North Atlanta football started their 2022 season on fire, beating North Forsyth, Drew Charter, and New Manchester on the way to a 3-0 record. Hungry to improve to 4-0 for the third time in school history, the Dubs entered the battle of two undefeated teams against River Ridge. Following a long week of build up, the Dubs fans covered head-to-toe in red, white, and blue, flowed into Henderson Stadium to watch the heavyweight clash.

The Dubs started off slow, falling behind 6-0 in the first quarter. The offense failed to capitalize in the red zone, and the defense seemed one step behind. Things started looking up in the second quarter when senior Charlie Grier sniffed out the QB draw, firing into the River Ridge backfield, getting the strip sack and putting the ball back into the hands of the North Atlanta offense. Quarterback Trey Lennon took advantage of the sudden possession change, leading the Warriors all the way down the field. The drive was capped off by a 22-yard pass to wideout Deshawn Merritt for the momentum-shifting touchdown. “We started out slow, so we knew we needed to capitalize,” said Lennon. “Deshawn makes my job easy. I just knew he was going to take it to the house.”

The tides turned after the Lennon-Merritt connnection, as the Dubs added a 19-yard touchdown run and 12-yard touchdown pass before halftime. The score read 20-6 going into the break. As the second half began, the Warriors again got off to a low start failing to find the endzone and letting in a touchdown run, making it a one score game. The game went stale, until a magical play from Lennon iced the game in favor of the Dubs. A 16-yard scramble into the endzone capped off the 27-13 victory. “We went into halftime with a lot of momentum, but came out flat,” said Senior Dubs superfan Mac Perno. “However, I knew the guys would pull through.”

While the Warriors offense was clicking, the Dubs’ secondary were the true heroes of the game, establishing a “No-Fly-Zone,” that lasted the entirety of the game. River Ridge was held to just 6 receptions, totalling only 74 yards in the air with four interceptions. The defensive dominance was led by senior corner Carl Murray who had an interception hat trick. “The quarterback learned his lesson the hard way,” said sophomore wideout David Hughes. “Do not throw it in five’s direction.”

The Dubs are off to an electric start to the season, starting 4-0, but their goals are far from over as region play begins on September 30th with their homecoming game against St. Pius. Fans and players alike are hopeful the dominance continues as they look for their second playoff berth in four years.