#12 Riley Herndon plants the Dawson County flag.
In a battle of 5-2 teams, the matchup between Dawson County and Fannin County was set up to be a good one. On paper, these were two evenly matched teams.
However, with a playoff birth on the line, Dawson County rose to the occasion.
2 Dawson County receivers line up before the play.
Fannin received the ball to start the game, but couldn’t get much going, resulting in a quick 3 and out.
Despite a major injury against GAC 2 weeks ago, #10 Zach Holtzclaw was able to make start tonight, and he looked sharp.
Holtzclaw lead his offense down the field throwing multiple first down passes, including a long pass to Player of the Week #6 Jaden Gibson on third and long. On 4th and goal from the 2 yard line, Hotlzclaw kept the ball and ran in a touchdown to give the Tigers the early lead.
The next possession was the only lapse for the Tigers defense. On second down, the Rebels running back bounced off of the offensive line to the outside, running the ball 78 yards down to the 1 yard line. The next play, another Fannin running back pounded it in to tie the game about a minute later.
The Tigers weren’t fazed by the long score, responding with their own long touchdown. Holtzclaw fired a 50 yard touchdown to Gibson to regain the lead a minute later.
The refs talked to Dawson County and Fannin County.
Dawson County’s defense got back on track the next possession, forcing a 3 and out by the Rebels.
After the punt was returned to midfield, Holtzclaw launched a 40 yard pass to #1 Dakohta Sonnichsen. This set up a 7 yard touchdown run by #21 Shawn Thomas, making the score 21-7 late in the first quarter.
Fannin County’s offense was able to get the ball moving down the field, including a 4th down conversion. However, after a big sack on 3rd down, Dawson County got a stop on 4th down to get the ball back in their own territory.
Holtzclaw kept his offense firing on all cylinders, delivering a long pass to #8 Hunter Barron followed by a 46 yard touchdown pass to Gibson, his second of the night.
The Tigers’ defense stifled the Rebels again, forcing another 3 and out.
#15 Isaiah Grindle runs the ball for Dawson County.
On the following drive, Holtzclaw threw a quick screen to Shawn Thomas for a first down. The next play, #15 Isaiah Grindle ran 51 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 35-7 late in the second quarter.
Fannin moved the ball down the field well on the next possession, getting into Dawson territory. However, they weren’t able to capitalize, as they failed to convert on 4th down again, ending the half.
Dawson County started the second half on a good note, with a return to midfield by Gibson. Holtzclaw kept the momentum going by throwing for 2 first downs before delivering a 21 yard touchdown pass to Barron.
After a first down by Fannin, the Tigers killed the momentum of the Rebels with a big sack on third down, forcing a punt to give the ball back to Dawson.
#12 Riley Herndon started the drive with a 57 yard reception on a pass from Holtzclaw. Dakohta Sonnichsen followed that up with a 10 yard touchdown reception, to give Dawson a 48-7 lead with 6 minutes left in the third, after #99 Caleb Bonesteel had a rare miss on an extra point.
After another 3 and out by Fannin, the Tigers drove the ball down the field to set up a 33 yard field goal by Bonesteel to extend the lead to 51-7.
With a running clock, the game finished out quickly after possessions by both teams.
Dawson County travels to play at Cherokee Bluff next Friday, looking to make their record 7-2.
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Arrest report with photos provided by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. The Georgia Open Records Act…
Arrest report with photos provided by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. The Georgia Open Records Act…
Arrest report with photos provided by the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. The Georgia Open Records Act…
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Excited to hear about the Tigers upcoming playoff journey! Nicely written article. I’m curious about what the coach does specifically to prepare his freshmen players for a playoff experience or what adjustments he may make at halftime. Catch him off guard with a specific question like that after the next game