The Atoms had a rough start and finish against Justice. The Atoms would start the game sloppy, but would have strong second and third quarters. The fourth quarter started out strong, but they could not finish as they would have some unfortunate mishaps that ultimately lost them the game. The Atoms were looking to improve on their last two games and send a statement to our neighboring high school, Justice.

Justice has struggled this season just as much as the Atoms also starting the season off with two losses in two games. The Atoms losing both games just under a touchdown, they knew this game could have been a win as well. 

To start off the game, Justice recovered a fumble and would finish their opening drive with a touchdown but would miss the 2-point conversion. The next drive, Justice stopped the Atoms from scoring and forced a punt, which led to Justice down the field and scoring again, but this time they do convert on the two point conversion, making the score 14-0. 

The second quarter would be a big one for the Atoms, as they would tie the game with two rushing touchdowns by quarterback, Danny Salisbury and running back, Prince Agyeman who would have over 200 rushing yards in the game as well. 

The third quarter started with a Justice touchdown. Fortunately, they couldn’t convert on the 2-point conversion yet again, only scoring six points. In the fourth quarter, only down 6 points, the Atoms scored another rushing touchdown by Idrissa Kargbo. But Kicker Justin Scott came into the game looking for the easy 1-pointer, but missed just off the upright and the Atoms would fail to take the lead, leaving it tied at 20. This would lead to a huge momentum shift in favor of Justice to start the drive. Justice marched down the field and ends up scoring again and could not complete the 2-point attempt. 

With the Atoms losing by a score of, 26-20, Salisbury passes the ball with two seconds left in the game but ended up getting picked off in the endzone. The running game was utilized more during the game, and Quarterback Danny Salisbury seems to believe that isn’t why they lost. Salisbury said, “I didn’t throw the ball as well as I would’ve liked to but still gave the team a chance to win.”

Even though the score wasn’t the wanted outcome, the players are working as a strong unit on both sides of the ball. 

Strong safety, Freshman Emmanuel Adomakoh says “We worked hard, executed on both sides of the football, and played together as a team.” This season hasn’t had the ideal start they would have wanted. But the Atoms are staying competitive and plan to win in Falls Church this Friday.