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ATHENS ÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥” Zach Smith had a good birthday.

He not only made his first varsity start but also scored a touchdown reception to help catapult Maroa-Forsyth to a 47-14 Sangamo Conference victory over Athens on Saturday.

"It felt great to finally start as a junior this year and have a pretty good game," Smith said. "It felt great because IÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥™ve been waiting for this moment since IÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥™ve been in high school and to finally get it just felt amazing."

The game was postponed on Friday due to lightning.

DeAngelo Owen's 46-yard kickoff return and running back Khanton Wilson's 30-yard TD run on Maroa's first play from scrimmage quickly signaled the tenor for the rest of the afternoon.

Maroa junior quarterback Ryne Sheppard shined in his first start after sitting behind former standout Kaiden Maurer. He completed 9 of 14 passing attempts for 210 yards and three scores. He flicked a 61-yard TD screen pass to Smith on 3rd-and-long to end the first period ahead 14-7.

Smith, who turned 17, finished with four catches for 100 yards. Senior tight end Grant Smith, unrelated, had three catches for 74 yards and two scores. Senior receiver/defensive back Mitch Williams returned an interception for a touchdown to begin the second quarter while nabbing three catches for 53 yards offensively.

Wilson totaled seven carries for 68 yards and two scores. Maroa, the two-time defending Sangamo champions, reached the Class 2A state semifinals before bowing to Wilmington, who then knocked off Athens in the state championship game.

"WeÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥™ve been excited for the last few months ready to go hit somebody and we finally hit somebody today and we were the most physical team out here," Wilson said.

Gage Honn led Athens with 23 carries for 142 yards and one TD.

"We had some definite things to build on today," Athens coach Ryan Knox said. "We had some good things for sure, so weÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥™re going to build on those things. I just think weÃÞ»¨ÌÇÖ±²¥™re going to have to dig deep and find some answers."