The weather didn't stop the Dawson County offense on Friday night in Valhalla.

The Tigers overcome an early hiccup to take a 35-28 Region 7-AAA win over East Hall.

The win puts Dawson County firmly in control of its own destiny in region play.

Senior running back Hunter Mitchell carried the load for the Tigers.

Mitchell had more than 23 carries for 173 yards in the win.

It was the second consecutive game Mitchell has tallied more than 140 yards.

Mitchell started the season at cornerback for Dawson, but has since switched to running back following injuries to the starting rushers.

Dawson County is currently 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the region.

East Hall dropped to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in the region.

The Vikings next game will be against county rival West Hall Friday at home.

Dawson County will host Franklin County at home.

East Hall won the toss and deferred to the second half.

On the opening kickoff, the Tigers stepped out of bounds on their own 3-yardline.

Two plays later the Viking defense tackled running back Tucker Maxwell in the end zone to give East a 2-0 lead with just 11 seconds gone in the contest.

The Vikings capitalized and scored, on their next drive on a 26-yard run by Markese Jackson.

The two-point conversion was no good and East Hall held an 8-0 advantage with 8:36 to play in the first quarter.

Dawson County answered with a Coey Watson to Tucker Maxwell 51-yard touchdown pass with 4:32 to play.

The two-point conversion was good by Mitchell and the Tigers tied the score at 8-8.

Maxwell finished the game with three receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Jackson fumbled a punt by Maxwell. The fumble was recovered by Taylor Cronan for the Tigers.

Mitchell found the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run at 11:08.

The extra point was no good by Alan Sanchez because of a bad snap.

The Tigers held a 14-8 lead.

East Hall took the next possession and drove down to the Tiger 25-yardline where they attempted a field goal.

The kick was blocked by Colby Padgett.

Jeremy Whalen picked up the block and rambled down to the East Hall 35-yardline.

Watson converted the score on a 3-yard quarterback sneak with just 2:09 left before halftime.

The two-point conversion by Mitchell was no good and Dawson County held a 20-8 lead.

The Vikings answered with their own quarterback sneak by sophomore Austin Parker with 52 seconds left.

The extra point was good and cut the Dawson County lead to 20-15 at halftime.

Parker was 25 for 42 passing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception.

Defensive back Dillon Nix ended the Vikings opening drive of the second half with an interception in the end zone at 9:25 in the third quarter.

The Tiger offense bogged down on the next drive. Dawson County attempted a fake punt by Maxwell with no success.

On Dawson County's next drive, Watson found Maxwell again on a 15-yard pass.

The point after was good by Sanchez and gave Dawson County a 27-15 advantage with 50 seconds left in the quarter.

Every offensive possession by the Tigers in the final two quarters was just hard-nosed running football.

Maxwell and Watson rode their offensive linemen as they began to wear down the Vikings defensive front.

Defensively, the Tigers bent, but never broke.

In the fourth quarter, Dawson County recovered a fumble by Padgett that ended another East Hall drive.

East Hall made it inside Dawson's red zone four times, but was only able to convert twice.

Mitchell sealed the game with a 23-yard score with just 3:52 remaining in the game.

The two-point conversion was good on Watson's run to give Dawson County a 35-22 lead.

East Hall had 12 penalties in the game.

Up next is a home game against Franklin County.

The Lions come into the contest with a 2-0 region record. The Lions from Carnesville are also 3-2 overall.

The Lions defeated Lumpkin County 29-8 last week.

The winner of the game will hold the Region 7-AAA lead.

Kickoff will be at 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.