Football: North Hall, Dawson Co. playing, again, for No. 2 seed

When Dawson County and North Hall meet on Friday, it'll be the same story as usual.  

The two Region 7-3A foes will battle, yet again, for a home playoff spot on Friday in Dawsonville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on FM 102.9 WDUN. 

"What's this ... four years in a row now," North Hall coach David Bishop said. "The last game of the season is North Hall and Dawson, and every time, it's been for a No. 2 spot, so right now, we'll see how it turns out." 

Because of scheduling rotations, the Trojans (6-3, 4-1 Region 7-3A) have played the Tigers in back-to-back games at The Brickyard and have won both -- 2019 and 2020. Before that, the Tigers (5-4, 4-1 Region 7-3A) had two straight games at home against the Trojans and also won both. 

And because all of them have been intense and close games, the series has become a small rivalry. The series is tied over the last four years, 2-2. North Hall leads overall, 4-3.

"I think you've got two school systems that kind of border each other, and they've kind of grown-up playing against each other," Bishop said. "You've kind of learned to have a little bit of mutual respect, while also having a little bit of bitterness inside."  

Obviously, a home-playoff game is huge every year. If you can't win the region, you want the No. 2 seed, because it guarantees at least one home playoff game. But this year is just a bit more important to win the No. 2 spot. Why? 

Region 7-3A crosses over with Region 5-3A in the first round. Region 5 is the home of No. 1 Cedar Grove, No. 3 Carver-Atlanta, No. 7 Sandy Creek and Greater Atlanta Christian. 

Most likely, the region will finish Cedar Grove, Carver, Sandy Creek and GAC. So, no easy opponents in the first round for Region 7. 

"Playing a home is always beneficial, especially in the first round of the playoffs," Dawson County coach Sid Maxwell said. "Heading down to Region 5, you want to play at home."

Nevertheless, it's the regular-season finale -- one that should provide plenty of fireworks.

The Trojans come in off a gut-wrenching loss to Cherokee Bluff in Week 11. North Hall grabbed a 14-0 lead in the first half only to see it gone by the end of the game in a 28-26 defeat. Bluff captured the region title with the win. 

"We had to diagnose what the common problem was against Bluff and own it," Bishop said about the loss. "We have to get better as a team, and the only way to do that is to discuss it in a man-to-man conversation. So, we handled everything about Friday earlier this week, and I said, 'is everybody good?' And everybody was like, 'yeah.' I said, 'OK, Cherokee Bluff is done.' Now, our focus has shifted to Dawson County."

The Tigers had a similar meeting against Cherokee Bluff two weeks ago. They had an opportunity to win the game, but penalties and turnovers led to a 21-14 loss. 

As it is every year, it'll be a game of contrasting styles. North Hall runs a nasty wing-T offense, averaging 320 rushing yards a game, led by Kevin Rochester (2nd place in Class 3A in rushing with 1,352 yards, 17 TDs).

Last year, North Hall's wing-T rushed all over the field against the Tigers and led in the first half, 20-0. The Tiger defense will have its hands full with Bradford Puryear and Kevin Rochester as well as Ajay Jones. 

"It's tough because you can't find the ball," Maxwell said about the wing-T. "It's hard to prepare for them in a week. It's hard to get your guys dialed in where they should be. North Hall carries out all their fakes. It's hard to keep them getting those first downs and,  eventually, breaking one for a touchdown." 

Rochester rushed for 250-plus yards against the Bears, and Maxwell knows his defense will have to man up against Rochester.

"He always falls forward," Maxwell said. "He runs hard, and he's going to pick up yards. Then, he'll pop one on you. If you're afraid to get in front of him, you're probably not going to stop him." 

Dawson County, however, works out of the spread offense with a bit more balance, averaging 170 passing yards and 120 rushing yards. 

Senior quarterback Zach Holtzclaw has been consistent in the passing game. He allows the Tigers to go vertical with the help of stand-out receiver Bailey Dameron. Dameron has 962 yards receiving this year. Dawson County also mixes in the run with Conley Dyer, who rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns against Lumpkin County last week.

"When it comes to their passing game, they're really good at what they do," Bishop said. "The biggest thing is you've got to force them to throw the short balls, not the deep balls. You've got to be OK with understanding that they're going to complete passes as long as they're completing those five-yarders, because, eventually, drops are going to come or bad passes. You've got to stay consistent."   

North Hall has steadily improved on the defensive side, and so have the Tigers. Both are playing well, in the region, giving up 15 points per game. 

"The last few weeks, it has been consistent as it's been all year," Bishop said about his defense. "We're at a place right now where we feel really good about what we're doing, and how we're doing it." 

North Hall's Jarrett Latty and Jeremiah Telander have been key in the improvement of the defense. They were the bash brothers against Cherokee Bluff. The tandem terrorized the Bears, holding Jayquan Smith to negative rushing yards in the first half, and less than 100 for the game. 

Maxwell said Telander impressed him last year as a sophomore and is playing even better this year.

"He impressed me last year with his ability to move," Maxwell said. "He's a solid football player. The term I would use is ... he's nasty. He takes it to you. So, you better be ready to strap it on when you play him because he doesn't take any prisoners."

Kade Moledor, Will Whalen and Cade Adams have helped Dawson County improve on defense. 

"We've got a bunch of young men that play hard," Maxwell said. "They've grown along the journey. We've had guys step up."