It is time for football to heat up this week.

After a week off, Dawson County will open Region 8A-AA play with an away game in Blue Ridge Friday night. Getting off to a good start is imperative for Head Coach Jeff Lee's Tigers.

Fannin County will be looking for a little revenge after a 24-17 loss to Dawson last season in Dawsonville. Playing in Blue Ridge is always tough. The Rebels fans come out in full force to support the local team. And the cannon, yes a cannon, will be fired each time the Rebels score.

Hopefully the Tigers can keep that contraption quiet on Friday.

Coach Clark Drennan's team comes into the contest with a 3-1 overall record.

Dawson and Fannin have two common opponents, Pickens and Gilmer. The Tigers scored at will against the Dragons and came away with a huge opening-game win, 56-35.

Against Gilmer the Tigers came out on the short end of a 26-20 score.

Fannin defeated the Dragons 29-28 on a Hail Mary pass and a 2-point conversion with no time on the clock to pick up the win.

The Rebels have their only loss of the season against the Bobcats, 29-21.

The Rebels also have wins over Murphy, N.C., 34-28, and Jackson County, 28-20.

Dawson must find a way to stop the tough running game of the Rebels.

Fannin will line up and try to run defenses over and have been very successful in doing just that.

The Tigers defense must rise to the occasion or it could be a long night in the mountains.

So far this season Dawson has had a hard time stopping anyone. The Tigers are giving up an average of 32.5 points per game.

Fannin also has issues on defense. The Rebels are giving up 26.3 points per contest.

Both offenses have been lights out. The Tigers have scored 15 touchdowns in four games, while the Rebels average four touchdowns per game.

Hopefully, Dawson will find a cure for its defense and stop the running game of Fannin County.

On offense, the tough running of fullbacks, Zack Martin and Cody Smith, combined with the outside threat of Will Anglin, should be tough for Fannin to control.

The Rebels defense will also have to contend with the air attack of quarterback Tyler Dominy to favorite receiver Bruce Clark.

Dawson could very well prove to be too much to handle for Fannin County.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night in Blue Ridge.