Game of the Week: Defense vs. offense; Bears, Tigers ready for showdown

DAWSONVILLE — It’s the matchup most have been looking forward to in Region 7-3A: Dawson County’s explosive offense versus Cherokee Bluff’s lockdown defense. 

Anyone that knows anything about these two teams is curious if the Bluff defense, giving up 4.7 points per game, can slow down the Dawson County offense, scoring 36.4 points per game -- 44.2 in the last four games. And while most outsiders have their opinions, Bluff coach Tommy Jones offers the perfect explanation.  

“I think it’s going to be a football game where every phase is important to both teams,” Jones said. “Usually, when you get late in the season, you need to be playing complementary football. Usually, if you are good on defense, it’s because your offense is effective at moving it enough to keep those guys off the field. If you’re good on defense, you’re going to play pretty good on offense because you’re getting more opportunities to do that.”

The region title hunt continues in Dawsonville as both teams look to remain undefeated and stay at the top of the standings in Dawsonville on Friday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on AM 550 WDUN. 

Right now, North Hall, Bluff and Dawson County are tied atop the region standings, with the Trojans taking the week off, so the stakes are high.

“Your focus as a staff is to get your team in this position at the end of the year, and we’re here,” Dawson County coach Sid Maxwell said. “We started off a little slow, but we’ve gotten better, but we must continue to get better if we’re going to continue to keep playing. So, we’ve got to get to a higher level and have things come more automatic and not have to think through everything.”

OK, back to the Bluff defense. Some might look at the Bears’ non-region schedule and think it was not the strongest, but giving up less than five points per game is pretty impressive no matter the competition in 2020. Maxwell thinks so, too.

“Who cares about your strength of schedule,” Maxwell said about Bluff's defense. “If you’re only giving up four points a game in 2020, I couldn’t play a junior high team and give up less than four points a game, to be honest with you. They’ve got a lot of guys back, are hungry and playing with a whole lot of confidence right now.”

Brayden Nance (45 tkls), Myka Sims (40 tkls), Sam Stribling (29 tkls), Dakota Collins (28 tkls), Garrett Davis (48 tkls), Jamir Tolbert (11 tkls) and Eli Little (19 tkls) are the reason the Bears’ defensive foundation is so strong this season. 

“The majority of those guys have played football for us for three years – they’ve taken their lumps,” Jones said. “But the cool thing about that is they all speak the same language and are on the same page. They’ve made adjustments before, they’ve gotten through this before, so, as opposed to being on level 101 right now, we’re able to accelerate. They’ve worked hard and invested. I’m really excited about the way our defense has played this year, but we also understand the level of play raises significantly when you start playing a Dawson County as well. It definitely won’t be easy.”

Class 3A’s top defense will have their hands full with the explosive Tiger offense, however. After beginning the season 0-3, including two shootout losses to Class 4A Flowery Branch and Class 7A South Forsyth, the Tigers have reeled off four wins in a row.

Jones has taken notice and is very familiar with what the Tigers can do offensively.

“They’ve got a ton of playmakers,” he said. “They are explosive. When you watch Dawson play, they reel off big play after big play. They play the momentum as well as anybody I’ve seen and are playing with a ton of confidence right now. We’re going to have to be very mentally prepared and ready to go.”

Dawson County's offense runs through junior quarterback Zach Holtzclaw (116-191 1,841 yards, 4 INTs, 20 TDs). Class 3A’s passing leader directs the offense well, sees the field well, can make plays happen with his arm, and as Jones says, “he makes them go.”

“He distributes the ball really well,” Jones said. “And they have a running back and receivers that are as good as anybody in our region. They line up in a lot of different formation, so we’re going to have to defend both the width and length of the field. They definitely understand how to stress defenses and put you in some unique situations -- not to mention the tempo they are able to go to as well.”

Dakohta Sonnichsen, Jaden Gibson and Tyler Lane are Holtzclaw’s big-three receivers. Lane leads the team with 527 yards on 24 catches and seven touchdowns, while Gibson, who sat out last week with an injury, has caught 32 passes for 484 yards and six touchdowns. Sonnichsen’s 420 yards is third-best with four touchdowns.  

The Tigers' ground game has been a work in progress and has gotten better game by game, but Maxwell would like more production. 

