Friday Athens Academy shocked the state with a 20-point comeback in under six minutes, defeating Whitefield Academy 42-41 on Homecoming night.
Whitefield won the toss and elected to receive, and it only took 3 plays for the Wolfpack to get on the scoreboard. A designed screen to wide receiver Ian Kelly flipped the field to about the Spartan 40-yard line. Then, after a short run, quarterback Landon Ryan found Kelly in stride off a slant route for the touchdown and the 7-0 lead.
Athens Academy responded well, running the ball down the field methodically to tie the game. Quarterback Baynes Collins and running back Grayson Stafford tore through the Whitefield defense, with Collins capping the drive off with a diving touchdown on third and goal.
Whitefield’s following drive would go three and out, with a near-interception by Stafford (who also plays strong safety) on 3rd down. Athens were facing the same fate on 3rd down, but their first pass play of the entire game was a 13-yard completion to Brady Coley, whose outside curl extended the drive.
The run-first mentality continued as Athens drove down the field, facing a 3rd and short to start the second quarter in the red zone. What followed was the second pass play of the game; Collins rolled right out of the pocket seemingly to pitch the ball off, but threw to the open Grayson Stafford in the end zone for the 13-7 lead. The PAT attempt was blocked.
The Wolfpack were not going to sit back quietly, with a big completion to tight end Luke Linder down the field. Linder had to reach his arms over the top of his defender to make the spectacular catch, clearly being interfered with as the DB grabbed his jersey with both hands and didn’t even look back at the ball. However, the referees bizarrely called offensive pass interference, pushing the drive back far enough to force a three and out.
After a Spartan three and out, Whitefield put together their most complete drive of the half. Mixing the pass and run for short, efficient pickups, and getting help from a soft defensive PI call, they found themselves in the red zone. Landon Ryan stepped back into the pocket, threw towards Ian Kelly in the front left corner of the endzone, and what happened next can only be described as the “Statue of Liberty” catch. Kelly, under intense pressure one-on-one that ended up being flagged for PI, rose high to make a one-handed catch with his right arm straight up, incredibly keeping both feet in and giving the away side a 14-13 lead.
Athens attempted to respond on their next drive by making a gutsy call, going for a 4th and 5 in their own half that was stopped just short of the line to gain. Now just past midfield, the Wolfpack swiftly ran the ball into the red zone, and Amos Robinson capped off the drive with a rushing TD for the 21-13 lead at halftime.
The Athens offense got their act together to open the second half, driving down the field after big passing gains through tight end Land Johnson. Baynes Collins would soon after grab his third total touchdown for the day, somehow staying on his feet through multiple tackles and stumbling into the end zone. After an easy 2-point conversion to Johnson, both sides were square at 21.
Graydon Dukes was on the return for Whitefield and breezed by defenders past midfield. He would have been gone for a touchdown if not for a last ditch tackle, but he still set the field well with only 40 yards or so to go for the Wolfpack.
Near the red zone and in field goal range, they would make the bold decision to go for it on 4th and 17, and Luke Linder would pay off the decision with a clutch catch on the sideline over a defender for the first down! On video replay, it was clear he was in the endzone, but the refs called him down at the 1 along with DPI against Athens Academy. This allowed for an easy punch-in TD for Amos Johnson on the ground, and after a missed PAT, the Whitefield restored lead was 27-21.
Graydon Dukes made himself the story of the third quarter, picking off Baynes Collins and setting up his offense in the Athens half once again. After a crucial 4th down and 9 completion and conversion by Ian Kelly, who fought through a tackle past the first down marker after a curl route, Amos Johnson bounced off defenders and was pushed over the goal line for his third rushing touchdown. The extra point was converted, and it was now 34-21 Whitefield.
A Spartan drive that ended with a punt brought us into the 4th quarter, and the Wolfpack effort to extend their lead was assisted by another huge Kelly completion. Landon Ryan had all the time in the world in the pocket for a deep ball downfield, and Kelly would fight in front of his defender to get his hands under the ball and flip field position. Amos Johnson would find a gap on the left side for his 4th (!!) touchdown run of the night, and now the game was blown open, 41-21.
Athens Academy faced a 4th and 4 near the start of the ensuing drive, but Baynes Collins scrambled for around 20 yards to keep his side in the game. A few plays later, he threw a rope in between multiple defenders to meet Gray Mariencheck in stride on the go route for a touchdown with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter. Suddenly, life was restored in the home stands, and it was 41-28.
With 5:08 to go, it seemed like Amos Johnson had broke free for his fifth rushing touchdown, this time down the left sideline for 55 yards. However, the play was called back for holding, and Whitefield were soon forced to punt. Athens would drive down the field and throw deep towards Grayson Stafford, who held on with his fingertips and ran into the endzone. With 2:47 to go, it was now only 41-35.
The onside kick was recoverd by Whitefield, but the Athens defense was holding strong, leading to a 3rd and 7 with 1:46 to play. Landon Ryan would be forced out of the pocket right and attempt a deep ball, but his receiver was slightly pulled back during a clean attempt on the ball, forcing a punt.
Fortunately for Whitefield, the ball was downed on the one yard line, meaning that Athens Academy had to drive the entire length of the field and find a touchdown with just 1:23 remaining. They had to do it with no timeouts, either, with the wrong personnel on the field for the first play forcing their last to be burned.
On the first play after the timeout, the Spartans started with trickery. A pass sideways to a wide receiver, who we believe was Grayson Stafford, led to the receiver launching a deep ball, connecting with Thomson Sams for 40 yards. A few plays later, Collins ran to his right, launched a deep ball while leaning back mid-air, and found Gray Mariencheck for a touchdown and the 42-41 lead! It was #10 to #13 at 10:13pm, and the remarkable comeback had been completed.
There were still 49 seconds for Whitefield to try and score, and thanks to a DPI on 4th down, they had one chance at a 54-yard hail mary before time expired. However, Ryan was sent scrambling by the Spartans, never got a throw off, and a field storming ensued.
In one of the most improbable comebacks I’ve ever seen and the frontrunner for GHSA Game of the Year, Athens Academy grabbed their 2nd win of the season and have restored their status as a major threat in Class 2A before region play.
