Athens enjoyed a successful foray into non-region competition the last two weeks, winning games over Hazel Green and East Limestone by a combined score of 67-3. But now the Golden Eagles enter a stretch of three straight Class 6A, Region 7 games, beginning with a trip to Cullman Friday night. The pressure is on to win those and clinch a playoff spot.

“This is a huge game because it’s the next one,” Athens coach Cody Gross said. “It’s always hard to play at Cullman, and this will help determine where we are in a few weeks.”

Athens is 4-1 overall and 1-1 in region play, having lost to Hartselle and defeated Decatur. Cullman is 3-3 overall and 1-1 in region play, having lost to Decatur and beaten Columbia.

This is the 55^th time the two teams have met, with Athens holding a 30-23-1 advantage in the series. The last time they played was 2015, when Cullman defeated the Golden Eagles 20-7.

“Cullman is a long-time opponent for us,” Gross said. “It goes back a long way. I’ve had players from the ’70s call or text me this week about that game and what it means to them. When you’re here, it’s like there are (rivals) Decatur, Hartselle, East Limestone and Cullman, and it’s awesome (to have that many rivals).”

Cullman is led by first-year head coach Matt Plunkett, with whom Gross is very familiar.

“When I coached quarterbacks at UNA in 2000, he was actually my manager,” Gross said. “Matt is a good friend of mine. He is a great person and a great coach.”

After getting off to slow starts against Hartselle and Decatur, Athens has come out in the last two games playing well and putting both games away in the first half. The Golden Eagles held a 30-0 halftime lead over Hazel Green and led 23-0 at halftime against East Limestone. Gross said the defense has made a huge improvement that has led to those quick starts.

“We’ve played extremely well defensively, and that should give us confidence,” Gross said. “You’ve got to play this game with confidence, and that should give it to us. Even though the style of offense we faced last week is a lot different than we’re going to see (the rest of the season), the fact we came out against some good athletes and played really well has got to help us defensively going forward.”

Athens has also improved its depth, with multiple people getting lots of playing time the last two weeks.

“We played a lot of guys the other night, and when another guy went in, even down to the third or fourth guy at a position, there was no drop off,” Gross said. “And that’s going to help us as we go through the year.”

A win against Cullman would mean Athens only needs to defeat winless Columbia at home the following week to clinch a playoff spot for the second consecutive year.

“This is a region game, and (the players) know what region games mean,” Gross said. “I honestly hope they can’t find another gear to go to. I know I’m in top gear and I hope they’re in it.”