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DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
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Softball team wins big at home
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
Bringing a .386 team batting aver
age and a team on base percentage of
.433, the Dawson County Lady
Tigers (2—5) hoped that their
Thursday, Aug. 23 game against the
Cherokee Bluff Bears (2-5) would be
the one where their aggressiveness at
the plate would finally pay off.
Senior Maggie Schandera took the
mound marking her eighth start of the
season. Featuring a ratio of 33 strike
outs to seven walks over the season
and an ERA of 4.89, Schandera kept
the ball low in the strike zone and,
along with solid infield play, retired
the side in seven pitches.
Leading off the bottom of the first,
senior Carol Drake continued her
ability to reach first by safely grab
bing the bag on an outfield error.
Drake stole second on the following
pitch and then moved to third on an
infield error. Advancing home on a
fielder’s choice for the first run of the
game, the Lady Tigers took the lead
early and never looked back.
Reaching base on a single,
Schandera was replaced with courte
sy runner Kaitlyn Bennet, who was
quickly driven around on a deep triple
from the bat of Bella Henson.
Continuing the inning and the scoring
with an RBI single, Tori Martin was
also replaced with a courtesy runner,
Annsley Anglin.
Cherokee Bluff allowed the inning
to continue with their third error, pre
venting a double play, but the Bears
grabbed the second out with the
throw to first to nab Brea Crane. A
call for catcher’s interference put
Lauren Tow on base after she had
gone down in the count by two strikes
and with the bases loaded, Mary
Larris drove a double into left field for
the first of her four RBIs on the night.
DCHS senior Maggie Schandera puts the ball in
See Softball 12B play against Cherokee Bluff High School Aug. 23.
Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News
The Tigers defense pressures the Chestatee quarterback, sophomore Christian Charles, during the
Tigers' first home game Aug. 24.
Defense shuts down Chestatee
Volleyball team
wins 2 at home
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
Taking advantage of an almost week-long break, the
Dawson County High School varsity volleyball team
spent the time working on the fundamentals.
“There’s room for improvement in our passing,”
Head Coach Tanya Porter said. “I feel really good
about it.”
That good feeling was not misplaced as the Lady
Tigers (4-3) took to the home courts for the first time
this season on Aug. 23 for a two-match night featuring
games against the Pickens County Dragons and the
Bobcats out of Gilmer County.
Tipping off the early match at 5 p.m. against Pickens
County High School, the two teams came out evenly
matched, trading points in small bites of two and three
at a time as the set went deep into points.
As both teams approached 20 points a series of kills
and blocks from juniors Roxie Lricton and Marlie
Townley finally allowed the Lady Tigers to push the
final points and take the first set victory by a score of
25-19.
The excitement of the home crowd proved infectious
and the Lady Tigers launched into the second set
behind a ferocious service from sophomore Olivia
See Volleyball 12B
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
“We’re just trying to win
a game,” Head Coach Sid
Maxwell said when asked
about the game plan going
into the Aug. 24 tilt against
the visiting Chestatee High
School War Eagles.
And win the game they
did, as the first home game
of the 2018 season unfold
ed into a 59-0 victory by
the Dawson County High
School Tigers.
The War Eagles came
into Tiger Stadium featur
ing their own dual-threat
quarterback in sophomore
Christian Charles looking
to bounce back from a sea
son opening loss at North
Hall. Charles’ efforts in
that loss had not gone
unnoticed by the Tigers
coaching staff.
“Their quarter back?
He’s good,” Defensive
Backs Coach Bradley
Lowler said. “Definitely
someone we need to look
out for.”
The Tigers started the
game by kicking off to the
War Eagles and the defense
got its first crack of the
night at stopping Charles.
The first play, a quick
wide receiver screen gained
10 yards, and then the
Tigers defense laid the
foundation for the stone
wall they were to become
as the game progressed.
Three successive negative
yardage plays by the Tigers
defense, led by seniors
Logan Barnes and Zac
Baloga, forced a punt by
the War Eagles and brought
the defense onto the field.
Taking possession for the
first time in the game with
just under 10 minutes
remaining in the first quar
ter, the Tigers picked up
right where they had left
off in their win over
Habersham by handing the
See Football 12B
Senior Savaughn Clark stiff arms a Chestatee
defender Aug. 24.
Cross country roster
set for season opener
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
Unlike the varsity rosters for almost all other
Dawson County High School sports, the team roster for
the cross country team is determined with a time trial
prior to every race. This means that the team can be dif
ferent for each race, although this rarely happens.
“Usually, your varsity team is made up of the top
seven runners,” Head Coach Charles Beusse said as he
explained how the team would be built for the upcom
ing competition at Chestatee High School on Aug. 28.
“Lor some reason it is the top 10 runners for this event.”
Beusse went on to explain that the scoring in cross
country is “much like golf’ in that the lower the score,
the better.
“Obviously a fast time is important, but if you come
in first you get one point,” Beusse said. “If you finish in
second you get two, third three and so on. Adding up
all the finishes for the team gives a total, and the lowest
score wins the event.”
Leaturing a good number of returning runners the
2018 boys’ team will be led by a trio of returning
See Roster 12B
Player of the Week!
Ethan Cameron
Dawson County Tiger senior wide receiver Ethan
Cameron established himself as a dominating
presence against the Chestatee War Eagles in the
Tigers home-opener Friday, Aug 24. In his first play
on the field he grabbed a 14-yard pass for his first
touchdown of the night. On the first drive of the second
quarter Cameron displayed his vision, acceleration
and speed as he outraced the War Eagles defense for a
70-yard touchdown that could be considered the final
nail as it brought the score to an astounding 45 - O.
Cameron finished his night with 86 combined yards
and two touchdowns on two plays.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Frankie Muldoon
DCHS cross country runner Frankie
Muldoon has won the regional
individual cross country championship
for the last three years (2015-2017), and
has been named the Blitz runner of the
year for two consecutive years (2016,
2017). The senior also plays soccer at
the varsity level for Dawson County and
has received offers to play soccer at the
collegiate level. She is a member of the
Dawson County High School honor
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