OAKWOOD, Ga. – Dom LeBlanc had three receiving touchdowns and a pair of field goals as Dawson County opened their Region 7-3A title defense with a 32-14 win over West Hall Friday night.
The Tigers made a change at quarterback, going with Preston Bannister behind center, and he led the Tigers right down the field on the opening drive to set up LeBlanc for a 40-yard field goal that put Dawson out in front. Bannister linked up with LeBlanc six minutes later for a 33-yard touchdown that started the offensive output.
West Hall answered midway through the second quarter as Maliek Richardson rumbled in from seven yards out to cut into the lead before halftime, 10-7. Midway through the third, Bannister hooked up with LeBlanc again, this time for 50 yards and a 17-7 lead, but Elijah Hayes immediately answered for the Spartans, returning the ensuing kick 99 yards to trim the lead back to 17-14.
From there, it was all Bannister and the Tigers as he found LeBlanc for a third time on the next drive, followed by him running in from 13 yards out for his first rushing touchdown of the season. A LeBlanc chip shot field goal finished the night's scoring.
Bannister was 16-for-23 for 209 yards in his season debut as starting quarterback while also rushing for 105 yards.
The Tigers will host White County next week.
