OAKWOOD — Coey Watson will never forget the first time he faced West Hall.
"I know from my freshman year when they won the region (in 2014) they came over here and beat us pretty good. And I've always been like when we play West Hall that's serious," said the Dawson County junior quarterback, who absorbed some big hits from the eventual Region 7-AAA champs during that showdown, a 26-3 Spartans victory.
Spartans coach Tony Lotti also remembers that night -- but for different reasons.
"I said when (Coey Watson) came in against us as a freshman, this kid's going to be something special, and unfortunately for us he's going to have three more years after this one," said Lotti, who watched the Tigers take the Region 7-AAA crown away from his Spartans last season, including a 17-0 win in Oakwood en route to a state quarterfinal berth.
Watson provided a huge hand in Dawson County coach Sid Maxwell's first campaign in charge and the Tigers' historic surge. So when the Tigers take the field on Friday night in Oakwood Lotti has no doubt of what to expect. And even if this year's contest is no longer a region showdown -- GHSA reclassification bumped the Spartans up to Class AAAA, while the Tigers stayed behind in AAA -- prep football fans can expect plenty of fireworks when the two old rivals face off.
"When we scheduled them -- because I knew they were going to be tough -- I knew it was going to be an extremely tough test for us physically, as far as getting us ready to play in region," Lotti said.
The feeling is mutual.
"They're going to be a good football team; coach Lotti does a great job getting those guys ready to play, so they're 3-1, and again, the one they lost was to Gainesville, which is a very strong opponent, so it'll be a nice test to see where we are right now," Maxwell said.
Where Dawson County has been much of this early season is in a holding pattern. The Tigers have only been able to complete one game -- a 30-8 defeat of Chattooga on Sept. 2 -- after watching their season opener, which they led over Forsyth Central, interrupted and abandoned thanks to severe weather.
Needless to say, the Tigers (1-0) are champing at the bit to get back on the field.
"Oh we're excited. We were really disappointed when that first game got canceled; we had our scrimmage, then we had to wait two weeks to play Forsyth Central, then that game cancelled, then we had to go to Chattooga on that long drive. We got that win and then we had a bye week. We were like, 'Really? A bye week?' " Dawson County senior linebacker Luke Martin said. "So it's exciting to get back out. We're ready; we feel like we're ready."
Certainly the Spartans (3-1), who will be on their fifth game of the season, feel they are prepped for the challenge.
"We learned that we can really play with anybody if we put our minds to it, come out with intensity all the time," Patrick Hudson, West Hall senior safety, said.
The Spartans have shown plenty of intensity since bouncing back from a season-opening loss to Gainesville. During a three-game win streak West Hall has outscored Johnson, Washington-Wilkes and Jackson County by a combined 94-14. The defense pitched shutouts against Wilkes and Jackson and has shown the ability to slow the run and the pass. Meanwhile, the Spartans' offense is dominating on the ground, led by senior running back Tyrese Osborne at 109 yards rushing per game. AJ Favorite and Cooper Adams are also threats in the backfield, while quarterback Jake Satterfield averages 75 yards per game passing and has rushed for 150 yards total, including 10.7 yards per carry.
"I feel like we've got a quarterback that can run the football too. So we've looked to take him out of his shell, and coach (Krofton) Montgomery, our offensive coordinator and the offensive staff, I feel like we've done a good job this year with Jake as far as I'm not afraid to let him run the football -- he's 6-4, 200 pounds," Lotti said. "And it's likewise with what coach (Eric) Bona and some of our defensive staff have done over there with some of our players there."
That said, the task for West Hall is expected to get significantly tougher against a Dawson County team that has as many wins as West Hall's last three opponents combined. And with players like Watson (81 yards passing, 43 yards rushing, 2 TDs), receiver Austin Young and running back Taylor Cronan leading the offense and Martin and Hunter Lebaron on defense, the Tigers can attack teams in a multitude of methods.
Yet Watson says that a successful run game is a must on Friday.
"We've got to be able to run the ball against (West Hall). They have good DBs; they cover good. If we run the ball, that's a big key because we have a passing game," Watson said. "And we definitely want to -- like our tempo last game, I think because we were a little out of shape, it wasn't quite where we wanted it to be. We want to be waiting on the refs to blow the whistle -- we want to be there ready, and the tempo definitely needs to increase for (this game)."
It's a tempo that will likely rest in the hands of Watson, and the Spartans will have at least one eye on the signal caller at all times.
"We've got to try to hem him in to where it limits his options," Lotti said of Watson. "So if we're able to hem him in a little bit, and we've got coverage, his only option is to run -- because he's not the type of kid that's just going to throw the ball up carelessly. He's going to protect the football, so we've got to do a good job of that and try to force him to distribute the ball to other people, and the quicker we can get him to do that I think the better off we might be. Like I said I can't rave enough about the kid; he's one of the toughest kids I've seen in quite some time, and he's a competitor. And he's a winner."
Both teams have grown accustomed to winning over recent campaigns -- and neither wants to see that trend end any time soon, especially on Friday.
"We've got big goals. This group of seniors, we haven't lost much, so we're excited to maybe continue that tradition," said Martin, who helped lead his team to a 9-4 record in 2015.
Meanwhile, the Spartans have clinched three straight state playoff berths -- including an impressive turnaround mid-season in 2015, recovering from a five-game losing skid to reach the postseason. Yet this year's team is aiming to get back to the more impressive heights of 2014 when West Hall went undefeated in region play.
"We're a totally different team from last year. Everyone keeps their head on straight. No one is bigger than the team or thinks they're bigger than the team; we all just try to play together and play as a brotherhood," said Ashun Favorite, West Hall senior safety/wingback. "We're clicking just amazingly. ... And we've learned a lot -- just to play hard and we can play with anybody in the state."
DAWSON COUNTY at WEST HALL
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
- WHERE: The Hot Gates at Spartan Field, Oakwood
- RADIO: Northgeorgiasportslink.com
- DAWSON (1-0, 0-0 Region 7-AAA): Bye last week, defeated Chattooga 30-8 on Sept. 2
- WEST HALL (3-1, 0-0 Region 7-AAAA): Defeated Jackson County 42-0 last week
