Dawson County High School Head Coach Jeff Lee and his Tiger football team gave a preview of what to expect last Thursday in Calhoun with a 7-0 victory over the Sonoraville Phoenix.
“We made a lot of mistakes. The most important thing is that we were able to come away with a win. But we also have a lot to work on. We wanted to win, but we also wanted to have something to work on. We didn’t want to go there and say that’s the best we could be,” Lee said about the game.
Lee’s offense controlled the ball most of the game.
In the opening quarter, quarterback Chase Gilreath led his offensive team on a long sustained drive that ate the time out of most of the first quarter.
Penalties hurt the Tigers. After driving down inside the red zone two penalties backed them up and out of field goal range.
“Those are mental errors. It cost us a chance to put points on the board. But I’m glad we can address that now and not next week against Lumpkin County,” Lee said about his team’s mistakes.
Dawson also went on an eight and half minute drive to open the second half under the leadership of Gilreath.
Lee and his offensive staff are still trying to decide on the starting quarterback. Junior Chase Gilreath and sophomore Ethan Brown both are quality quarterbacks for the Tigers.
“We wanted to get Ethan in there more, but when we went on those two long drives it ate the clock up and we didn’t get Ethan in as much as we wanted,” said Lee.
Offensively, Lee and his staff were pleased with the play of quarterback Gilreath and wide receiver TJ Byrd.
On defense, the play of Stephen King, Grant Brown and Evan Weatherford were singled out by the coaches.
“We know that’s not the best we can be,” Lee said. “We now know what to work on this week to get ready for this Friday’s game, which counts. Overall, I was pleased with our effort.”
The Tigers open the season this Friday night with a game against rival Lumpkin County at Tiger Stadium.
An enormous crowd is expected for the game.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
E-mail Pam Jacobs at sports@dawsonnews.com.