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Athens Academy defense dominates, shuts down Commerce’s high-powered offense - ABH

Athens Academy’s defense stifled Commerce’s triple option attack, Palmer Bush passed for 226 yards and the Spartans, ranked No. 2 in Class A Private, defeated Commerce 24-7 Friday night at Slaughter Field in Athens.
Athens Academy (2-0) allowed just 58 yards to Commerce’s proficient offense, a week after the Tigers (2-1) rolled up 580 in a 32-14 win over Union County.

After rushing for 220 yards in his first two games, Commerce’s Dreylan Martin managed just 15 yards on eight carries. Athens Academy also limited freshman Sammy Brown to just four yards on four carries after he totaled more than 250 yards of total offense in his first two high school games.

Bush did most of his damage in the first half, tallying 163 yards passing that included a 26-yard scoring strike to Deion Colzie to give the Spartans a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
He later connected with Ethan Connelly on an 11-yard score as the Spartans opened the second half with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that took more than half of the quarter to complete.

Bush finished 19 of 27, his top target being Colzie who finished with 121 yards on eight catches.
Athens Academy turned to its running game for most of the second half, collecting 140 of its 178 rushing yards after intermission.
Charlie Chisolm, who scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter, had 22 carries for 105 yards, but 73 of those yards came on 16 second-half rushes.
Eleven penalties for 107 yards likely prevented more points from the Spartans.
“We thought our guys up front had been playing well and we wanted to challenge them that we had to get better at running the football,” Athens Academy coach Josh Alexander said. “Overall, we were really happy, other than the penalties, with how everybody played.”
The lone spark of the night for Commerce, ranked No. 7 in Class A Public, was a 95-yard kickoff return by Brown.
The freshman broke three tackles, veered toward Athens Academy’s sideline around the 40-yard line and picked up the blocking needed to go untouched the final 60 yards.
It was the only play of the night over 14 yards for the Tigers.

Key Play
The Spartans’ drive to open the second half was more than a lone play, but it was the tone setter for the remainder of the game.
Realizing the effective defense of the Spartans, Alexander slowed the game and lessened Commerce’s opportunities for possessions.
It didn’t seem to matter much, as Commerce could only manage two or three yards each play.

Stat of the Night
Athens Academy ran 57 plays and picked up 15 first downs while Commerce managed 30 plays and just three first downs, two coming on its first drive.
The Tigers punted six times and fumbled on a fourth-and-2 at the Athens Academy 35, their only time in Spartans’ territory for the night.

What it means
Not much in the way of state or region purposes, as the teams no longer compete in Region 8-A.
But it gives the state some clarity as to who can contend for state titles in the public and private classifications.
As for Athens Academy, the Spartans’ defense proved that it has the chops to hold up during the playoffs.
For Commerce, work is left to be done to compete for a public state championship.

Three things we learned
1. Athens Academy’s defense is its strength: The stats speak for themselves. Limiting a high-powered offense like Commerce’s to under 60 yards is eye-opening for Class A Private teams throughout the state, who should be on high alert once the playoffs roll around.

2. Commerce’s offense not as explosive as thought: While, yes, that had a lot to do Friday night with Athens Academy’s defense, there still should have been a play or two bust out to match the Tigers’ first two weeks of excellence.
When its rushing attack was limited, the passing game fizzled as well, completing just two of six pass attempts for 17 yards.
3. The Spartans found a running back: When the Spartans needed Chisolm, he came through.
After intermission, when the clock was in its favor, Athens Academy leaned heavily on the senior back and he grounded and pounded in chunks of five to seven yards per carry.
It was a good balance to Bush’s big night passing.

They said it
“Our kids are playing hard, our coaches do a good job and we’re just real proud of what they did tonight. They played a really good offense.” — Josh Alexander

Game Ball
Despite its dominating defense, Bush’s stats through the air and on the ground (50 yards on 11 carries) were the reasons Athens Academy scored any points.
The senior consistently hit receivers in stride and trusted Colzie to use his size on several occasions, including a 44-yard connection on the Spartans’ first offensive play of the game, when the four-star receiver went up and over Commerce receivers for the big play.

What’s next
Athens Academy — The Spartans scheduled Class 7A Berkmar to fill a hole in its schedule left by coronavirus cancellations.
Commerce — The Tigers return home to face Elbert County.
Back
Athens Academy is an independent, co-educational school for students in K3 through 12th grade, located on a beautiful 152-acre campus in Northeast Georgia. For over 50 years, Athens Academy has pursued its mission of Excellence with Honor through academics, athletics, fine arts, and service and leadership.