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DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Coming off a loss last week at White County, Dawson County headed into the final three weeks of the regular season in must-win mode.
The Tigers got that first must-win and kept their playoff hopes alive with a 42-14 Region 6-3A win over Chestatee at Tiger Stadium Friday night.
“I’m proud of how we responded after last week’s loss,” Dawson first-year coach Jaybo Shaw said. “They could have cashed this thing in after dropping our last one. They went back to work on Monday. It was a growth point for our program.”
Both teams entered the game tied for fifth in Region 6-3A and needing to win out to improve their playoff chances.
The loss does not eliminate Chestatee from the playoffs, but the War Eagles cannot afford another loss. They entered the game 34th in the Class 3-A GHSA Post Season Rankings (PSR) and will have to wait to see how far they drop in the PSR. The top 32 make the state playoffs.
Chestatee (3-5, 1-4 Region 6-3A) plays White County next Friday and closes the regular season on Oct. 31 at Greater Atlanta Christian. Dawson (3-5, 2-3 Region 6-3A) travels to Lumpkin County before playing host to North Hall.
Dawson exploded for 35 unanswered points and ran away from Chestatee in the second half. The Tigers scored 14 points in the final 4:54 of the first and tacked on three more to start the second half.
Leading 21-7 at the half, the Tigers put the game away with three touchdowns in the third quarter. Quarterback Brady Sorenson capped the Tigers’ first drive of the second half with a 1-yard run.
After stopping the War Eagles on downs, Dawson drove 52 yards with junior running back Cody McBrayer scoring on a 5-yard run. McBrayer rushed for 166 yards.
“Cody finishes runs and does not get knocked back,” Shaw said. “And our offensive line has gotten better as the season has gone on.”
The Tigers’ defense contributed to the scoring. Sophomore defensive Jayden Cohen returned an interception 45 yards to put the Tigers up 42-7 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
Dawson scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to begin to take control of the game. With the game tied 7-7, the Tigers drove 76 yards in 13 plays. Gunnar Weaver scored on a 2-yard run with 4:54 to play. Dawson converted a fourth down on Sorenson’s pass to Cash Watkins to keep the drive going.
On Chestatee’s next drive, Dawson linebacker Jadyn Mattie recovered a fumble at the War Eagles’ 46. It took Dawson just four plays to go up two touchdowns. McBrayer, who rushed for 90 yards in the first half, scored on a 4-yard run to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead at the half.
The Tigers scored first on Sorenson’s 47-yard scoring pass to Dylan Edwards five minutes into the game. Sorenson completed 11-of-16 passes for 180 yards. Edwards had 86 yards receiving.
Chestatee Colton Steele’s interception led to the War Eagles’ game-tying drive. Quarterback Gage Reese connected with Blake Conner on fourth down to set up Conner’s 16-yard touchdown run. Brody Burke provided the key block on the scoring play.
Conner led the War Eagles with 72 rushing yards and caught two passes for 61 yards. Yohann Reyn ran for 46 yards and one touchdown.
The post Football: Dawson rolls past Chestatee to keep playoff hopes alive appeared first on AccessWdun.
