Atherton defeats Mercer. County 60-0.

By : Guss Warren

LOUISVILLE, Ky - The Jack Kleier Stadium era for the Atherton Ravens ended in storybook fashion as they would route the Mercer County Titans 60-0 on the teams Homecoming night.

Former Ravens from decades past came to celebrate the years and memories made at Kleier stadium while ushering in a new era of Atherton football. And from the looks of it, the future is bright.

The first quarter would get started a bit rough as the Ravens received the opening kickoff and tried to pull some trickery early, shifting the offensive line out wide. After some first downs the Titans would force some big stops before giving up a huge touchdown catch to Jason Briscoe which would be called back by a holding penalty.

After punting to Mercer County it didn’t take Atherton long to get back on offense as their defense who haven’t let up a single point all season forced a three and out, leading to a Jason Briscoe punt return touchdown which would also be called back due to a penalty.

The Ravens would not be phased by the penalty as  quarterback Lamar Sistrunk would take a read option to the end zone for six. Mercer would block the punt leaving the score 6-0.

Mercer County would get the ball back on offense but could not move the ball as the Atherton defensive line gave the Titans fits all night, living in the backfield.

Due to this the first three offensive drives for Mercer County would result in three punts, setting up Atherton in prime scoring position.

Sistrunk would find Aiden Wilson on a wide receiver screen for another score giving them a 13-0 lead and capped off the first quarter of play finding Jeremiah Briscoe wide open in the end zone to extend the lead to 20.

The second quarter seemed to give the Titans life as a false start call on Atherton would finally get them moving but the drive would stall out with the Ravens gearing up to get back in the end zone.

Running back Kaden Scott would join in on the scoring action as he punched a touchdown in after three carries on the drive.

Penalties would follow the ravens throughout the game, but in the second quarter several false starts and encroachments would finally get Mercer County past the 50 yard line. RJ Long would put a stop to the momentum Mercer was building with a big sack and lead to a second Jason Briscoe punt return touchdown that would be called back by a penalty.

Once again Lamar Sistrunk was not phased by the penalty as he takes it himself on a read option going nearly the full length of the field and making multiple defenders miss on the touchdown run as the lead grows to 34-0

After another Mercer County drive resulting in a punt, Sistrunk finds Aiden Wilson for a big touchdown which is once again called back by a holding penalty but the Ravens would make up for it with a Jaxon Whipple touchdown. With the lead now sitting at 41-0, the running clock wouldn’t be too far behind.

The second half kicked off with Mercer County receiving but the drive would result in a turnover on downs leading to another Ravens score by Quarterback Dearius Smith. The Ravens were in full control of the game as the clock continued to wind down for the final time at Jack Kleier Stadium.

That would be the only score of the third quarter as Jaxon Whipple would rip off a big run to set up Atherton on Mercer County’s one yard line leading to Mikel Travis punching one in for the score.

With the score now sitting at 53-0, Wide Receiver Amare Garth would score the final touchdown in Jack Kleier Stadium as he took a screen for a big touchdown capping off the score at 60-0.

Not only was this the final home game of the Ravens season, it capped off the end of a long era of Atherton Football. The stadium saw many ups and downs, including a 45 year streak of losing seasons. Since Coach Anthony White took over in 2019, he has ushered in a new winning culture on Dundee Road even getting the team as far as the 5A State Semifinal in 2025.

The Atherton defense has now given up zero points over their first three games and have out scored their opponents 149-0. They will look to keep this lights out play alive as they travel to Manual Stadium next week to play the Crimsons and Mercer County will look to bounce back from the big loss as they host Raceland.