Offense Can’t Get Going, Tigers Fall At Home
Dawson County High School, FYNTV, Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports September 12, 2022
Dawson could not get anything going on offense in this one as they fall to the Stephens County Indians 38-10 as the Tigers head into the Bye Week at 2-2. Stephens County was able to win this one in the trenches as they finished just shy of 400 yards on offense, while the defense was able to limit what Dawson could do on offense. The Tigers used three QBs throughout this one and none of them seemed to find their groove with the exception of Walker Massey leading a solid drive to start the second half that resulted in a field goal and freshman Dylan Edwards connecting with Declan Rhodes for the only Dawson TD of the game.
Team Notes
Dawson County struggled on both sides of the ball in this one. The Tigers threw two interceptions in the first half, one by Massey on the first possession of the game and another thrown by Massey later in the second quarter. The run game failed to make a mark as HC Sid Maxwell tried to find a groove with two different QBs Massey, and Sawyer Bearden. The secondary got beat frequently as the Indians were able to connect on some big plays, setting themselves up for scores. Neither Maxpreps nor Hudl had individual stats posted for Dawson County.
As for Stephens County, everything seemed to go their way on Friday night. The Indians owned this game on both sides of the ball with the big boys on the line being the key difference for them in this one. Senior QB Ben Stowe totaled 178 yards on just 8 completions, 2 TDs and he ended with a 141.4 QBR. The Indians run game totaled for 204 yards and was led by sophomore RB Javin Gordon as he ran the ball 31 times for 138 yards and 3 TDs. Junior WR Jasec Smith was able to bring in 2 TDs passes and ended with 69 receiving yards.
Game Notes
As mentioned, the Tigers were unable to set the tone early as QB Massey threw an early interception on the first drive and then it was all Stephens County. The Indians cashed in on that TO as Stowe connected with Corey Richie for a big pass play and that set up a Gordon rushing TD to put the Indians up early and they never looked back.
As the first half continued, Gordon flashed his running ability as he broke a big 63 yard run breaking three tackles and using his strength and incredible footwork to his advantage. Smith brought in one of his two TDs in rather lucky fashion as the Dawson defense was able to originally break up the pass attempt, but Smith was able to adjust and bring in the tipped ball and took it to the house. Stowe then found Smith in the endzone again on their last first half possession again as Stephens County took a big 21-0 lead into the half.
Though down by three possessions, the Tigers came out strong on defense with a big TFL and forced a 3 and out. Then with the little momentum they had, QB Massey was able to piece together the most successful drive of the QB trio used throughout the first 3.5 quarters, as he connected with playmaker Dominic LeBlanc to get the Tigers in FG range. Unfortunately, after that there was very little of note as the Indians answered the Dawson FG with a Javin Gordon TD and then it was garbage time.
Look Ahead
Dawson will head into the Bye Week looking ahead to West Hall as they look to begin region play on a good note. As for Stephens County they will play host as they square off against White County next Friday.
Dawson Finds the Win Column After a Big Road Win
Dawson County High School, FYNTV, Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports September 5, 2022
On a very rainy Friday night in Gainesville, Dawson stormed into the Brickyard and knocked off the Trojans, 30-13. The umbrellas were out in full force as the rain was coming down throughout the pregame and carried into the first half. But when it was time for football, the Dawson Tigers were ready. Despite some early miscommunications, where a very frustrated Coach Maxwell had to burn two timeouts in the games first 4 minutes, the Tigers dominated on both sides of the ball. Size played a factor in this one as the Tigers dominated the trenches on both sides of the ball as they gained 309 yards on the ground, while holding the Trojans to just 2 rushing yards.
Team Notes
The Tigers were led by Elijah Smith, Matt Bennett, and Kade Moledor as the three combined for 91% of the Dawson offense. Bennett had himself a nice game as he had 100 yards on the ground on 10 carries while also adding two big TDs, one for 39 yards and one to put the game away late in the 4th. Smith led the team in rushing as he had 118 yards on 18 carries while notching a TD and Moledor had 68 yards on 13 attempts and opened the scoring with an early TD run. The defense was very dominant all game and gave the Trojans very little to work with. The only obvious knock on the Tigers is they totaled 113 penalty yards.
North Hall was never in this one as they struggled to do anything against the Tigers defense. Tanner Marsh did connect with Ryals Puryear for a 62-yard scored to end the half and Marsh later connected with Sam Gailey for the other Trojans score. Their defense had nothing go their way as the Tigers ran it all over them. Trey Patterson the junior LB led the defense with 16 tackles while junior Zeke Harris and senior Alston Self had 12 tackles each.
