DAWSONVILLE— Dawson County’s Shawn Thomas provided the night’s fireworks for free at Tiger Stadium.
The senior running back opened the game with a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and finished the night with 135 yards on the ground and touchdown to lead the Tigers past Habersham Central 27-13.
The Tigers finished the night with 350 total yards of offense. The Raiders had 371 total yards.
But Habersham Central Achilles heel was turnovers. The Raiders committed four turnovers and dropped two potential touchdown passes that put a lid on a comeback.
“We just kept playing hard, we made plays and they dropped a few balls that could have changed the game,” Dawson coach Sid Maxwell said. “Fortunately, we caught ours and when you do that, good things happen. The effort of the young men in all phases of the game is the reason we came out on top of this one.”
Caleb Bonesteel’s foot added a big boost. He bombed a 52-yard field goal, pushing the Tigers lead to 10-0 with 9:46 on the first-quarter clock.
Habersham Central didn’t go down easy, however. The Raiders stormed back in the first half to tie the game and take the lead 13-0 when Woodruff nailed Joshua Pickett 52 yards downfield for the go-ahead score.
In the second half, the Tiger defense stepped up, including a big Riley Herndon interception in the end zone to stalemate the Raiders late in the third quarter.
Bonesteel hit a 37-yard field goal and Shawn Thomas scampered 67 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. Zach Holtzclaw also added the Tigers’ final touchdown on a six-yard run with 1:02 to go in the third quarter.
The Tigers will travel to Chestatee Friday. Habersham will host Madison County.
Tim Whitmire from North Georgia SportsLink contributed to this story.
| Habersham Central | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Dawson County | 10 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
DC -- Shawn Thomas 96 KOR (Caleb Bonesteel kick) 11:46, 7-0
DC -- Bonesteel 52 FG 9:54, 10-0
HC -- Taylor 71 pass from Ryte Woodruff (Bryan Marcial kick) 8:26, 10-7
HC -- Joshua Pickett 53 pass from Woodruff (Kick failed) 4:04, 13-10
Second Quarter
DC -- Bonesteel 37 FG 11:55, 13-13
Third Quarter
DC -- Thomas 67 run (Bonesteel kick) 10:02, 20-13
DC -- Zack Holtzclaw 6 run (Bonesteel kick) 1:34, 27-13
