Mired in a five-game losing streak, the Annandale Atoms varsity football team were hungry for a win to finish off their season strong. On Friday, Nov. 6, they got it; a 34-12 victory over the West Potomac Wolverines.
“The game went well but the season didn’t go as well as we expected,” said junior Yari Mizouri. “This game showed that we’re still really competitive and gave a glimpse of what’s to come next year.”
The Atoms started the game strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead on a one-yard run by senior running back Stacey Anderson. In the second quarter, the team extended their lead with a 25-yard field goal by senior Donnie McQueen and a 3-yard run by senior quarterback Ricky Adams. The second half featured a relentless aerial attack by sophomore quarterback Tony Hysjulien and senior wide receiver Robert Potts. They connected for touchdown catches of 47 yards and 84 yards, spurring the 22-point victory.
“We played good defense and Robert Potts had a monster game for us,” said assistant coach Keith Sholders.
The team, playing without injured All-Met wide receiver Melvin Robinson were led by Potts who finished the game with 6 catches for 242 yards and those two touchdowns. Anderson led the team on the ground with 63 yards on 19 carries. Sophomore Adam Wattenbarger added 32 rushing yards and junior Nick Lalande added 31 yards. The win gave the Atoms a final record of 4-6, disappointing for a team that had won the district three of the last four years.
“Overall the season was disappointing,” said Sholders. “I don’t think we played up to our potential some weeks, but we’re a young team and we’ll have a lot of guys returning [next year].”
The AHS freshmen football team went undefeated this year and had two players called up to varsity, quarterback Joe Bermingham and running back Jack Johnson. The team will also have 11 returning starters from this year’s team, so the future certainly looks bright for the varsity football program at AHS.
“Hopefully with all the returning juniors and sophomores and the strong freshman class, we’ll go far next year,” said Mizouri.
Visit www.annandaleatoms.com for the results of all the Atoms regular season games this year.