“We are getting better,” Maxwell said. “We are getting a hat on a hat, which we had a hard time doing early on in the season with guys going the wrong way and not being in the right position. The good thing, we are getting better, but it’s still a work in progress.”

Isaiah Grindle (102-571, 4 TDs) has been the steady running back for the Tigers this season, rushing more than 100 yards last week in the Tigers’ 38-21 win over West Hall, but Conley Dyer continues to increasingly make his presence known in the backfield. And although his stats (34-168 yards, 2 TDs) may not be huge, he has the ability to break loose.  

“Conley definitely runs downhill,” Maxwell said. “He really runs with an attitude which as a football coach you love to see. He runs with a purpose. He doesn’t have a whole lot of shake, but he has enough to get by one, then he’s looking to run through somebody. He does a good job of running tough and has come on strong. We knew he could do it. Conley and Isaiah Grindle are a pretty good pair.”

While Bluff’s defense takes center stage, the offense isn’t too shabby. Averaging just over 40 points per game, the Bears are fourth in the area in points scored and has a brutal rushing attack. Charles Tolbert and Jayquan Smith form a powerful one-two punch out of the backfield. Smith, as expected, leads the team in rushing with 448 yards on 58 touches and six touchdowns, and Tolbert had 407 yards rushing on 51 carries and eight touchdowns. They also have 15 different backs with carries and seven have crossed the goal line. 

But the Bears can pass it as well. Transfer quarterback Sebastian Irons has the ability to keep the defense off-balanced. He’s tossed 11 touchdowns this season and completed more than half of his attempts for 852 yards. Tight end Eric Gohman is the team leader in receiving yards with 242 yards. Jaylon Justice, D Phillips and Kansas-commit Shad Dabney have also been key in the Bears' passing game. 

Maxwell has studied the Bears and knows they have the ability to not only control the clock but connect downfield. 

“I’m not surprised Tommy has got them at this level this quick because he does a great job coaching and has a good staff,” Maxwell said. “They are a very physical football team and have several playmakers. We can’t let them grind it out on us and be lulled to sleep with the play-action pass. So, we’ve got to prevent the big play and hopefully, get the ball back to our offense.”

The Tiger defense, ranked near the bottom in Class 3A, giving up 29 points per game will be tested. Although the points given up stat has dropped close to 10 points in the last four games, the Tigers have given up their fair share of yardage and big plays as well. 

“I see a couple of outliers there,” Jones said about Dawson’s defense. “Obviously, they’re giving up some points, but they’ve played possibly the hardest schedule in Class 3A at this point in time. They’ve also played in an overtime game or two which exaggerates those stats as well. You know, what they have over that is a number of guys that were forced to play young this year because they graduated a number of seniors on an outstanding defense. They’ve replaced those with some very capable, athletic and talented young men that have grown and matured steadily throughout the season. Now, those guys are playing as good of defense as anybody out there. I see a group of guys over there that do an outstanding job covering the field and are well-prepared.” 

Sophomore linebacker Kade Moledor and senior linebackers Brandon Lantz and Kinkade Weaver are the top tacklers on that side of the ball. Moledor leads the Tigers with 71 tackles, while seniors Hayden McKinney, Tripp Cain and sophomore Cade Adams are in the top-five in tackles. 

The game, on paper, has the makings of an old-fashioned slugfest with a lot on the line. Maxwell says they need to handle the defensive pressure, while Jones says they'll need to execute with great effort.

“We’ve got to prevent the big play on special teams,” Maxwell said. “We’ve got to make sure we don’t give up the quick touchdown on the ground and in the air, and we’ve got to take care of the football. With their attacking defensive style, we’ve got to be able to pick up their stunts. They’re pressure they’ll put on our quarterback and they’ve got corners that can lock you down and enough people to send after you. So, it’s going to come down to our execution to give us a chance for Zach to be able to operate and have success and give him the time he needs, then our receivers have to work to get open. It’s going to come down to us being able to execute.”

"Just like any game, it is imperative that our players fully understand their job and execute it with great effort,” Jones said. “We need to play clean, fast and fundamental one play at a time."

Dawson County quarterback Zach Holtzclaw, left, and Cherokee Bluff's Jayquan Smith lead their teams into a key Region 7-3A game on Friday in Dawsonville.

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