Atherton defeats Eastern 55-14.

By : Gus Warren

LOUISVILLE, Ky.- After the Louisville area saw several rescheduled football games due to inclement weather Friday night, the Atherton Ravens trip to Eastern to face off with the Eagles finally concluded Sunday night with the Ravens taking the win 55-14.

Both sides of the stadium were packed full Friday night with fans ready to watch two of the top teams in 5A and 6A clash as the high school football season has now reached the midway point. The student section was rowdy, the fans were loud, and the Ravens looked to make a statement early with a big Lamar Sistrunk touchdown run to make it 7-0 Atherton two minutes into the first quarter. But, with the first sight of lightning that would signal the initial delay. At the time, it was thought to only be an hour to an hour and a half until play would resume, but that would eventually turn into a two-day-long pause until the game would continue.

Sunday evening both teams were back and ready. This time there was no National Anthem, no color guard, no big pre-game festivities, strictly business once warmups were over. The scoreboard once again showed the score 7-0 Atherton with 10:16 left on the clock.

The Eagles first drive would start out slow and end with Issac Rodrigues being sacked by Mahkii Deal, the first of many sacks for the Ravens’ daunting defense.

It would remain quiet on both sides of the ball in the first until Aiden Wilson would hit paydirt as he took the ball on a sweep and reversed the field, going back the other direction and scoring putting Atherton up two scores to nothing in the first.

The final score of the first quarter would be 14-0, but the Eagles would get on the board as they recovered an Atherton fumble which led to a Jarbrill Miller 30-yard touchdown grab from Issac Rodriguez to make it a one-score game.

After a missed field goal attempt on the following Atherton Drive, Rodriguez would find Miller again as he beat his man down the sideline for a huge 73-yard touchdown grab, tying the game at 14. Miller would end the contest with three catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns.

This would end up being the Eagles’ final score of the contest, with the Ravens being in control the rest of the way. On the following drive after getting pushed back by penalties, Ravens quarterback Dearius Smith would convert a big 3rd and 17 himself and then find Aiden Wilson in the end zone for a touchdown grab to reclaim the lead.

Eastern had a chance to tie it before the half, but Rodriguez was intercepted by Atherton’s Jeremiah Briscoe, who hauled in a crazy one-handed catch to give his team the ball back as the half wound down.

Eastern would end up getting a big stop late in the first half, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Atherton life, and as the second half was reaching its end, Smith would find Kadence Baines in the flat as he scored to make it 28-14 going into the break.

The second half would start out in the worst way possible for the Eagles as they failed to recover a Ravens pooch kick, giving Atherton the possession on the opening kickoff, leading to Smith finding Davin Jones in the end zone to make it 35-14.

The Eagles would get the ball back, but an offensive drive that saw Quarterback Rodriguez get sacked twice would give the Ravens the ball back and lead to another Jeremiah Briscoe touchdown grab to extend the lead to 42-14.

The Ravens would then earn their fourth running clock in five games with a Jeremiah Briscoe touchdown run, and a late touchdown grab from Amare Garth would put the cherry on top as the Ravens best the Eagles 55-14.

The depth the Ravens had offensively is what would help them dominate with both quarterbacks Lamar Sistrunk and Dearius Smith combining for five touchdowns on the night.

In the first half alone, the Atherton offense saw eight players get at least one run and seven catch a pass. It is hard to compete with the speed they have, but their stable of playmakers and the two-headed monster they have at quarterback have proven tough for opposing defenses.

The Ravens will bounce back and improve to 4-1 on the season and have a date with Fern Creek on September 25th.

The number 10 ranked team in 6A, Eagles, will fall to 4-1 and look to get back in the win column as they take on Wayne County.