The Atoms football team defeated the Jeb Stuart Raiders in a game dominated by the Atoms offense and defense.“The team executed throughout the whole game, and everybody stepped up”, said senior quarterback Liam Conroy.

The Atoms were successful on both offense and defense. The Atoms offense got into the end-zone and scored repeatedly while the defense shut down Stuart. The Raiders were unable to cross midfield and struggled to keep their offense on the field. They also turned the ball over on multiple possessions.

The Atoms started off strong with a 50 yard touchdown run by senior running back Jalen Jackson on the first play of the game.

A bad snap by the Raiders led to a safety and two more quick points for the Atoms. The Atoms went up 9-0 with five minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Jalen Jackson rushed for another touchdown from 10 yards out to give the Atoms a 16-0 lead over the Raiders as time in the first quarter expired.

The Raiders maintained possession of the ball for most of the second quarter until junior Jack McCrossin intercepted a pass deep in Annandale territory with 51 seconds left in the half. Conroy completed a pass down field to Sophomore Franco Kitila on the following possession to score another touchdown. The Atoms expanded their lead to 30-0 at the end of the first half.

Going into the second half, the Atoms continued their assault running the football with another rushing touchdown 7 minutes into the second half. The Atoms tacked on the extra point to go up 37-0 going into the final quarter.

The  Atoms sealed the deal and defeated the Raiders with another touchdown late in the fourth quarter to win by a final score of 44-0. This is the Atom’s second win of the season as their record is now 2-2 having defeated the McLean Highlanders and Jeb Stuart Raiders, but losing to the Centreville Wildcats and Lake Braddock Bruins.

The team was proud of their performance but also saw areas for improvement. “The offense needs to improve on their blocks but was otherwise on top of things, with many sophomores stepping up and making names for themselves”, sophomore Ayman Elhag said.

The Atoms look to keep rolling with another victory in their next game. “The team needs to stay humble even after a big win, and focus on the next game”, Conroy said. The Atoms will be taking on the W.T. Woodson Cavaliers on Friday, September 23 @ W.T. Woodson.