Athens head coach Cody Gross wanted his players to not lose focus against a Columbia team that had lost 28 games in a row. They apparently listened to him, as the Golden Eagles scored touchdowns on all seven of their first half possessions in a 56-0 win.

“I was proud of the way our guys played,” Gross said. “I challenged them on Thursday to come out and be dominant, and they did. Everything we did offensively clicked, and defensively, we did a good job against them.”

Athens had a 49-0 lead at halftime and were able to empty the bench in the second half and get a lot of playing time for the backups.

“We scored eight touchdowns, and it was by eight different players,” Gross said. “Twenty people touched the ball on offense. It was good that everybody got to play. Not having an open week during the season, you worry about injuries as the year goes on, but we came out of the game extremely healthy.”

It took Athens less than two minutes to get on the scoreboard, as Lakeidron Boykin scored on a 9-yard run to put the Golden Eagles up 7-0 early.

A few minutes later, Athens pushed the lead to 14-0 when Jaylen Gilbert scored on a 2-yard run. Quarterback Logan Smothers then got in the act, tossing a 45-yard touchdown pass to Miles Fewell and a 9-yard touchdown pass to Kobee Horton to give the Golden Eagles a 28-0 lead after one quarter.

The points kept coming in the second quarter, with Jordan Scott taking a short pass for a 20-yard touchdown to put Athens up 35-0. Jaelen Cates then scored on a 62-yard punt return before the Golden Eagles closed out the first-half scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run by Jahmir Powers.

Smothers finished the game completing 16 of 18 passes for 301 yards and three scores.

The Golden Eagles took their foot off the gas in the second half, with Zach Harries’ 1-yard touchdown plunge being the only points of the half.

“We were playing a team that had lost 28 in a row, it was homecoming, and we had a big game coming up this week, so there were a lot of reasons to overlook Columbia and be sloppy,” Gross said. “But we got better last week, and that’s what we wanted to do. One of our major goals was to come out and be dominant and put them away early, and we did that.”

Athens improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Class 6A, Region 7. Friday’s win clinched a playoff spot and now the Golden Eagles will have a chance to host a first-round playoff game. A victory over Muscle Shoals at home next week would see Athens finish in second place in the region and get to host a playoff game.

Should Athens lose to Muscle Shoals, they would finish third in the region and have to travel in the first round.

“Athens has not hosted a first-round playoff game since 2005,” Gross said. “We’ve got a great opportunity, and that’s a great football team coming in here. Ought to be a good one.”