Dawson County hoisting the 2022 Region 7-3A championship at the Burial Grounds last season is etched in the mind of every player on the Lumpkin County roster.
The Indians' goal on Friday is to lift the 2023 Region 7-3A trophy at Tiger Stadium on Friday. If they do, it'll be the program's first region title.
"We want to complete the goal this year," Lumpkin County coach Heath Webb said. "I told our guys in January our goal was to win the region championship. Now that we've put ourselves in a position to win a championship, I told them let's make sure that we finish the mission and win it. I think we're up for the task. I think we're battle-tested and ready to go."
This is the 46th meeting between the two rivals in a series that Dawson County has dominated for the last 23 years, winning all but four meetings. The Tigers have also won eight straight. But the Indians come into the game as the outright favorites and are one of the hottest teams in Northeast Georgia.
The Tigers are not so hot. Dawson County has struggled this season, winning only two games. It's the first sub-.500 season for the Tigers in nine years, and a loss on Friday will officially eliminate the Tigers from the playoffs. It'll be the first time missing the playoffs under head coach Sid Maxwell.
But the Tigers have been in every region game this season, leading in the three region losses but eventually falling -- White County 24-21, Wesleyan 21-20 and Gilmer 31-24.
"The big thing about this football team is on Friday night, they give effort no matter what goes wrong," Maxwell said. "They play 48 minutes. We've had to play a lot of young guys that probably aren't ready to go, but we've had some guys step up. Our young guys have gotten a chance to grow up, so overall, we've battled but just came up short."
WEBB TALKS DAWSON COUNTY
"They have big physical lines -- what you expect out of those guys," Webb said. "They're built to run the football and to stop the run, which, after losing the region title game to them a year ago, we made that commitment as well, knowing that would be the solution to winning a region title. So, that's what they do. That's what they do best. But they do have some athletes sprinkled in here and there that can make you pay vertically down the field or run the jet sweep stuff. So, they do have some wrinkles that can also place some havoc on us."
MAXWELL TALKS LUMPKIN COUNTY
"They're getting better and better each week," Maxwell said. "I'm sure they have a chip on their shoulder from last year, so they don't need motivation, but they do have it. Hopefully, we can turn it into a tractor pull and not a track meet. (Cal) Faulkner is a young man who gets out to the edge. He's a true athlete who can change gears, set you up, and burst by you. We can't emulate that in practice. Then, (Mason) Sullens, I can't say enough about him. He was good last year but keeps his shoulders square and runs through tackles. So, we've got to do our rugby tackling and get him low. If not, he'll just run through us. So, it's a much improved offensive and defensive line. They don't give up big plays. I can't speak enough about how well Lumpkin has developed this year.
WEBB'S KEYS TO THE GAME
"Yeah, so stop the run, no doubt about it," Webb said. "We have to force them into what they don't want to do, which is consistently throw the football. For us, it's don't turn it over. We had our last turnover in the second quarter of game three, so we've gone a long stretch without a turnover. That's been a large key to our winning recipe. Of course, we have to do what we do, which is run the football, trust our offensive line to do their job and trust our receivers to make plays when they come their way. If we can do those things, we have a good chance."
MAXWELL'S KEYS TO THE GAME
"They're going to have to make some mistakes, and we're gonna have to quit making our own mistakes," Maxwell said. "We have a way of stopping us through motion and holding penalties. When we play a clean game, we can be OK. What we don't have is the opposite of what they have. They have explosive players. So, we've got to limit the big plays, take care of the football and clean up our mistakes."
THE RIVALRY
The Tigers led the series 24-19-2 and have won the last eight. Dawson County beat the Indians 38-10 in Dahlonega last season to win the Region 7-3A title. The Indians hold the longest win streak in the series at nine, spanning over 14 years from 1968 to 1982. The Tigers have the largest margin of victory in the series with a 63-3 win in 2020. Lumpkin County's most significant margin of victory came in 2003 when the Indians won 45-6.
"It's two communities that are very closely connected," Webb said about the rivalry. "Ga. 400 connects our two communities so well. I think it's a solid, healthy rivalry. We want to beat each other and have those bragging rights for the year. But I do think because the two communities are so closely connected, it makes for a solid rivalry."
As we head to the season's final two weeks, we're changing up our Games2Watch feature this week by highlighting four games individually. Coming up later today, we'll look at the Gainesville-North Forsyth game.
To follow scores and more this week, follow Friday Game Night on X (formerly Twitter) for scores, stories and highlights.
LUMPKIN COUNTY at DAWSON COUNTY
Records: Indians (8-0. 4-0 Region 7-3A); Tigers (2-7, 2-3 Region 7-3A)
Last week: Lumpkin County beat White County, 61-55 in 4OT; Dawson County lost 31-24 to Gilmer
Where: Tiger Stadium, Dawsonville
Radio: www.northgeorgiasportslink.com
Time: 7:30 p.m.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Lumpkin County: QB Cal Faulkner (76-of-111, 845 yards, 8 TDs passing, 102-629 yards rushing, 13 TDs), RB Mason Sullens (215-1,570 yards, 25 TDs rushing, Sr. WR Luke Evans (36-431 yards, 3 TDs rec.), Sr. LB Preston Cox (33 tkls, 4 TFL), Jr. LB Gerald Walker Jr (41 tks, 3 TFL), Sr. LB Will Wood (60 tkls), Sr. LB Nate Gilleland (45 tkls); Dawson County: So. QB Preston Banister, Sr. WR Dom Leblanc, Sr. WR Sawyer Bearden, Sr. LB Alex Stewart, Sr. DB Braden Crane, Sr. DE Colton Schuette, Sr. DE Nathan Fillingame.
WHY WATCH IT? There's no motivation needed for either team in this rivalry. If anything, Lumpkin County is in motivation overload. The Tigers embarrassed the Indians at home last season to win the Region 7-3A title, leaving a massive chip on their shoulders. The Indians have roared through the schedule with just one real scare, a 61-55 four-OT win over White County last week. The biggest question: Can Dawson County find a way to mess up the undefeated season for the Indians? I don't think so. The Tigers have perfected the proverbial "shoot me in the foot" technique all season. They had leads against White County, Wesleyan and Gilmer and blew all three with turnovers and costly penalties. Just 11 combined points separates the Tigers from a 5-0 record and a shot at the region title Friday night at home. Pound for pound, Lumpkin County wins in every category. They're experienced, and they have QB Cal Faulkner and RB Mason Sullens on offense and LBs Will Wood and Nate Gilleland to lead a defense that plays fast and physical. They have all the trump cards, making the 46th meeting Lumpkin County's game to lose.
WEEK 11 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
All games start at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted
Athens Academy at Union County*
Chestatee at East Forsyth*
Clarkston at Johnson
Fellowship Christian at Banks County*
Gainesville at North Forsyth* -- 94.5 FM The Lake
Habersham Central at Apalachee*
Heritage-Conyers at Jefferson*
Lakeview Academy at George Walton Academy*
Lanier Christian at The Walker School*
Loganville at Flowery Branch* -- WDUN FM 102.9
Lumpkin County at Dawson County*
Mountain View at Buford* -- WDUN AM 550
North Hall at Cedar Shoals* (Thursday)
North Oconee at East Hall*
Pickens at White County*
Providence Christian at East Jackson*
Rabun County at Commerce*
Riverside Prep at Loganville Christian*
Towns County at Washington-Wilkes*
Wesleyan at West Hall*
http://accesswdun.com/article/2023/10/1211041/games2watch-lumpkin-dawson-renew-rivalry-with-title-playoff-spot-on-the-line