DAWSONVILLE — It was slow and methodical, but Greater Atlanta Christian's 20-point first half was enough to lift the Spartans past Dawson County, 20-7, in a battle for the top spot in Region 7-3A on homecoming night at Tiger Stadium.
The Spartans are now in sole possession of first place in the region.
"We had opportunities on offense," Dawson County coach Sid Maxwell said. "We made a few adjustments at the half to help our defense a little bit -- they were just bouncing everything wide on us. We settled that down and it turned into a ballgame in the second half. We just came up short."
The Tigers' (5-2, 2-1, Region 7-3A) adjustments held the Spartans (6-1, 3-0, Region 7-3A) scoreless in the second half, but couldn't overcome the damage done in the first half.
The conservative game plans were very simple: run as much time off the play clock as possible ... then snap the ball.
"A lot of our guys play both ways because we have some injuries," Maxwell said. "We love to play up-tempo, but you've got to be strategic and take some shots."
It also showed up in the stat column. GAC racked up 281 total yards of offense, while Dawson had 240.
GAC stuck to its bread and butter, rushing for 175 yards while passing for another 106 yards. Tyler Bride led the Spartans with 106 yards on the ground.
Still, though, as slow-paced as it was, both the Tigers and Spartans did add just a smig of flash.
GAC's opening drive went for 80 yards, capped by a Montae Bailey 9-yard scoring run to put the Spartans on the board first, 7-0, with 8:12 to go in the first quarter.
Tiger sophomore quarterback Zack Holtzclaw provided the homecoming crowd with some fireworks on the second play of the ensuing drive when he connected with Dahkota Sonnichsen for a 75-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, 7-7, with 6:19 to go.
Holtzclaw finished the night 11-of-23 for 198 yards and a touchdown. Dakohta Sonnichsen caught three passes for 109 yards and touchdown.
The Spartans, however, behind a steady rushing attack would score two unanswered touchdowns off a Tre Henry 2-yard run and another from a Jackson Hardy 18-yard pass to Christian Thomas.
The 18-yard touchdown pass was set up by a Saiku White interception at the Tigers' 40-yard line. A blocked extra point left the Spartans ahead 20-7 with 9:38 left in the second quarter.
Two series later, the Spartans thought they forced the Tigers to punt again but Riley Herndon scampered 29 yards for a first down on a punt fake with 1:18 to go in the half. Three plays later, the Tigers lined up for a 52-yard field goal try but decided to fake that as well. GAC forced kicker Caleb Bonesteel out of bounds 13 yards shy of the first down.
The second half was just a methodical with the Tigers making the necessary adjustments to keep the Spartans out of the end zone, forcing them to punt three times, an interception and turned the ball over on downs late in the game.
"We settled down after the first half and a little scattered with our reads and playing slow," he said. "But we settled down and got the ah-ha moment out of systems and started playing football."
But the Tiger offense couldn't buy any pay dirt in the second half. Dawson drove inside GAC territory several times but failed to come away with any points. They turned the ball over on downs three times, punted once and had one pass picked off.
"We've got a lot of young guys. Once we settled down, they started going back to what they're taught to do."
SCORING SUMMARY
| GAC | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| Dawson County | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
First Quarter
GAC -- Baily 9 run (Curland kick), 8:21
DC -- Holtzclaw 75 pass to Sonnichsen (Bonesteel kick), 6:19
GAC -- Henry 2 run (Curland kick), :27
Second Quarter
GAC -- Hardy 18 pass to Thomas (Kick blocked), 9:38
