About the only thing it didn’t do last Friday night was rain. The much anticipated weather system moving through the Southeast didn’t hit Tiger Stadium as Dawson matched up with Region 8-AA foe Fannin County.

Rain drops weren’t falling, but the Rebels did rain on Dawson’s parade, handing the Tigers their fourth straight loss, with a score of 24-0.

Dawson County Head Coach Jeff Lee and his squad dropped to 0-3 in Region 8-AA play and 0-4 overall. Fannin moved to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the region.

As it has seemed all season, the Dawson offense just couldn’t get anything going. The Tigers were shutout for the second time this season and only threatened once, when quarterback Ethan Brown broke loose for what appeared to be a 75-yard touchdown run. The score was called back on a holding penalty and that was it for the Tigers offensively.

Brown led the Tigers in rushing with 16 carries for 99 yards. Lee’s offense managed only 141 yards total on the ground on 28 carries.

The passing game was almost non-existent as Brown’s only completion was to Levi Wilson in the third quarter for a 9-yard gain.

Brown finished the game going 1-for-5 with an interception to Rebel free safety Dean Nick. Brown felt pressure from the Rebel rush all evening. The junior quarterback was sacked on four occasions as the Fannin front four had him rattled. One of the sacks led to a fumble in the fourth quarter.

“On offense, we made some progress, but when you have a fumble and a touchdown called back because of holding, it makes it tough to be consistent,” said Lee.

Back-up quarterback Tyler Dominy came in on the last series of the game and completed a pass to fellow freshman wide receiver Bruce Clark for 13-yards. It was Dominy’s only completion in three attempts.

Dawson completed the game with 153 total yards and only seven first downs.

After a three and out by Dawson to start the game, Fannin set up shop on the Tiger 39-yard line. The Dawson defense bowed their necks stopping the Rebels at the Tiger 10-yard line on a huge hit by linebacker Lee Smith. Smith recovered a fumble later in the game stopping another Rebel drive.

Both teams played to a scoreless first quarter.

Fannin finally got on the scoreboard in the second quarter on a 30-yard run by the Rebel quarterback. The PAT was successful and with only 5:40 remaining before halftime Fannin held a 7-0 lead.

Dawson’s bend but don’t break defense gave up 214 total yards in the first half, but only allowed one touchdown.

The Tigers kicked off to Fannin to begin the second half.

The Rebels went on a 10-play drive that ended with a 32-yard field goal. The score was 10-0 with 7:42 left in the third quarter.

It was obvious the Dawson defense was tiring. With several players that have to play on offense and defense, the Tigers seemed to run out of gas. Fannin took advantage of the Tiger fatigue and put another touchdown up as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.

The Fannin quarterback found an opening and went untouched into the end zone from 2-yards out. The extra point was true and the Rebels went into the fourth quarter with a comfortable 17-0 lead.

Rebel quarterback  Dean Nick had a huge game for Head Coach Clark Drennan’s team.

Nick finished the game with 20 rushes for 244 yards. He also completed five passes on nine attempts for 122 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown occurred in the fourth quarter when he connected with junior wide receiver Kirk Cross for a 22-yard strike. With the extra point, Fannin held a commanding 24-0 lead.

Drennan played his young kids the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Tiger defense had another long night trying to stop the fullback running game. Senior Rebel fullback Garrison Kreis finished the contest with 19 carries for 120 yards.

“We just have to keep working,” said Lee. “Right now things aren’t going the way we like, but our kids and coaching staff will keep preparing and getting ready to play.”

The Tigers will travel to Rabun County this Friday night.

The Rabun County Wildcats, under Coach Danny Durham, are currently 1-3 on the season with a loss last Friday to Banks County 18-14. The team is looking for its first Region 8-AA win.

“This Friday we are playing a Rabun County team, that is in the same situation we are in: a must win,” said Lee.

Last year, Dawson was the only win for Rabun as they finished 1-9 for the year. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.