Athens Golden Eagles finish their year 5-5, with 3 straight wins
Nov. 1—The Golden Eagles may not have hit all of their preseason goals they set out to accomplish, however, they did manage to accomplish all 3 of their midseason goals and gain momentum into the offseason and 2023 season.
Athens would win their final 3 regular season games to go from 2-5 to 5-5 and winners of some exciting outings.
It was fitting that their comeback of a season was ultimately decided by one of the largest comebacks anyone will see in Alabama high school football — when they rallied from 24 points down to defeat Russellville 32-31 last Friday night, October 28.
"Craziest game I have been a part of as a head coach," said Cody Gross, head coach of the Golden Eagles. "(The sideline) was chaotic. It was such a fun way to end it. The enthusiam and excitement of the way it ended, it can't get much better than that for the seniors."
The Golden Eagles would win game 1 of the year over the East Limestone Indians and game 5 of the year versus Mae Jemison. Following losses to Cullman and Hartselle, Athens sat at 2-5 and head coach Cody Gross decided it was time to set some midseason goals about how they would like their 2022 campaign to end.
They set 3 goals, and accomplished all 3: finish the season .500, send the seniors out the right way and gain some momentum into the offseason.
Going 5-5 (.500) by winning the final game with 7 seconds left is a good way to accomplish all 3 of those goals in one fell swoop.
"I cannot think of better momentum in the offseason than coming back from a 24-point deficit late in the third and winning in thrilling fashion. Really, most of those guys who made plays on those last couple of drives are coming back (next season)," Coach Gross said.
This includes many players at the skill positions, including QB Brogan Gross.
While Coach Gross wants to see his QB cut down on the turnovers next season, the former UNA QB could not help but praise Brogan's efforts in the 4th quarter Friday, where he was a major factor in the second half and on their game-winning, 88-yard drive.
"When we were down (in the 2nd half), he was 17 of 22 for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns. What he did isn't easy to do. It took everybody, but you don't come back like that without a QB cool under pressure," Coach Gross said.
Coach Gross made sure to give credit to all team members involved in making the comeback possible, including the o-line, defense, running game, receivers and the coaching staff.
Their 5 wins on the season were East Limestone, Mae Jemison, Columbia, Fort Payne and Russellville.
Their 5 losses on the season were Bob Jones, Decatur, Muscle Shoals, Cullman and Hartselle.
It is not the end of the sports season for the football team's multi-sport athletes.
This includes Coach Gross, who says he will be radio broadcasting Athens basketball games.
Football's season stats will be provided.
