First downs were few, points were even fewer for the Atoms in their 0-49 loss to the South County Stallions on Oct. 28.

Statistics alone tell the tale of the Atoms’ loss, as the first place Stallions dominated the game from nearly start to finish. With 22 first downs compared to AHS’s five, South County controlled the tempo of the game on offense.

“As a whole we lacked heart; we didn’t play with the confidence and poise we usually have,” senior Dylan Shuey said.

“I think we didn’t play very well in the first half,” Head Coach Mike Scott said. “I think we came out a little more inspired in the second half and played much better.”

South County, which compiled a total of 524 yards offensively, held the Atoms to just 86 total yards. Although the team was able to engineer several productive drives late in the game, the South County defense failed to surrender any points, subduing the Atoms at every turn.

“We did not play our best game at all; we had key players out with injuries so we didn’t do very well,” junior Joe Bermingham said. “The mistakes we made were turnovers and not playing the way we were coached to play.”

Senior Adam Wattenbarger echoed Bermingham’s thoughts, naming both physical and mental causes of the loss.

“We were missing some key players in key positions, and last week’s practices were not as focused as they needed to be,” he said.

Injuries seemed a major factor in the defeat, as several starters, including senior Ali Musa and junior Jack Johnson, were sidelined in the loss.

“Several of our teammates were injured in the T.C. game that put them out, forcing us to move a lot of other players around to places they hadn’t played before,” Shuey said.

Now with only one game remaining in their season, the Atoms have little time to rebound from the blowout to end their year with a win.

“I think we will try our best to send the seniors out on a positive note,” Bermingham said.

In order to achieve this goal, the team will have to learn to put the past behind it and maintain its focus in its upcoming match-up against Robert E. Lee on Nov. 4.

According to Shuey, this means entering the game with “the desire to pull out with the win.”

“We’ve always had the ability to [win], we just need to work together to realize it,” he said.

For the Atoms, a win against Lee will help turn around their season, showing that they still have some fight left in them.

“This is the most important game of the year for us, and we’re going to respond by playing our hearts out against a very good Lee team as well,” Scott said.

Still, a win will do nothing to erase the team’s struggles this season, which have resulted in a 1-8 record and a last place standing in the Patriot District.

“The season has not gone the way we wanted it to go at all and it has been disappointing because we are not following the AHS tradition,” Bermingham said of the season thus far.

When asked if he thought the team’s lack of experience has played a factor in its losses, Bermingham responded positively, also citing “the lack of support we get from the school.”

Other players and coaches have also been somewhat disappointed by the season, as the team’s record does not reflect the hard work and perseverance it has shown both on and off the field.

“I knew coming into the year that it was going to be tough and that odds were that we would not make playoffs, but I did not think it was going to be this rough,” Wattenbarger said.

“It’s a disappointment when you’re not winning,” Scott added. “We play in a very difficult district and there were some games we certainly could have won and didn’t.”

However, the season is not yet over, and the Atoms still have one game remaining to prove their worth against a 5-3 Lancers team.

“We’ve got another game left, so the season’s not over yet,” Scott said.