Denmark High School may only be in their second year as a school, but you wouldn’t know it from watching their football team.

Dawson County knew they would have their work cut out for them, as the Danes of Denmark have multiple players committed to Power 5 conference schools.

If the Tigers were intimidated by the talent of their opponent, they definitely didn’t show it.

Dawson opened up the game by kicking the ball off to Denmark and forcing a 3 and out. Dawson muffed the punt, but held onto it, only to have a 3 and out of their own.

Denmark got the ball back and drove down the field to the red zone. However, following a timeout, the Tigers held the Danes on the line of scrimmage to force the turnovers on downs.

#10 Zacchaeus Holtzclaw started the drive off with a strike to #1 Dakohta Sonnichsen that resulted in a 30 yard gain for Dawson. Following a few more first down runs, #12 Riley Herndon ran the ball in from 13 yards out to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

Considering Denmark had beaten their previous opponents by a total score of 104-0, this was a huge start for the Tigers.

The following drives didn’t have much excitement, as the teams exchanged 3 and outs. The following drive for the Danes was cut short by an interception from #20 Tripp Caine. However, the Tigers eventually had to punt.

Denmark drove the ball down the field off of big plays that eventually resulted in a touchdown run to tie the game at 7 with 5:57 left in the half.

Dawson proved they have matured as a team as they responded with a long kick return by #15 Isaiah Grindle to get them down to the 2 yard line.

Unfortunately, a number of penalties set them back to the 27 yard line, and the drive resulted in a 44 yard field goal by #99 Caleb Bonesteel to give the Tigers the lead back with 3:26 left in the second.

Denmark’s stars showed off their talent, as they scored in less than 2 minutes on an incredible 55-yard touchdown pass to give them a 14-10 lead back with 1:46 remaining.

A few short runs by Dawson ended the half with the score neck and neck.

Dawson started off the half with a 3 and out, but was able to get some momentum back on an interception by #12 Riley Herndon. After a few first downs, they did have to punt again.

The Danes marched the ball methodically down the field, and started the 4^th quarter with excellent field position. Dawson’s defense came up big, and held them to a field goal to keep it at a one possession game.

Following another 3 and out by the Tigers, both defenses started to get tired and it showed.

Denmark launched another long pass down the field and then ran the ball in to extend their lead to 24-10 with 7:31 remaining.

After multiple long passes, Holtzclaw delivered a 20 yard touchdown pass to #11 Joey Toal to make it 24-17.

The Danes responded with a 71 yard touchdown bomb about a minute later.

The Tigers didn’t back down, as Holtzclaw delivered another touchdown less than a minute later, this time to #4 Brody Howell.

Following an onside kick, the Danes wasted no time, scoring on a 51 yard touchdown 19 seconds later.

Holtzclaw got his team rolling again with a first down, but the defense came alive and recorded back to back sacks. On third and long, Holtzclaw heaved up a long pass, but it was intercepted, allowing the Danes to run out the clock.

The Tigers will return to action next Friday as they look to get back on track at Lumpkin County High School.