SPORTS
DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
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Volleyball team advances in state
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The first round of the 2018
GHSA Volleyball State
Championship got underway on
Saturday, Oct. 20, as the
Dawson County Lady Tigers
(No. 3 Area 7-AAA) traveled to
Calhoun to take on the Murray
County Lady Indians (No. 2
Area 6-AAA) in a best of five
sets, winner-take-all contest.
After a tough fight that fea
tured multiple lead changes,
gigantic swings in momentum
and excellent play on both sides
of the net, the Lady Tigers held
off the Lady Indians with a 3-1
victory to secure their berth in
the second round of the state
championship.
Tipping off at noon, the
Tigers came out in the first set
eager and energetic and quickly
moved out to a commanding
lead over the Lady Indians,
who seemed off-kilter and con
fused for most of the set.
Murray County managed to
break serve a couple of times
during the opening tilt but
never managed to put together
a solid offense and Dawson
County took the set by a score
of 25-12.
The second set went in the
opposite direction for the Lady
Tigers as Murray County
grabbed the momentum with a
quick 6 points on their opening
service and turned it into a dou
ble-digit lead as the set
See State 14B
Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News
Dakohta Sonnichsen, sophomore, weaves through defenders on a punt return versus Fannin
County on Oct. 19.
Tigers look strong after bye week
with win over Fannin County
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Tigers
traveled to Blue Ridge on Friday,
Oct. 19 to take on the Fannin
County Rebels in their first game
since their first-of-the-season loss
to Greater Atlanta Christian at the
beginning of the month.
From the opening snap it was
obvious the Tigers had learned
from that loss as they powered
their way up and down the field
behind a dominant defensive line
and a resurgent passing game,
overpowering the Rebels in a 53-7
victory.
The Tiger defense was put to the
test first as the Rebels elected to
receive the opening kickoff.
Featuring junior running back
Trelyn Owensby, who has run for
over 200 yards twice this season,
Fannin County’s run-based attack
quickly knocked out back-to-back
first downs before the Tiger defen
sive line, led by senior Zac
Baloga, was able to force the
Rebels into a punting situation.
“That’s a good team over there.
We’re taking them seriously,” said
Defensive Line Coach Gregory
Baloga. “Their running back is
good.”
The addition of senior Ahmad
Kamara to the defensive backfield
allowed the Tigers to stuff the box
and completely shut down the
Rebels run game as the 23-yard
drive marked the longest drive of
the night for the Fannin County
Rebels until late in the third quar
ter.
On the other side of the ball, the
Tiger offense debuted an up-tem
po passing attack that thrilled the
crowd and kept the Rebels defense
on their heels throughout the first
half.
Senior quarterback Vaughn
Clark opened the game with a
one-minute, three-play, 75-yard
drive that featured a 64-yard catch
and run from tight end TJ Wilson
See Tigers 12B
NASCAR
Elliott tops Busch in
Hollywood Casino 400
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
It took all 43 laps that he had the lead, but Chase
Elliott crossed the finish line .903 seconds ahead of
Kyle Busch on Sunday, Oct. 21 to win the Hollywood
Casino 400 in Kansas City.
The victory is Elliott’s third Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of
the season and his second checkered
flag in this year’s playoff races having
won at Dover three weeks ago.
Elliott began his charge to the front
after a pit-row speeding penalty cost
Kevin Harvick his position on lap 214.
Having moved into second place when
Brad Keselowski decided to pit on lap
224, Elliott took hold of the front position and pow
ered his No. 9 Chevrolet to three second lead over the
rest of the field.
Photo for the Dawson County News
The Dawson County Varsity and Junior Varsity
Cheerleaders pose with their trophies from the
2018 South Forsyth Cheer Classic.
Competitive cheer team takes
2nd at South Forsyth Classic
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Competitive Cheerleading team
was back in action Saturday, Oct. 20 at the 2018 South
Forsyth Classic hosted by the South Forsyth War Eagles.
An uncharacteristically sloppy routine from the
Lady Tigers saw them finish the day in second place
and ended their season-long winning streak at four.
The Jefferson County Warriors took advantage of the
situation and hoisted their first first-place trophy of the
season.
“We had stunting issues in our elite stunt, a mistake
in our pyramid and a tumbling bust,” said Head Coach
Kim Fleming. “Our scores were definitely lower this
week due to errors in the routine.”
With only one competition remaining in the regular
season, team leader Kiki Barber, senior, hoped the loss
would serve as a rallying point for the team as they
prepare for the upcoming regional and state tourna
ments.
See Cheer 12B
Player of the Week!
Ahmad Kamara
Playing from both sides of the ball Dawson
County Tigers senior Ahmad Kamara put on a
demonstration of athleticism against the Fannin
County Rebels in their game on Friday, Oct 1 g.
Playing only in the first half, Kamara carried the
ball six times for 84 yards and two touchdowns
from his usual position of running back while also
racking up four tackles (3 tackles for a loss) and
a sack as the middle linebacker on defense. Flis
efforts from every comer of the field led directly
to the Tigers 53-7 victory over the Rebels.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Marlie Townley
Marlie Townley of the Dawson
County Volleyball team showed
up to play in the first round of the
state tournament on Saturday, Oct.
20. After splitting the first two sets
with Murray County, Townley took
control of the net in the third set
with six straight blocks/kills to put
Dawson County firmly in control. In
the fourth set Townley continued her
domination of the Lady Indians by
racking up 11 points in a row from
the service line to secure the match
victory and advance the Tigers to the
second round of the tournament.
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