Jackson County Panthers @ Dawson County Tigers

                    By: Ryan Cobbett

On a rainy night in Dawson County, the Tigers kicked their season off with an exciting 28-21 win over the Jackson County Panthers. Penalties plagued Dawson from really opening the game up in the first half, but they came out of the half ready and with a huge 22-point 3rd quarter, they were able to come away with the win.

Team Notes

Tigers quarterback, Davis Glass, was a warrior in this one doing a bit of everything for the Tigers offense with a solid game on the ground and in the air. Glass found wide receiver Dominic Leblanc for his first TD of the game and then later connected with him again on a big 51-yard pass resulting in the tandem’s second touchdown connection. Aside from fumbling the ball away into the endzone, Kade Moledor made his presence felt in the run game in this one. The Tiger defense looked great throughout the game. The defense forced four turnovers, 1 fumble and three interceptions, and limited any momentum the Panthers felt. The defensive line was all over the backfield disrupting plays and keeping Panthers quarterback Chase Berrong from really settling in. Not only was the line great, aside from a few plays, the coverage from the secondary was solid, forcing Berrong into bad decisions all night.

Despite the final score showing a one possession loss, the Panthers had few bright spots in this one and know very well they left Dawsonville narrowly escaping a blowout. The offense was not ready for the Tigers defense as they totaled just 250 yards in this one. Berrong struggled to connect with his receivers all game and the Tigers held the Panthers to only 73 yards on the ground. However, defensive lineman Peyon Scott and linebacker Luke Mobbs had outstanding games for the Panthers defense combining for 23 tackles and 4 TFLs.

Game Breakdown

As expected, both teams had to work out a few kinks before they really got going in this one. The Tigers seemingly had great field position on almost every drive, but thanks to 60 penalty yards in the first half and a fumble into the endzone the Tigers offense failed to really get going. On the other side, Chase Berrong was 1-10 in the air, with an interception, and thanks to a MJ Spurlin fumble the Panthers first five possessions were tough to watch, but as the half winded down, it seemed luck was finally on the Panthers side as Berrong connected with senior wide out Markel Oliver on a big 54-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead at the half.

The Panthers had a fantastic start to the third quarter and suddenly, for a time, looked like they may pull this one out. The defense shut down Glass in the Tigers opening possession of the half, and thanks to a bad snap from the Tigers long snapper, the Panthers had all the momentum. The offense took advantage of the special teams blunder and thanks to an amazing catch by junior receiver Jaydan Hibbert, Jackson County was up 14-6. Until they weren’t. On the ensuing kickoff, Elijah Smith nearly broke for six but was tripped up at the Tigers 48-yard line. That return sparked the Tigers momentum for the rest of the game. Glass connected with Leblanc for a big touchdown to get the Tigers back into it. Coach Maxwell sent his boys out for a two-point conversion, but they came up short and the Tigers were down 14-12.

Following the Leblanc touchdown, the Panthers had a special teams blunder of their own when they lined up for a punt and saw the snap roll to the back of the endzone which resulted in a safety, a tie game, and the Tigers getting the ball back with all the momentum. And it didn’t take long, on the first play of the drive, following the safety, Glass connected with Leblanc on a big 51-yard touchdown to give the Tigers the lead again, 21-14. If that wasn’t enough, Berrong then threw a pick 6 and in the blink of an eye it was 28-14 Tigers. It was a tough 6 minutes for the Panthers.

The Tigers then focused heavily on the run game in the 4th quarter as they tried to milk the clock. Peyon Scott did everything he could to give his offense a chance to rally in the 4th, but his effort fell short as Glass put together a few drive saving runs, dwindling the clock.

Look Ahead

Both teams will look to build off their week one performances next week as Dawson will travel to Lambert (0-1) to face the Longhorns for another non-region matchup and Jackson will host the Duluth Wildcats (1-0).