Game Breakdown
It was a very wet day in Gainesville as they rain started around 6:30 and did not stop until halftime. The Tigers had some early communication issues forcing Maxwell to burn the two timeouts early, but after the Trojans Punter shanked his first punt of the game, it was all Tigers. Moledor and Bennett’s touchdowns put the Tigers up 13-0 in the first quarter and the Tigers defense shut down the Trojans. The Trojans were frustrated, and things became a bit chippy. Elijah Smith got his rushing TD in the second quarter and Dominic LeBlanc added a field goal to put Dawson up 23-0. However, after throwing six straight incompletions, North Hall QB Tanner Marsh was able to connect with his WR Ryals Puryear on a beautiful wheel route that went for 62 yards as the Trojans evaded the first half shutout.
The Trojans carried that momentum into the second half as Marsh connected with Gailey for a 17-yard TD pass. North Hall went for two to try and make it a 10-point game but failed to convert and Dawson led 23-13. Unfortunately for North Hall, that’s where the momentum ceased as the Tigers defense persisted and held off anything the Trojans threw their way and in the 4th quarter Matt Bennett was able to find the end zone again to put the game away.
Look Ahead
Dawson County will return home to host the Stephens County Indians (2-1) who are coming a 27-11 victory over Flowery Branch. As for North Hall, they will host the Walnut Grove Warriors (2-0).
Longhorns humbled the Tigers on Friday Night
Dawson County High School, Sports, Team FYN Sports August 29, 2022
After a good performance in week one on both sides of the ball against Jackson County in Week 1, the Tigers never got going against the Longhorns. The first play from scrimmage was a big 80-yard pass TD for the Longhorns and they just never looked back. Every Longhorns score was at least 38 yards and they dominated both in the air and on the ground. The Tigers struggled to get anything going on offense as they managed just 201 yards and were only able to tack on two field goals as they fell in this one 49-6.
Team Notes
The Davis Glass/Dominic LeBlanc connection was the only thing working for the Tigers offense as the two connected for a big 69-yard pass, by far the longest play of the game for Dawson. Leblanc showcased some great footwork in this one, as he finished with 107 yards receiving. The sophomore Glass, however, struggled in this one as he finished just 8/26 for 142 total yards. As for the defense, nothing went right for them as they allowed 512 yards. Will Kurtz did come up with a few big plays for the Dawson defense as he finished with 2 sacks and 3 TFLs.
As for the Longhorns, everything seemed to go their way on Friday night. They outgained the Tigers by 311 yards, finishing with 326 yards in the air and 186 on the ground. Their defense was stellar as they forced six 3 and outs and never let Dawson get any momentum. They won the game in the trenches on both sides as the offensive line created some big holes while their defensive line was constantly in the backfield and held the Tigers to just 52 rushing yards. Neither Maxpreps nor Hudl had individual stats posted for Fannin County.
Game Breakdown
As mentioned, the first game of scrimmage for the Longhorns was a big 80-yard pass and after forcing a 3 and out and getting great field position thanks to a botched punt, they immediately tacked on another touchdown with a big 45-yard touchdown. The Tigers had no answer as they managed only 3 first downs in the first half with one of them attributed to a pass interference call by the refs. The big pass from Glass to Leblanc gave a little spark to the Tigers as Leblanc evaded defender after defender, breaking three tackles on the play. However, they were held to just three points. Lambert kept their foot on the gas as they notched three more big touchdowns in the second quarter, highlighted by another big 73-yard pass play, and the Longhorns took a 35-3 lead into the half.
The second half featured the same result for both teams as Lambert picked up a 77-yard TD run, and an 87-yard TD pass and the Tigers managed to add another 3 points in garbage time. We had a running clock as we started the 4th quarter and we got to see backup QB Walker Massey come in for a drive, though he fumbled the ball away.
Look Ahead
As we look ahead to next week the Dawson County Tigers will travel to North Hall to take on the 0-1 Trojans, who are coming off a Bye. The Trojans fell 35-14 to White County in Week 1, despite outgaining the Warriors by 157 yards. This will be a big test for the young Tigers QB, Davis Glass, as we await to see how he responds in the upcoming road game following this last road blowout. As for Lambert, they will look to keep the momentum going into this Friday night as they host the Mountain View Bears (1-1).