No. 15 Bowling Green rolls over Atherton 44-20 in 5A Quarterfinal win

The No. 15 ranked Bowling Green Purples had their way all night against Atherton in the 5A class quarterfinals, defeating the Ravens 44-20 in decisive fashion Friday night. After boasting a 44-6 lead at the half, the Purples benched their starters for the remainder of the game.

Senior quarterback Deuce Bailey had a huge performance with six passing touchdowns, four of which went to Trevy Barber and two others to Jaxen Smith. The Purples were effective defensively too, with the starting lineup holding Ravens RB Michael Curry to just one touchdown.

“There were some tremendous catches from our receivers,” head coach Mark Spader said on the highlights of their dominant performance. “And the overall job our defense did on their running back… against our varsity, he had one run, and we’ve faced a bunch of good running backs this year. I thought overall they did a great job.”

Big defensive plays gave the Purples possession for most of the first half. After a Bowling Green score, the defense would come up with big stops to let Bailey and company keep scoring.

The Purples opened up with back-to-back touchdown receptions from Barber, taking a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. Atherton’s Michael Curry went for a huge run on their next drive, giving the Ravens a touchdown to make it 14-6 to end the first quarter.

Bailey found Barber in another seamless route in the red zone, going up 21-6. A defensive stop gave the Purples possession back, and the Bailey/Barber duo marked their fourth touchdown of the evening at 28-6.

Four touchdowns for @BarberTrevy 🤯🤯 @PurplesFootball

BG – 28
Atherton – 6
2Q, 2:25 pic.twitter.com/gEmT9xWWZo

— Piper McCoun (@PiperMcCounKSR) November 23, 2024

Bowling Green’s defense forced an Atherton punt out of their own end zone. The Purples made a big special teams play to block that kick. The safety gave them a 30-6 lead.

Later in the second quarter, Bailey found Jaxen Smith in the end zone. Not once, but twice. The back-to-back touchdowns gave them a 44-6 lead and a running clock heading into the locker rooms.

After the break, coach Spader let the starters rest their legs and left the second half to the second string. Atherton’s Michael Curry and Aden Wilson would each put up a touchdown in the second half, but the margin of separation was too great, and Bowling Green finished on top 44-20.

Bowling Green now looks ahead to face their biggest rival in the semifinals, South Warren. In their meeting earlier this season, South Warren bested the Purples 28-24 in a shootout, but Bowling Green is seeking vengeance.

“I can’t imagine we’re not gonna have a focused group getting ready to try and win the right to go to a state championship…” Spader added after the game. “This is a hard-fought series; the games are ugly at times, but the effort on both sides [is tremendous]… I hope we have a great week of practice [leading up to next Friday].”

The Purples will meet the Spartans again in enemy territory next Friday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. CT.