With just a month to go until the Dawson County Tigers Football team takes over Friday nights again, there are still a lot of questions left to be answered: How will the team perform? Who will the team leaders be this year? Does the team have what it takes to make a run at the state tournament?

Nobody can truly answer that until cleats hit the field under stadium lights, but in the meantime there’s still a good bit we know about the matchups the Tigers are facing in the coming months. 

Here are the top five games Tigers fans cannot miss for the 2020 football season:

5. South Forsyth War Eagles

On September 18, the South Forsyth War Eagles will travel to Dawson County to take on the hometown Tigers. 

This is a game that could really put Dawson County on the map as a team to not mess around with, as the War Eagles qualified for the state playoffs as a 7-A school last year but lost to Georgia high school football powerhouse Norcross in the first round. 

Getting experience against a 7-A school is exactly what head coach Sid Maxwell wants his team to have going into region play, the coach said during an interview earlier this summer.

Dawson County never quits against schools with a higher classification against them either, Maxwell said. Last season, they beat 6-A Habersham Central 27-13 and won both their games against 4-A opponents. 

More importantly, the Tigers won last time they played against a Forsyth County team. In 2017, the Tigers beat Forsyth Central 9-0. 

4. Flowery Branch Falcons

Flowery Branch will be another strong test for the Tigers early in the season before region play begins. The Falcons had a great season last year, going 7-3 in their 4-A division, and barely losing to historic football program Cartersville 14-6 in the first round of the state playoffs. 

However, after the pandemic, nobody who loves Tigers football should miss the home opener of this season. This is going to be a good game against a tough opponent and it will be the first one back under the lights for the Tigers this season. 

The game is also senior night, which will honor all players who have devoted their high school careers to providing entertaining games for the fans. 

Do not miss this home opener. 

3. Northview Titans 

This is another game that could seriously make the Tigers popular amongst high schools all around the state. Northview is a competitive 6-A school that lost in the first round of the state playoffs last year. 

“It’s one of the most challenging non-region schedules Dawson has had,” Maxwell said. “We’re facing higher classification schools who also qualified for the playoffs.” 

Northview is a very defensive-minded team and the TIgers have a strong chance to exploit weaknesses that Northview showed last season and put some points on the scoreboard. 

This matchup has upset-alert written all over it. Make sure calendars are marked for September 25 for this matchup. 

2. White County Warriors 

The Tigers region has added four new teams, and White County looks to pose the biggest threat out of all the newcomers. 

After winning 5 games and losing 5 games last season within a 4-A region, the Warriors missed out on the state playoffs. However, they showed that they are a team that has the ability to win in big games. The Warriors beat North Hall by a field goal last season, with a final score of 34-31. 

Just like the Tigers, the Warriors are bringing back a senior quarterback to lead the offense named J Ben Haynes, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns last year. 

This should be a game that the Tigers will be jumping at the bit to get to. The Warriors and the Tigers will be coming off  bye weeks so it should be an exciting, healthy game to watch. 

1. North Hall Trojans 

Dawson County and North Hall have officially cemented themselves as a rivalry in all sports in the region. There is a constant back-and-forth and football is no different. 

Last year, the Tigers lost a heartbreaker to the Trojans 40-37, losing to a late game field goal. The year before, the Tigers beat the Trojans in a close 17-10 battle. 

Both teams lost in the second round of the 3-A state tournament. Once again, the game will be the final game of the season, and is sure to have playoff implications on the line. 

The fact that the game will be held at North Hall in Gainesville should not stop any Tigers fan from going and seeing this epic regular season finale.