With the annual preseason scrimmage this week, the Dawson County Tiger football team prepared with an inter-squad scrimmage game Saturday.
The Tigers also finished overnight camp last Wednesday. Head coach Jeff Lee and his staff were able to implement offensive and defensive schemes during the camp.
"Camp went very well even though it was short this year, going from Sunday to Wednesday," Lee said. "We are way ahead preparation wise than this time last season. Our returning players who played extensively at the varsity level last season, even though a lot of them were freshman and sophomores, are way ahead of the learning curve this season. It has made things so much easier."
Lee said Saturday’s inter-squad scrimmage was positive.
"Neither offense or defense dominated the scrimmage. Both sides of the ball looked really good at times. This really makes me feel good about how things are going. Our defense is not big up front, but they are so much faster than we have had in the past. The defense can really run to the ball," he said.
"On offense I thought both fullbacks, Zach Martin and Cody Smith, ran really well. Our starting quarterback, Tyler Dominy, really threw the ball well during the scrimmage," Lee added.
The Tigers will face a very tough and talented Greater Atlanta Christian team this Thursday at Tiger Stadium. Originally the game was slated for Dawson County Middle School due to construction at the high school, but the site has changed back to the high school stadium.
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
"One of the things that I worry about is injuries," Lee said. "Last year we lost both our guards to injury and it changed how we approached our regular season. This year we moved the game up a week to give us time to recover from any injury problem that may occur."
GACS will feature several Division I players. Four of the team’s players have committed to big colleges, including one of their linemen who will attend Georgia Tech. The Spartans also have a running back that is going to the Naval Academy.
"They (GACS) are really good. We will have our hands full," Lee said.
Format for the game was still up in the air as of press time.
According to Lee, most likely the varsity players will play a regular game, but it will be cut to three quarters. The junior varsity and ninth graders either will play a quarter or a quarter and a half.
Both offensive and defensive teams will have a chance to work on goal line situations for about four minutes at the end of the first half.
To avoid injury there will be no live kicking.
"The GACS game will be a test for us, but our players have a much better attitude this year. It will give our coaches a true evaluation about where we are and where we need to be before we open against Pickens County in a couple of weeks," Lee said.
The regular season will open at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at home against Pickens County.