Brandon Miller | For The News Courier

Athens left it all on the field Friday night.

As the Golden Eagles and Homewood went back and forth for four quarters, one team was going to make the play that would ultimately decide the game. 

Unfortunately for Athens, it was Kaleb Carson and the Patriots who put together a late touchdown drive to take the lead and were able to run out the clock to secure a 31-24 win in the opening round of the Class 6A playoffs.

“It was back and forth, two evenly matched teams, and our guys played their guts out,” Athens coach Cody Gross said. “I just have so much respect for our guys. They’re a tough bunch of kids and I just hate that we couldn’t do a little bit more for them.”

Athens never trailed in the first half, scoring within the first two minutes of the game on a trick play in which Brogan Gross pitched the ball to Grady Sullivan, who then threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Edwards. The Golden Eagles added touchdowns in the second quarter on a 33-yard pass from Gross to Damarcus Malone and a 27-yard run by Gross.

However, Homewood (9-2) had an answer for each score by Athens. Carson’s first touchdown pass tied the game 7-7, while his touchdown run knotted the game at 14 midway through the second quarter.

Athens led 21-17 at halftime, but the Golden Eagles struggled in the second half finding a way to stop Carson.

Connor Johnstone added a 33-yard field goal for Athens to take a 24-17 lead midway through the third, but Carson found the end zone for the Patriots to tie the game with less than two minutes left in the quarter.

While a majority of the fourth quarter remained deadlocked at 24, it was Carson that broke the tie, scoring on a 4-yard run with 3:58 left in the game. With Athens needing a response, the Golden Eagles were held to a three-and-out and forced to punt. With the ball back in Carson’s hands, he ran for three consecutive first downs to bleed the clock and secure the win for Homewood.

Athens finishes the season with an 8-3 record and back-to-back playoff appearances.

“I loved coaching this group of guys,” Cody Gross said. “We wanted it to last a lot longer than it did. Like I said, I just wish there was something I could have done that would have kept it going a little longer. But these guys have nothing to be ashamed of. It always hurts when it ends and you invest, and I’m just proud of them for investing. The pain will subside in a few weeks and they’ll look back and realize they had a really good season. But right now, it’s kind of hard to see that.”