Carly Sharec

csharec@dawsonadvertiser.com

If the ability to provide quality law enforcement was determined solely on the outcome of a basketball game, Lumpkin County citizens might feel a lot safer than their Dawson counterparts.

This comes from the 51-37 final score in the Dawson-Lumpkin basketball game between the counties sheriff departments the evening of March 23. The game was held as a fundraiser for Relay for Life, with the proceeds being split between the Dawson and Lumpkin teams.

The Lumpkin team came off strong early, and held the lead throughout the entire game. The score was 24-17 at halftime.

The Dawson team could not gain the lead, and ended the game at a 24-point deficit. Sheriff Billy Carlisle called it a great game for a good cause.

We had a lot of fun with it, Carlisle said. Thats the main thing, and we raised some money for Relay for Life.

After the game, Lumpkins Sheriff Stacy Jarrard grabbed the PIG trophy PIG standing for Pride, Integrity and Guts, and the trophy being in the literal shape of a pig.

I was just thinking on Saturday that, for this, its always been a rivalry between Dawson and Lumpkin as far as sporting events go, Jarrard said. I thought it would be great to have some type of trophy to be awarded.

The pig carving comes from former Lumpkin resident Frank Knowles, who donated a warehouse full of the carvings to the sheriffs office to be auctioned off. Knowles recently passed away. I felt that was a good honor for his behalf, being a donor to the sheriffs office, Jarrard added.

While Dawson County may have lost this round, the players are already looking forward to a rematch. It was nice of them to go out and recruit from their local college, Major Tony Wooten from Dawson joked.

It feels really good, said Lumpkins Lt. Wesley Burnett following the win. We had said in the beginning that we were going to come out and play to win. Dawson may have won in the past, but all I can say is ... dont focus on the past, he laughed.

When all was said and done, $892 was raised for Relay for Life, with just over $350 being the portion for Dawson County. The teams split the proceeds from gate and raffle sales, while Lumpkin County received concession stand profits.

Its all for a good cause, Jarrard said. Im glad that Dawson County would entertain playing the game with us.

Wooten and Carlisle agreed.

Yeah, well have it down here next time, Carlisle said. Lets see how we do with our home court advantage!