Since Cody Gross took over as Athens head coach three years ago, he has talked about wanting his team to play meaningful games late in the season.

Well, it doesn’t get much more meaningful than tonight’s game against Muscle Shoals. It is a chance not only for the Golden Eagles to clinch second place in Class 6A, Region 7 and host a first-round playoff game, but it would also give Athens a signature win against a North Alabama powerhouse, and put teams on notice that Athens could be primed for a playoff run.

“This is a big one,” Gross said. “I’m proud of our players for putting themselves in a position to be playing in an important game in late October. Hopefully we’ll have a big crowd and a lot of folks will come out to support these guys.”

Athens (6-1, 3-1) and Muscle Shoals (6-2, 3-1) both suffered a region loss to region champion Hartselle, with the Golden Eagles falling 21-10 on the road and the Trojans losing 15-14 at home. Both teams have defeated the other three teams in the region.

Gross said he expects it to be a low-scoring game, as both defenses are very strong. Muscle Shoals has allowed more than 17 points in just two games this year while Athens’ defense has allowed a total of 19 points in the last four games, including two shutouts.

“It should be a heck of a game,” Gross said. “What I expect out of Muscle Shoals is what you get out of them every year. They are going to be very sound in what they do. They’ve always hung their hat on their defense, and this year is no exception. “They’re led by linebacker Jackson Bratton, who is committed to play at Alabama, and safety Carson Ware, who is an invited walk on at Alabama. Their two inside linebackers are probably the two best linebackers playing together in the state. Their defensive front is strong as usual, and they play a lot of man coverage.”

Athens’ offense lit up the scoreboard in a 56-0 win over winless Columbia last week, but struggled the previous week in a 19-16 overtime win over Cullman.

Gross said the offense will need to rely on its strong running attack to best the Trojans defense.

“Our identity has become a team that can run the football,” Gross said. “We’ve got an explosive playmaker at quarterback (Logan Smothers) who can make things happen in space and we’ve been effective throwing the ball. Muscle Shoals plays a lot of man coverage, so if our receivers can win one-on-one matchups, we give Logan time to throw and he puts the ball where it needs to be, we can be in good shape. We’ve also been very good at taking care of the ball and not turning it over, and we’ll need to continue doing that.”

Muscle Shoals’ defense might get the publicity, but Athens’ defense has been just as dominant in the past month. The Golden Eagles defense struggled some early in the season, giving up 23 points per game in its first three games. But since a 29-27 victory over Decatur, Athens has allowed 19 total points in games against Hazel Green, East Limestone, Cullman and Columbia.

“I think the defense is finally playing with confidence,” Gross said. “It may sound like a silly thing, but I don’t know they realized they were good, and how I think they’re beginning to do that. It’s freeing themselves up to just go play. They are playing with confidence, and that shows with the way they’re flying around. We’re getting a lot of black hats to the ball, gang tackling and really having fun on defense.”

Both teams also have good special teams units. Muscle Shoals blocked three punts against Cullman last week, while Athens has returned a punt for a touchdown in its last two games, and kicker Cesar Sanchez is 5 of 5 on field goal attempts.

“Special teams is part of the game the average fan overlooks,” Gross said. “We work on it harder than anybody I’ve ever been around. We work on special teams every day at practice. The staff in charge of those units takes pride in it and our guys take pride in it. There’s no doubt special teams will play a huge role in the game.”