Dawson County falls to North Forsyth in Scrimmage Game 34-15

 

In a battle between 2 young teams, Dawson’s potential shined in spurts. The turnovers and penalties are what kept Dawson County from getting the win.

The Dawson County Tigers (Region 7-AAA) faced off against the North Forsyth Raiders (Region 5-7A) in a game that featured a much larger opponent than what the Tigers will be playing in their region games. This type of experience early on will benefit Dawson County in the  long run.

Having graduated 28 seniors last year, the Tigers were prepared for mistakes early on, and that is just what happened.

They opened the game with a 3 and out, where the drive was cut short by a penalty that set the Tigers back a bit. The Raiders fed off their defense and methodically drove the ball down the field, but were held to a field goal due to a touchdown being waived off by a flag.

On Dawson County’s next possession, they fumbled the ball on an option play, and it was recovered by North Forsyth. However, sophomore Braedon Hubbard responded defensively with a 92-yard pick 6 to give the Tigers the lead 6-3 with 6:31 remaining in the first quarter.

The excitement was short lived, as the Raiders followed a couple of short runs with a 57-yard touchdown pass. 2 possessions later, they delivered a 19-yard touchdown strike to extend their lead to 17-6 early in the second quarter.

Dawson County received a spark from freshman Keegan Stover, who threw a 56-yard touchdown pass on the third play of his first drive to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 10 minutes remaining in the half.

For nearly 2 more quarters, neither team could get much going.

With 3 minutes left in the 3^rd quarter, North Forsyth hit a 23-yard field goal to extend their lead to 20-13. On the ensuing possession, Dawson County fumbled the ball in Raider territory, setting North Forsyth up with an opportunity to put the game away. However, the penalty bug hit the Raiders, forcing them to punt from their own 5-yard line. A bad snap resulted in the ball sailing over the punter’s head, giving the Tigers 2 points and the ball.

Down 20-15 with an opportunity to retake the lead for the first time since the 1^st quarter, Dawson County couldn’t get anything going and had a quick 3 and out. The Raiders then sealed the deal with a long drive finished by a touchdown run with 3 and half minutes remaining. However, the Tigers lost the ball on a bad snap, giving North Forsyth great field position that resulted in them tacking on another touchdown.

The final score was 34-15.

Dawson County will kick off their season officially on August 23^rd against Habersham Central at 7:30pm