Rabbits aim to lengthen win streak +

ATLANTA, Texas—Atlanta’s football team is on a roll.

The Rabbits have won four consecutive games and are tied for first in District 7-3A,

Division I with Jefferson.

Atlanta played a tough pre-district schedule that included Class 4A teams Gilmer, Gladewater, Pleasant Grove and Liberty-Eylau.

“Having a tough pre-district schedule has worked out pretty well,” Rabbits’ head coach Matt McClure said. “At the time, it wasn’t very fun. But when we did that, we found more toughness and discovered what areas we needed to improve upon. We worked and got better, and the kids stayed together. We’ve played really well in our last four games.”

In their last four games, Atlanta (4-4, 4-0) has outscored opponents 205-43. The Rabbits have wins over Redwater, New Boston, Hughes Springs and Mount Vernon.

“We play a lot of different kids,” McClure said. “We have three really good running backs in Jawan King, junior Dra Nelson and sophomore Caleb Hamilton. We feel like we have great depth there. We feel like we have gotten everything out of our kids; we play a few on offense and defense.

Atlanta will go into Friday’s game against Jefferson (7-0, 3-0) with win streaks on the line. The Rabbits are coming off a 41-22 victory over Mount Vernon.

Quarterback Andrew Samples accounted for four touchdowns in the win. He had scoring runs of a yard and four yards and threw for two more. Kade Wood was the recipient of both TD passes, a 10-yard and 37-yard strikes. King added a 15-yard touchdown run, and Nelson had a 14-yard score.

“We really came together as a unit on the sideline and played really well against the Tigers,” McClure said. “Our defense is more of a team effort than just any one player. Shun Hunter has been a mainstay on the defensive line, and Caleb Coleman has played well for us this year. Caleb has been a pleasant surprise for us. King, Samples and Nelson have all played defense for us.”

McClure expects a battle in Friday’s game against Jefferson, which could very well be for the district championship. Hooks also is in the mix at 2-1.

“We are the underdogs, but we are going to go there and see what we can give them,” he said. “Some of the keys for us will be to limit their big plays, tackle in space, have big plays of our own and limit our turnovers. Two good teams are going to be playing, and it should be a really good game.”

The game is at 7:30 p.m. in Jefferson.