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The game that never was
S-Varsity Fball pic1
The Tigers take the field for their home opener last week. - photo by Amy French Dawson County News

Across North Georgia last Friday's storyline was weather interrupting football games.

Though Dawson County also had to succumb to lightning and torrential downpours, the activity on the field was far more interesting.

"They were trying to call the game early and I wasn't going to call it until they had to. I told them in Dawson County we don't retreat," said Head Coach Sid Maxwell. "Our kids, we are going to start and finish."

The scoreboard stayed lit for two hours following play that was halted with 3:54 left until half and the Tigers up 14-9 over AAAAAAA opponent Forsyth Central.

Because they did not get in a full half of football, it's as if the game didn't happen.

"For safety reasons, it probably worked out for the best," Maxwell said.

The Tiger defense was stout, holding the Bulldogs to a three and out on the first drive.

Dawson County started from its own 44 after a short punt.

After a quarterback keeper by Coey Watson and completions to Austin Young and Kolton Brumbelow, the Tigers had a bad snap on a field goal attempt. The resulting pass attempt was batted down and the Bulldogs took over on downs.

"I thought after we started playing within ourselves, playing our system, I thought we started doing pretty good," Maxwell said. "We were struggling a little bit at first on offense."

Bulldogs' running back Sabrian Howard ran for back-to-back first downs before Taylor Swafford brought him down on the next play and a sack forced Forsyth Central to punt it away.

"The defense flew around and I think played well," he said.

On the next drive for the Tigers, running back Taylor Cronan carried the ball four times in a row. He ended the night with 62 yards rushing on eight carries.

The Tigers were again held after a Payton Myers carry and another quarterback keeper. Watson punted for the Tigers to keep the Bulldogs off balance.

Forsyth Central was forced to punt again, this time to the Tiger two-yard line. The Bulldogs were able to pressure Watson who was called with intentional grounding that resulted in a safety.

When the Bulldogs got the ball back, the defense again stifled Forsyth Central. Howard had a carry for no gain that was followed by an incomplete pass and another sack on the quarterback. Carson Weatherford and Jordan Hannah each had a sack.

Watson and Cronan went to work on the following possession and Watson made his way into the end zone on the second of two consecutive keepers. Watson rushed for 43 yards.

"I thought he ran hard [Cronan]. That was a spot we were concerned about. It's going to be an ongoing process. He played tough," Maxwell said.

Forsyth Central started its next possession from around its own 18-yard line. That was when Howard accumulated most of his yards on the night. He broke free for 80 of his 113 yards and put the Bulldogs back in the lead.

The next series saw the Tigers with a sustained drive that began at their own 20. With completions to Young and Brumbelow, they marched right back to the end zone and scored on a pass from Watson to Young.

Watson was 9-13 with 81 yards passing on the night.

Ryan Glass was able to get the two-point conversion to put the Tigers up 14-9.

After the ensuing kickoff, the defense appeared to be holding well before play was stopped.

"I was pretty well pleased. It was something to build on for this next week. It's going to be a tough week for us," Maxwell said. "They have guys on there [Chattooga], about 280 across the line. The fullback is 280."

The Tigers travel to face Chattooga this week. Dawson County will play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Summerville.