ATHENS — The Golden Eagles’ aerial attack, combined with their turnover-creating defense, resulted in open season on the Bucks in a 42-7 victory on Friday night that registered career win No. 50 for head coach Cody Gross.
“‘Bout time,” Gross jokingly said after the game. “I think that’s what everybody would say. I’m just blessed to be at this place.”
In his ninth season, Gross mentioned that he had no clue about the lofty achievement, but his team’s dominant performance in its home opener made him just the sixth head coach to reach the 50-win mark at Athens.
Senior quarterback Brogan Gross, who totaled three touchdowns in the first half of play — two in the air and one on the ground to notch a 28-7 lead into the break — emphasized that his dad would care more about the win for his team than for himself.
“Just another day for him I guess,” the younger Gross said. “We don’t really think about that too much … just another day.”
Gross reciprocated that sentiment by quickly moving the spotlight off him, choosing instead to highlight a team that played with an aggressive mindset from the opening kickoff.
The Golden Eagles’ defensive unit forced back-to-back turnovers on Buckhorn’s first two possessions and finished with six on the night. Their offense’s following possession saw Athens dip into its bag of tricks, as Gross hit wide receiver Grady Sullivan on a fake screen that turned into a wide open 27-yard touchdown pass to running back Xavier Edwards for the game’s opening points.
Edwards also had a touchdown run — as did Kaydon Bledsoe. Aidan Lovell and James Newby, meanwhile, had touchdown catches.
“We were going to be aggressive on both sides of the ball,” Cody Gross said. “The great thing is we are touching the ball on defense, creating turnovers and flying to the ball. We aren’t necessarily the fastest group, but we play fast. I think that the energy they play with is kind of contagious.”
That fervent energy was evident in the game of senior linebacker Jack Jones, who was all over the field for the Golden Eagles — hauling in two interceptions and recovering a fumble late in the fourth quarter to seal the 42-7 victory.
“I don’t know how many tackles he had, but he had two picks and a pick last week,” Cody Gross said. “He’s playing inside linebacker and he’s got three interceptions, so he’s kind of a ball hawk. The guy understands football, he’s tough, he’s smart and a high character kid.”
With the win, the Golden Eagles moved to 2-0 on the season. They’ll open region play next week with a road game at Cullman.