Annandale Defense Leads the Way over South County

In a game defined by defense, a 1-yard touchdown rush by Steve Cook midway through the third quarter was enough offense as the Annandale High School Atoms held off the South County Stallions 7-3 on Thursday night.

A light rain fell most of the night, which may have contributed to dropped passes by both teams. Atoms Head Coach Mike Scott aggressively stuck with his running game all night and relied on his defense to pick up the slack.

"Defense played great. They have to [for us] to win, and we knew that all along. I'm real happy for them," said Scott.

Scott's faith in his defense was on display as he eschewed a pair of potential field goal opportunities in the first half only to see his offense turn the ball over on downs both times. Drive after drive, the defense kept South County's offense in check, holding it to under 100 total yards for the game.

It was the second straight year that offense was at a premium for these teams as Annandale prevailed in last year's matchup 7-6.

The Atoms kept Stallions quarterback Jake Josephs off balance all night, causing the first year starter to fumble twice and throw two interceptions.

Despite his touchdown, Cook gave full credit to his defense.

"Defense was the game," said Cook. "They created turnovers and just stopped the ball."

Annandale found itself in trouble near the end of the third quarter when an errant snap sailed over the head of punter Adam Wattenbarger, who fell on the ball at his own 9-yard line. Unfazed, the Atoms held South County to a field goal, which ended up being the only points the Stallions would score.

Wattenbarger also took over quarterback duties when starter Tony Hysjulien was knocked out of the game just before halftime. Scott described the injury as just getting "the wind knocked out of him," but Hysjulien didn't return until the fourth quarter.

The change didn't affect Scott's gameplan which called for a platoon between Cook and Tyrek Worrell at running back, effectively mixing inside and outside running. South County Head Coach Pete Bendorf credited Scott.

"With their style of football, they're the type of team that if you give them a lead, they eat clock, and they did a great job of that tonight," said Bendorf.

One Atoms drive ate nearly seven minutes of the fourth quarter after Mike Ferguson's field goal cut the lead to four points. The drive was aided by another aggressive call by Scott, a fake punt on fourth and one from inside their own 30-yard line, as well as a defensive pass interference call on third and eight.

South County finally got the ball back with just over five minutes remaining, but an interception by Jake Barnes essentially sealed the game.