Dawson County traveled to Hiawassee on Friday to face Towns County in a preseason football scrimmage game.
The game gave Dawson County Head Coach Jeff Lee and his coaching staff a chance take a look at their players before Friday's opening game at East Hall.
The Tigers remained very basic on offense. It was the first varsity start for Dawson quarterback Zack Buchan, who looked sharp throwing the ball, as the offense scored four touchdowns.
The team's defense, however, was impressive. Led by defensive back Jackson Putnam, the Tigers pounded the Towns County offense all evening.
Defensive coordinator Jed Lacey's defense opened the game with a fumble recovery for a touchdown. The score set the tone defensively for the rest of the contest.
Even though both teams chose not to keep score the Tigers easily came out on top.
The real competition begins Friday night with Dawson County traveling to Gainesville to face an athletic East Hall Vikings team.
Last season, the Tigers handled Coach Brian Gray's team 42-0. East Hall finished the season with a 5-5 record. The Vikings were 3-4 in Region 7-AAA.
This is Gray's fourth season as coach at East Hall. His overall record at the school is 7-26.
Gray returns 10 starters on offense and eight on defense to this year's team.
The Vikings must find a way to stop the potent Tiger offense led by Buchan. The Tigers will feature an experienced offensive line that will block for backs Zack Lane, Cody Lamar, Richard Palmer, Corey Voyles, Conor Woodbury, Kyle Hayes and Keaton Toal.
Buchan will also have an experienced wide out in senior Chris Sayler.
Dalton Edwards, Brandon Abbott, Jeffrey Partain and Jackson Putnam will also be big targets for Buchan.
Tight ends Logan Hayes and Brett Whalen have had a great preseason and will be counted on to block and receive passes, according to Lee.
Defensively, Lee said this may be the best secondary that he has coached since he arrived in Dawsonville 11 seasons ago.
Led by Putnam, the Tigers will feature Sayler, Abbott, Logan Hurst, Peyton Pruitt and Zach Guy.
"The speed of East Hall concerns me," Lee said. "We must tackle them early before they can get outside. This should be a really good game."
Kick off for Friday's Region 7-AAA showdown is set for 7:30 p.m.