On homecoming night for the Golden Eagles, Athens put together 27 points in the final 7 minutes of the game to outlast visiting Fort Payne and win the contest 48-21.

The game would be back and forth between the two sides for three and a half quarters, when Athens would go on a run of 27 points to take a tie game of 21-21 and turn it into a dominant 7 minutes of football with a 48-21 result.

“We had a point of emphasis all week this would be the last time the seniors step out on that (home) field,” head coach Cody Gross said. “We played well early, stayed together and fought through some adversity. The fourth quarter kind of exploded. The score is not indicative of that game.”

Game summary

Athens and Fort Payne would trade scores in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles would score first on a touchdown pass from Brogan Gross to Larry Howard.

Following a Fort Payne touchdown, Kameron Gatewood would begin his big night with a 5-yard touchdown run.

The second quarter would be much of the same back-and-forth.

Following another Fort Payne score to make it 14-14, Gatewood would score in the red zone again from 4 yards out to make it 21-14 going into halftime.

The next score in the game by Fort Payne would tie it up at 21-21.

Then, halfway through the 4th quarter is when the fireworks began for the Golden Eagles.

It began with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Gross to Ridgle.

Following that, Caiden Dumas would return a punt back 53 yards for the score, increasing the lead from 27-21 to 35-21 after the successful 2-point conversion.

The final two scores would come on touchdown runs from Gatewood of 3 yards and 44 yards, respectively.

The first touchdown of the pair was set up on a fumble recovery by the Golden Eagles’ defensive lineman London Townsend.

The final score would be 48-21 in favor of the Golden Eagles in a game where Coach Gross was displeased with their turnovers, but happy with their efforts on both sides of the ball.

They also forced three turnovers themselves, as Townsend’s fumble recovery was joined by a Preston Haney interception and a Walker Harrison fumble recovery of his own in the 4th quarter,

Stats from the game

QB — B. Gross

23/37, 237 total yards,

2 Tds, 2 INTs

RB — K. Gatewood

149 total yards, 4 TDs

RB — L. Howard

74 total yards, 1 rec TD

WR — J. Ridgle

9 receptions, 117 yards

1 touchdown

WR — C. Dumas

Punt return TD

Athens’ final game of the season takes place this Friday, October 28, when the Golden Eagles hit the road to face the Russellville Golden Tigers.

Russellville is familiar with Limestone foes, as they have played East Limestone and Ardmore.