SPORTS
DawsonNewscom
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
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Tigers rally late, win over North Hall
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
In their lowest scoring game
of the season, the Dawson
County Tigers needed all 32
minutes against the North Hall
Trojans on Dec. 14 as they
overcame a staunch defense to
emerge with the win by a final
score of 46-36.
Juniors Jasper Gibson and Eli
Burruss opened the scoring for
the Tigers with quick shots
from the 3-point line to give the
Tigers the lead in the opening
minute.
North Hall responded with
3-pointers of their own from
Josh Cook and Luke Gunter to
tie the game midway through
the period.
Defense ruled the remainder
of the first as neither team was
able to penetrate the lane and
found more rim than net from
the outside.
With a 1-point lead at the
beginning of the second period,
North Hall made every effort to
control the game and keep the
ball away from the Tigers.
“North Hall tried to control
the tempo of the game,” said
Head Coach Chad Pittman.
“They did a good job with that,
obviously, credit them for that.”
Despite the keep-away game,
seniors Luke Chism and
Ahmad Kamara found success
underneath the basket to add
points to the board alongside
Gibson and Burruss.
The Tigers outscored the
Trojans 10-8 in the second peri
od to flip the tables and take a
1-point lead into halftime.
Tate Adkins, junior, dropped
a dime from 3-point range and
Chism and Burruss found a tiny
bit of room inside to open the
third, but the two teams contin
ued the defensive battle through
the quarter as baskets came in
short supply, with neither team
hitting double digits.
Holding onto to a meager
28-26 lead as the final period
See Tigers 14B
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Photos by Bob Christian Dawson County News
LadyTigers point guard Sophia D'Olivera, junior, challenges two North Hall defenders Dec. 14.
Lady Tigers fall short at North Hall
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Lady
Tigers continued with their
early season regional games
as they traveled to North
Hall for a battle with the
Lady Trojans on Dec. 14.
In a tough, physical game
the Lady Tigers dropped a
close one with a 58-55 loss,
as they were unable to over
come a first half marked by
foul troubles and turnovers.
“These early region games
before Christmas turn out to
be so important in Eebruary,”
said Head Coach Steve
Sweat. “Your region games
determine your seed in the
tournament.”
Senior Kaylee Sticker
opened the game with a
beautiful 3-pointer from the
corner but was quickly
answered with a matching
shot from the Lady Trojan’s
Grace Hollifield.
After the opening scores,
the Lady Tigers settled into a
defensive set that did an
excellent job of shutting
See Lady 12B
Kaylee Sticker, senior, fights through three Trojan
defenders on her way to the net in a game on Dec. 14 at
North Hall High School.
Football
awards cap
off historic
season
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County football pro
gram hosted their annual awards ban
quet on Dec. 16 in the Performing Arts
Center of the Dawson County High
School, honoring members of all six
Dawson County football teams.
The ceremony was a testament to the
“bottom-up” philosophy envisioned by
Head Coach Sid Maxwell.
“Pour years ago, there were two
teams at the high school level. A JV
team that was a mix of freshmen and
other classes and a varsity team,”
Maxwell said. “Today we have 29
coaches on staff and a sixth grade, sev
enth grade, eighth grade, freshmen, JV
and varsity program. Six teams.”
With each team running the same
offensive and defensive schemes, the
benefits of an integrated One Dawson
program became apparent through the
course of the afternoon as athlete after
athlete was called forward and
acknowledged for their accomplish
ments over the course of this year’s
historic season.
The afternoon started by recognizing
the members of the sixth grade team.
Coached to a 5-2-1 record over the
regular season, each member of the
team was presented with a maroon and
gold dog tag embossed with the
emblem of the Dawson County Tigers.
“Each member of the seventh grade
team got theirs last year,” said seventh
grade Coach Terry Haymond. “Kind of
like a membership badge. It’s some
thing that we plan to give to each sixth
See Football 12B
Dawson wrestlers face off against tough competition
Baggett takes first place at annual Coal Mountain Classic
By Bob Christian
bchristian@dawsonnews.com
The Dawson County Tigers
wrestling program improved
their team record to 15-2 after
competing in a set of matches
with the Jefferson County
Dragons and the Tucker Tigers
on Dec. 12 at Dawson County
High School.
The Tucker Tigers, a team in
the middle of rebuilding their
program, found themselves in
an early hole as they forfeited
eight matches in the lower
weight classes. Dawson County
rapidly took care of business in
the remaining bouts with early
pins in five of the six remaining
matches.
The final match between the
teams featured Dawson
County’s DJ Mitchell going all
three rounds with Tucker’s N.
Sims winning the fight by a
13-7 decision, giving the
Dawson County Tigers the
clean sweep with an 81-0 final
score.
Jefferson County presented a
different story as they took to
the mat and challenged the
Tigers with a series of quick
falls to take an early lead in the
match.
“Jefferson has won at state
for years in both traditional and
duals,” said Head Coach Arron
Haynes. “This is our measuring
stick to see where the team is at
so far.”
As the evening continued,
bright spots for the Tigers
emerged as Mitchell picked up
his second win of the night fol
lowed by pins from Levi
Baggett, Christian Harper and
Alex Paynes, but in the end
Jefferson County handed the
Tigers their second loss of the
season with a 60-24 victory.
The team then traveled to
North Porsyth High School on
Dec. 15 for the annual Coal
Mountain Classic, the first tradi
tional-style meet of the season.
See Wrestlers 14B
Player of the Week!
Levi Baggett
Dawson County High School senior Levi
Baggett claimed first place in the tgs
weight classification at the 2018 Coal
Mountain Classic on Dec. 15. After a first-
round bye, Baggett defeated opponents
from North Forsyth, Dunwoody and
Forsyth Central high schools in a series of
matches all won by decision. With a record
of 16-1 on the season, Baggett has been
instrumental in the success of the Tigers this
season and is well on his way to achieving
his personal goal of a state title.
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophia D’Oliveira
Shooting 76 percent from the free-throw line,
Dawson County High School point guard
Sophia D’Oliveira, junior, led the Lady Tigers
in scoring against the North Hall Lady Trojans
in a Dec. 15 game. D’Oliveira scored every one
of her 10 points from the free-throw line as she
continuously challenged the North Hall defense.
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