GAINESVILLE — Offense was plenty but a Caleb Bonesteel 23-yard field goal lifted Dawson County past Chestatee, 45-42, in overtime Friday night at War Eagle Stadium.
"Both teams played hard and made mistakes," Dawson coach Sid Maxwell said. "We made a few adjustments at half time and were able to pull it out with our kicker Caleb Bonesteel. We have tremendous belief in his success. He's a great weapon to have."
In a contest of big plays, Chestatee (0-2) and Dawson County (2-0) combined for 866 total yards of offense and 87 points in the non-region contest.
The War Eagles, led by junior quarterback Christian Charles and senior wideout Seth Pressley, piled up 497 total yards of offense. Charles was 21-39 with 368 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions through the air.
His main target, Pressley, caught 12 of those passes for 222 yards and touchdown.
The War Eagles added 129 yards on the ground and had control of the contest, up 34-21 with 5:20 to go in the third quarter.
But the Tigers, led by sophomore quarterback Zack Holtzclaw, roared back with a 21-point third quarter to take the lead, 35-34, at the end of the third.
Dakohta Sonnichsen gave the Tigers a jolt of momentum on a 69-yard scoring run. Holtzclaw tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass and a Braelen Hubbard Pick 6 gave the Tigers the lead, 35-34, with 3:28 left in the quarter.
The War Eagles, however, grabbed the lead back, 42-35, with 1:06 to go in the game when Charles dashed in from 3 yards out and converted the two-point try.
On the ensuing drive, Holtzclaw, who had a career night, connecting 21 times on 37 tries to six different receivers for 203 yards and three touchdowns, directed a one-minute drive that ended with his most important throw of the game. He connected with Hunter Barron with 12 seconds left on a 10-yard dart to the back of the end zone. After a botched snap on the extra point kick, Chestatee was called for a facemask penalty that gave the Tigers another shot at the extra point. Bonesteel nailed it, sending the game into overtime.
In overtime, Chestatee’s drive ended on a fourth-down sack, and three Tiger plays later, Bonesteel booted the game-winning 23-yard field goal.
-- North Georgia SportsLink's Tim Whitmire contributed to this story.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Dawson County | 7 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 45 |
| Chestatee | 14 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 42 |
First Quarter
CHS -- Charles 71 pass to Carter (Pruitt kick), 10:59
DC -- Holtzclaw 30 pass to Riley Herndon (Bonesteel kick), 6:54
CHS -- Charles 4 run (Pruitt kick), 5:30
Second Quarter
CHS -- Charles 76 pass to Pressley (Kick blocked), 10:28
DC -- Shawn Thomas 19 run (Bonesteel kick), 7:42
CHS -- Charles 4 pass to Smith (Pruitt kick), 4:01
Third Quarter
DC -- Sonnichsen 69 run (Bonesteel kick), 11:39
CHS -- Charles 8 pass to Smith (Pruitt kick), 5:20
DC -- Holtzclaw to Barron (Bonesteel kick), 4:35
DC -- Hubbard 53 INT return (Bonesteel kick), 3:28
Fourth Quarter
CHS -- Charles 3 run (Charles 2-pt convert), 1:06
DC -- Holtzclaw 10 pass to Sonnichsen (Bonesteel kick), :12
Overtime
DC -- Bonesteel 23 FG
