The Atom’s Varsity Football Team has had a good start to the 2015 season. After the first four weeks, the Atoms hold a 2-2 record which is the same record they had last year after four weeks.  The first two weeks did not go as well as the team was expecting. The first was a close battle, the Atoms losing 17-27 to Centreville, and the other was a disappointing 0-40 loss to Lake Braddock.

“We played hard in both games,” head coach Mike Scott said. “In the Centreville game, we had a lot of opportunities to win but we couldn’t finish. In the Lake Braddock game we made too many mental mistakes early and they took advantage of our miscues.”

After the losses, the team was hungry for their first win. Throughout the next week, the team trained vigorously to ensure their victory in the upcoming game against J.E.B. Stuart. They felt confident about their preparation and were ready to play.

“Win or loss, our goal is to get better every day, every rep, every play,” Scott said. “I challenge our team to get one percent better every day.”

The Atoms ended up having a decisive 37-17 victory over J.E.B., their first win of the season. After the win, the team’s morale was very high. But when practice rolled around the next week, the team had their mind set towards getting a victory over Woodson. “To get ready for the game, we do 7v7’s, inside run, execution period going through plays, and 11v11’s,” senior starting  quarterback Tucker Mack said.

“We had a rough start to the season because we played two of the best teams in the region but we bounced back and feel we are going to do really well for the rest of the season,” junior linebacker Matthew Vogus said.

All their hard work put in that week paid off because they ended up beating Woodson 48-43. In the first half the Atoms dominated the Cavaliers on both offense and defense, but in the second half, the tides turned and Woodson started to come back. It came down to a nail biting ending but the Atoms persevered and came out on top.

“I thought we played great and we played as a team,” junior backup quarterback Liam Conroy said.  Throughout the season so far it is clear to see that a major strength of the team is its defense thanks to outstanding linebacker plays. Although the score lines don’t show it, the team really feels the defense has been showing up.

“Our defense has been really killing it so far,” Vogus said. Other strengths include “the physical condition and the physicality we play with,” Mack said. The offense has also made a big turnaround scoring 85 points in the last two weeks compared to only 17 points in the first two. This is thanks to playmakers like Jalen Jackson, Tim Johnson, Colin Corey, Beau Hatch, Tucker Mack and Justin Foster to name a few. “All those guys and more can make explosive plays at any time,” said Scott. These strengths have the team feeling better than ever. The team also feels that they don’t have as many weaknesses and their daily training helps this feeling become a reality.

“Our biggest weakness is probably our depth at certain positions,” Mack said.

Obviously the Atoms are looking to win all of their games, but something that will always be there, win or loss, is the hype squad. The hype squad is a collection of students banded together to root for and cheer on AHS sports teams. The hype squad go to each and every one of the football games, home or away, and support the Atoms. The hype squad plays an important role because they “pump us up and helps fuel our momentum and play,” Mack said. The Atom’s have six games left in their season with the next game being a home game this Friday, Oct. 2 against the Thomas Jefferson Colonials. It will be a blackout so come out and support your Atoms.