RABBITTOWN — Despite giving up almost 500 yards of offense on the night, the Dawson County defense kept the Tigers’ Region 7-AAA title hopes alive.
Three goal line stands in the first half helped rescue a mistake-prone offense which eventually found its groove in the second half as the Class AAA ninth-ranked Tigers pulled away for a 38-24 win over East Hall at East Hall Stadium.
The win for Dawson County (6-1, 4-0 Region 7-AAA) keeps pace with No. 1 Greater Atlanta Christian (8-1, 5-0) which steamrolled North Hall 49-14 Friday night at The Brickyard to also stay unbeaten in region play.
The two teams will meet in two weeks in Dawsonville for the region championship. However, Dawson County first will have to tangle with arch-rival Lumpkin County next week at home.
Three times the Vikings (2-6, 0-4) got inside the Tigers 10, twice inside the 5, only to come away empty-handed. Dawson County actually took a 3-0 lead into halftime on a 25-yard field goal by Cole Dennis in the first quarter.
After the Tigers pushed their lead to 10-0 early in the third quarter, the Vikings offense came alive. Austin Parker and Markese Jackson hooked up for a pair of touchdowns, including a 72-yard bomb, to go with a pair of 2-point conversions to take a 16-10 lead.
But Dawson County answered back exploding for 28 points in a 12-minute span to grab a 38-16 lead. Tigers quarterback Coey Watson scored twice in the flurry, including a 36-yard run, which was set up by a Colin Glover interception.
Parker finished 28-for-45 passing for 379 yards and three touchdowns for East Hall. But he also threw three interceptions, which led to 21 Dawson County points. Jackson had 7 catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings.
Dawson County pounded out 336 yards rushing, paced by 119 yards and two touchdowns from Payton Myers. Watson added 102 yards and Nasser Clark had 93 yards and a score for the Tigers.
