Dawson Pulls Away Late
Dawson County High School, FYNTV, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports October 24, 2022
It was a beautiful night for football last Friday night as these two region rivals squared off in Dawsonville. It was a tale of two halves as the Tigers used a big 17-point 3rd quarter to get ahead of Gilmer and win 17-7. The Tigers defense dominated all game as they held the Bobcats to just one garbage time TD. Dawson County won this one to stay undefeated in region play. The Tigers now are just one win away from clinching the Region 7AAA title. After losing back-to-back games, the Bobcats now sit on the outside looking in and with Pickens owning the tiebreaker, Gilmer no longer controls its own destiny.
Team Notes
The Tigers offense was rather sluggish on Friday night, but they were able to rely on their defense. Davis Glass overthrew a couple passes and finished the night with just 30 yards going 3/11 in the air. Kade Moledor’s production was also a bit limited thanks to Gilmer’s tough defense, as he went for just 50 yards on nine carries. The offensive player of the game was RB Elijah Smith who finished with 104 yards on ten carries and a TD. Smith also got the Tigers some momentum in the second half as he took the opening kickoff to the house for the first points scored in the game. The defense came up huge for the Tigers once again. Unfortunately, neither Hudl nor Maxpreps posted individual stats for the defense. Kenny Nelson had a couple of sacks along with DL Kevin Haymond. Cade Adams did his job and recorded a few more TFL. Adams has recorded at least one TFL in every game this season. Will Kurtz’s name was also mentioned a few times as he dominated the offensive line.
As for the Bobcats, their first half was rather promising, but after they came out of for the second half everything seemed to fall apart for Gilmer. After a solid defensive showing, the Bobcats took a 0-0 ballgame into the second half. However, their gameplan in the second half was so predictable that Dawson kept shutting everything down. Rellinger was 1/6 throwing the ball for just 43 yards and ran the ball ten times for -20 yards. Hunter Watkins and Will Kiker combined for 13 carries and 44 yards. Brock Titus was the workhorse for the Bobcats as he ran the ball 23 times for 95 yards. Watkins was able to bring in the big 43-yard pass from Rellinger. The defense kept their team in the game but was eventually wore out by the Tigers run game and the holes got wider and wider in the second half. Aspen Hataway led the way with seven tackles.
Game Notes
As mentioned, the first half was very slow paced and there was not a lot going for either team on offense. That is until late in the 2nd quarter. Gilmer had moved the ball to the Tigers side of the field with just seconds left. Rellinger dropped back and had just enough time to get the ball down field to Watkins who was able to get up and bring down the catch inside the Dawson five. Unfortunately, the Bobcats failed to stop the clock in time and the whistles blew indicating the end of the half.
Elijah Smith returned the kickoff for a TD to open the 2nd half and then it was all Dawson. Smith had a huge second half and he added another TD on the ground. Dom LeBlanc also kicked a FG after missing on his first attempt earlier in the game. The big 17-point 3rd quarter was enough to propel the Tigers to the win.
Look Ahead
Dawson will travel to Dahlonega to take on the Lumpkin County Indians. This is a huge game and is labeled as the title game. If you can not attend, be sure to tune in as Noah Johnson and I are on the call on FYN TV. As for Gilmer, they will head into a much-needed Bye week before finishing the season at home against White County in what could be a playoff clinching scenario for both teams.
Dawson Defense with Another Shutout
Dawson County High School, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports October 9, 2022
Dawson County used a big opening quarter to put this game away early, beats Pickens 27-0. Things immediately went south for the Pickens County Dragons as the QB threw a Pick 6 and then Dawson kept adding as they scored TDs on their first two offensive possessions. Dawson ran for 245 yards on the ground and Davis Glass had a good night in the air when he got the chance to throw it as he threw for over 100 yards and a TD. However, things then went south for Dawson in the second half. Between turnovers and penalties, HC Sid Maxwell was steaming on the sidelines as Dawson should have won this game by a much greater margin. Maxwell went on to say this after the game, “We played well but we just had too many mistakes and too many penalties. We got relaxed [at] 27-0. We had chances to drive it home in the first half and didn’t capitalize and never really came out and played the second half.” (Quote from Rio White of the Dawson County Newspaper). Despite the 2nd half angst, the Tigers held Pickens to just 131 yards on offense, but perhaps their biggest accomplishment of the night was late in when Pickens had 3 consecutive possessions start or get inside the Dawson 20, and the Tigers forced back-to-back turnover on downs and forced and recovered a fumble on the third. Dawson County now sits atop Region 7AAA at 3-0, while Pickens falls to 0-2. Dawson is outscoring region opponents 114-7 in their first 3 region games.
