FLOWERY BRANCH — Dawson County put on an offensive show in a 52-9 blowout win over Cherokee Bluff Friday night at Bears Stadium.
The win sets up a showdown for a home playoff game against North Hall at the Brickyard on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
"Anytime you get a home playoff advantage is what you would love to have," Dawson coach Sid Maxwell said. "Again, it seems like we're here every year against North Hall. Of course, coach (David) Bishop and his staff do a great job over there."
The Tiger offense piled up 497 total yards of offense while the Bears (3-7, 2-4 Region 7-3A) struggled with 174 yards of offense.
"We were able to execute the game plan," he said. "We opened it up with the pass some. It was just a balanced attack. It's been our MO so far this season."
Shawn Thomas led the Tigers on the ground with 164 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.
"Shawn runs hard, and he's got tremendous balance," Maxwell said. "He has good vision and lateral speed. The guys did a good job blocking downfield. He had some great runs."
Zach Holtzclaw completed 9-of-14 passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
Dahkohta Sonnichsen hauled in five of those passes for 127 yards and two scores.
Dawson (7-2, 4-1 Region 7-3A) set the pace on the opening drive of the game when Holtzclaw hit Sonnichsen on a 62-yard scoring strike. The big play was one of five scoring plays that went for 25 yards or more and a 46-yard Caleb Bonesteel field goal.
Thomas broke loose on a 79-yard run, Holtzclaw connected with Sonnichsen on a 29-yard strike and Jaden Gibson on a 25-yard pass for a score.
