Athens scored on the first play of Friday’s night game against Decatur and never looked back.

Brogan Gross, Jay’Shon Ridgle and John McIntyre each accounted for two touchdowns and the Golden Eagles continued to soar offensively to start the season, breezing past Decatur 44-16 to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2006.

“We started really well, but Decatur really battled,” Athens coach Cody Gross said. “Their kid at quarterback is special. We had a good stop at the end of the first half inside the 10 to keep the score the same. It could have been 31-14 and them starting the second half with the ball. We made plays offensively, too. John had a big night and I was proud of other guys stepping into roles.”

Gross connected with McIntyre for a 70-yard score on the opening play from scrimmage for an eventual 8-0 lead. A Silas Jones touchdown later in the first quarter helped Athens build a 15-0 advantage.

Leading 15-7 early in the second period, the Golden Eagles garnered a safety before a 43-yard TD pass from Gross to Johnson Speegle and a 2-yard TD run by Ridgle extended the advantage to 31-7 at the half.

Ridgle added a kickoff return for a score in the second half and McIntyre pitched in a 56-yard TD run on fourth down to cap off the scoring and the victory.

Gross completed 10-of-16 passes for 242 yards while Jones added 63 yards on 12 carries. McIntyre, meanwhile, registered 149 total yards on just three touchdowns for the Golden Eagles.

Athens travels to No. 5 Muscle Shoals next week.

“You know what you’re going to get with Muscle Shoals,” Gross said. “They’re a well-coached team with talent. I think it’s one of coach (Scott) Basden’s best teams. We have a lot of things to fix before we play them, but it’s good to be fixing them at 3-0.”