over Madison County last Friday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Tigers.
Athens Academy's record now sits at 4-0. As for Commerce, the win also got them back to even at 2-2.
Athens Academy strolled past Commerce in their previous matchup back in September of 2020 by a score of 24-7. The rematch might be a little tougher for Athens Academy since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
