Athens and Cullman would trade scores all night, but a late touchdown by the Bearcats would seal a 35-23 victory over the Golden Eagles.

The Athens offense looked complete with Kameron Gatewood making his first appearance of the season at running back, who would impress on the night with 129 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Quarterback Brogan Gross complemented Gatewood well, as he would throw two touchdowns in the game, both on jump balls to the endzone, allowing receivers Jay’Shon Ridgle and Johnson Speegle to make athletic plays.

The Bearcats’ offense looked equally complete, as quarterback Ryan Skinner and running back/fullback Tyler Owens would both have impressive outings.

Game Summary

The first half would feature a back-and-forth competition where each team would see multiple leads appear and vanish.

Athens would get up first 3-0 on a Nelson Brown kick.

The next drive, the Bearcats would respond on a touchdown on a quarterback keeper 11 yards out from Skinner to make it 7-3 Cullman.

Gatewood would then begin leaving his stamp on the ballgame, with a 6-yard touchdown run with 3:42 left before halftime to make it 10-7 Golden Eagles.

However, Athens would find themselves down at the half 14-10 following a Cullman touchdown on a 1-yard run by Owens. The touchdown followed a missed field goal by the Bearcats, but a personal foul called on the Golden Eagles would give Cullman a fresh set of downs.

The second half would see Cullman score first on a run by Owens to make it 21-10.

Athens would get it to within five points multiples times. Following the Ridgle touchdown pass, they would not convert the two-point attempt to make it 21-16.

Then, following another 1-yard touchdown run by Cullman, Athens’ Speegle would haul in his touchdown pass from Gross to make it 28-23 Bearcats.

With 2:38 left in the game, and Cullman up by five points, Owens would seal the game on a touchdown run from beyond midfield to bring the score to 35-23, which would be the final.

Reactions from the game

– Kameron Gatewood looked very strong in his first outing of the 2022 season.

– Gross threw two very good jump balls, knowing he has the athletes at receivers to make the plays.

– Athens’ secondary showed signs of maturity, with David Christopher having an interception on defense off a tipped ball.

Golden Eagles stats from the game

Brogan Gross — 20/26 passing for 162 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

Kameron Gatewood — 19 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown.

Tailan Hall — 55 total yards on 3 catches and 6 carries.

Jay’Shon Ridgle — 9 catches for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson Speegle — 4 catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.

Caiden Dumas — 49 total yards on 4 catches and one carry.

401 total team yards offense.