Last year, the Homecoming football game was not one to remember. The Lake Braddock Bruins were able to rack up 48 points while accumulating almost 400 yards of total offense. The Atoms, meanwhile, barely surpassed the century mark in yards and managed a meager 3 points. Needless to say, anything would be an improvement over last year.
This year, the Atoms came out strong and never looked back, resulting in a 42-6 victory over West Springfield on Oct. 15.
“[The game] was redemption for us because we lost on Homecoming last year,” said senior Moe Bah, the team’s captain for the game.
On the very first play of the game, junior Ali Musa forced a fumble that was recovered by the Atoms and returned to the Spartan four-yard line. The next play, senior JP Jenkins ran it in, giving AHS a 7-0 lead just 18 seconds into the game. The defense’s strong play continued on West Springfield’s ensuing drive, as the Atoms recovered another fumble. Jenkins again capitalized on the turnover, this time scoring from 18 yards out to give AHS a 14-0 lead with 9:30 left in the first quarter.
“My offensive line made key blocks and I was able to just break off the block,” said Jenkins, who finished the game with nine carries for 130 yards.
In the second quarter, the Atoms continued to pour it on, with junior Tony Hysjulien connecting with senior Andy Craig for a 26-yard touchdown and junior Adam Wattenbarger throwing to Jenkins for an 11-yard score to give AHS a 28-6 lead going into the half.
During halftime, the Homecoming court was announced, as well as the winner of the float contest. Senior Katie Bui was named Homecoming Queen, while senior (and linebacker) Yari Mizouri was named Homecoming King. The juniors were announced as the winners of the float building contest.
In the second half, the Atoms continued to roll on offense, with seniors Stephen Craig and Stephen Cook scoring the final 14 points in the 36-point win.
“It was huge [to win the game],” said head coach Mike Scott. “We had a very physical week of practice; we went back to basics. And it paid off.”
Jenkins led the Atoms with his 130 yards rushing, 46 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Cook totaled 77 yards rushing on 14 carries, and Andy Craig added two catches for 45 yards.
One of the noticeable positive aspects in the game was the play of the offensive line. Seniors Paul Phongsavan, Bob Stevens, Abenezer Anteneh, Joel Hoisington and Nick Doumbia and junior Bryan Jefferson were able to allow the Atoms to rush for almost 300 yards.
As good as the offensive line was, the mental mistakes made by players were glaring. The team committed numerous offsides, false start and roughing the passer penalties that may have cost the team the opportunity to tack on even more points.
“We need to cut down on the stupid penalties,” said Andy Craig. “We have to run [in practice] for every penalty we commit so it makes it even worse.
With the win, the Atoms improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Patriot District. The team next faces Lake Braddock on their Homecoming this Friday, Oct. 22.
“We’re going to practice hard this week and just listen to the coaches,” said Hysjulien. “We’re going to have something for [Lake Braddock quarterback Michael] Nebrich.”
The Bruins, who were the state runner-up last year, boast a 7-1 record with their lone loss coming against the Robinson Rams on Oct. 1.
“[Lake Braddock is] a good team so it’ll be a good chance to see where we stack up against the best in our district,” said Andy Craig.
