Dawson County Falls to GACS in Battle for First Place

Business, Dawson County High School, Team FYN Sports

Over the past 3 seasons, the winner of the Dawson County vs GACS game has gone on to win the region.

With both schools sitting at 2-0 in the region, it appeared the stakes of this game were as high as ever.

To start off the game, GACS received the ball for a touchback. The Spartans drove the ball down the field with multiple first downs, eventually scoring on a 9-yard touchdown run to give them a 7-0 lead 3 and a half minutes into the game.

As strong as GACS looked on their first drive, Dawson County looked even stronger. Following 2 short runs, #1 Dakohta Sonnichsen caught a slant pass and weaved through the defense, going 75 yards for the score to tie the game 2 minutes later.

#1 Dakohta Sonnichsen swerves through the defense on his way to a 75-yard touchdown

In response to the big play, the Spartans had a similar drive to their first, gaining multiple first downs on their way to a 3-yard touchdown run with less than a minute left in the first quarter to give them a 14-7 lead.

Trying to keep up with the pace of GACS, the Tigers came out aggressive on their next drive. Unfortunately, the first play was a pass that resulted in an interception, giving the Spartans the ball around midfield.

For a 3rd time, GACS methodically drove the ball down the field for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

To get his team some momentum back, #12 Riley Herndon blocked the extra point attempt, to hold the score at 20-7 with 9:38 left in the half.

On the next possessions, both teams got a few first downs, but had to punt.

On the following possession, the Tigers had a 4th down situation in their own territory. Desperately needing some momentum, Herndon ran the ball and converted a fake punt for the first down.

Getting down to another 4th down nearing the end of the half, Dawson County lined up for a long field goal. They faked it again, but this time the Spartans were ready and prevented the conversion.

#12 Riley Herndon prepares his defense

GACS ran out the clock, heading to halftime with a 20-7 lead.

Dawson County opened up the second half with a few first downs. However, on 4th down, the Tigers faked another punt. This time, Herndon rolled out left and fired the ball to Sonnichsen on the sideline. He hauled in the catch, but didn’t have control, resulting in a turnover on downs.

The defense of the Tigers started rolling, forcing a 3 and out.

On the ensuing possession, Dawson County was able to move the ball down the field, but eventually had to punt after huge losses on 2 sacks.

The Tigers forced another 3 and out to get the ball back for their offense.

On their next drive, #10 Zacchaeus Holtzclaw threw a pass that was tipped and landed in the hands of the Spartans, resulting in his second interception of the game.

Currently leading the region with 6 interceptions, Herndon added to his total with a pick on the next drive.

After moving the ball down the field, the Tigers eventually turned the ball over on downs with an incomplete pass on 4th down.

Trying to seal the game, the Spartans opened their drive with a 30-yard run. However, on a big 3rd down, #30 DJ Mitchell got to the quarterback and brought him down for a big loss and forcing a punt.

#6 Jaden Gibson spins away to avoid the tackle

With one last chance, Dawson County started off the drive with a big return that had some yards tacked on with a facemask call. Unfortunately, Holtzclaw was sacked on 2nd down on a play that he was injured on. Backup QB #17 Keegan Stover came in to try and keep the momentum going, but eventually turned the ball over on downs, allowing the Spartans to run out the game clock.

Coach Maxwell was very proud of the way his guys played and felt they learned and got better.

Dawson County will return to action in 2 weeks as they host Fannin County.

 

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