Team Notes
Dawson did enough in the first half to still call it an impressive win despite the sloppy second half. Kade Moledor once again left his mark on this game as he led the Tigers in rushing and in tackles. Moledor was able to rack up 90 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries as well as accumulate 10 tackles on the other side of the ball. Despite fumbling the ball away, Elijah Smith also had a nice game for the Tigers as he ran for 65 yards on 6 carries. Though Maxpreps nor Hudl posted Davis Glass’s stats in the air, he did throw for over 100 yards and was able to connect with Doug Pagel for a TD. Glass also kicked off the scoring for the Tigers offense as he got their first TD of the game on a QB sneak. The young QB has been impressive after his return from injury and looks ready to lead this offense down the stretch. Dom LeBlanc led the team in receiving yards with 72 yards on 5 catches. Despite the notable offensive performances, the defense as a whole gets the MVP award as they have now pitched their second consecutive shutout. Cade Adams got himself acquainted with the Pickens QB as he led the team with 3 sacks. Ian Costley also had a good game with 7 tackles, a sack, and 2 TFL. Christian Webb also had 3 tackles and put the Tigers up early with a Pick 6, on the first drive of the game.
As for Pickens, they did not do anything impressive, and this team is in shambles. Here is a look at every Pickens possession of the game in order: Pick 6, turnover on downs, 3 and Out, 3 and Out, 3 and Out, turnover on downs, 3 and Out, Halftime, 3 and Out, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, Fumble. Wow just wow, and no discredit to the Tigers defense, they are incredible but the Pickens offense must’ve not made the trip to Dawsonville Friday night. Kadyn Hampton led the team in tackles with 18 and was tied for the team lead in TFL with 3. Trey Fields and Charlie Gibbons also notched 3 TFL each. Pickens had 13 TFL Friday night.
Game Notes
As mentioned, it did not take long for Dawson to get ahead as Webb’s Pick 6 happened on the third play of the game. This gave Dawson an early 6-0 lead (missed PAT) and they did not look back. Dawson then shut down the Dragons offense again and they were able to cash in on their first two possessions. Glass took it to the house on a QB sneak and then connected with Pagel on the following drive putting Dawson up 20-0 in the first quarter. Pickens let out some frustration as the teams had a bit of a mix up and exchanged pleasantries, though the result was not impactful as both teams received offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. As we progressed through the 2nd quarter, Davis Glass was shaken up after taking a hit and left the game for a play. Unfortunately, Preston Bannister misplayed the snap and Pickens was able to recover the first of the four Dawson turnovers of the game. No harm, no foul as the Dawson defense shut down the Dragons drive and Moledor answered with a huge 65-yard TD run on the next drive. Dawson would then fumble the ball away again on their last possession of the half.
In the second half, the Dawson offense struggled, and this is not something they can do with the remaining teams on their schedule. Dawson’s first drive was stopped before it started as a offensive pass interference and a false start would push it back to 1st and 30 and they ended up punting. Pickens defense then forced a 3 and out on the second drive of the half and their offense finally moved the ball. However, the Tigers were able to stuff Pickens on 4th and goal and would then get the ball back. The Dawson defense was able to keep Pickens from scoring in three straight drives that got into the redzone keeping the Dragons score at a goose egg.
Look Ahead
Dawson will travel to Wesleyan next week to take on the Wolves who are now 3-4 (2-1) as the Tigers look to stay undefeated in region play. As for the Dragons they will host the Gilmer Bobcats who are 5-2 (2-1) next Friday night.
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).