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Wednesday, October 19,2022
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B
Spooky food recipes as Halloween approaches
Halloween is right
around the corner! Of
course that means candy
sales are up and parents
everywhere are making
sure their little goblins
have costumes ready to go
for the big night of trick-or-
treating. This is the perfect
time to head to the kitchen
to whip up some spooky food. Here
are some fun recipes that your chil
dren or grandchildren are sure to
love.
Mummy Dogs
• 1 can crescent dough
• 3 slices American cheese
• 12 hot dogs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• Dijon or yellow mustard
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line
a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Separate the crescent dough into 4
rectangles. Pinch the seams to
secure. Cut each rectangle into thin
strips. Cut the cheese slices into 4
strips each. Place a hot dog on top of
a strip of cheese and then wrap the
crescent strips to look like bandages
around the hot dog and cheese. Place
on parchment paper and then brush
with melted butter. Bake for 15 min
utes until golden brown. Use a tooth
pick to dot mustard on for the eyes.
Serve with more mustard for dip
ping.
Vampire Cookies
• 1 tube chocolate chip cookie
dough
• 1 can vanilla frosting
• Red food coloring
• Mini marshmallows
• Slivered almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line
2 baking sheets with parchment
paper. Roll cookie dough into 1 1/2
-inch balls and place them on baking
sheets. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool
completely on a rack and then cut in
half lengthwise. Add a few drops of
red food coloring to vanilla frosting,
stirring to combine. Spread a thin
layer of now red vanilla frosting onto
each cookie half. Place mini marsh
mallows around the round edges of
half of the halves of cookies. Place
the remaining cookie on top and then
stick slivered almonds on each side
to create fangs.
"Dirt" Pudding
• 2 packages instant chocolate
pudding
• 3 cups whole milk
■ 2 cups heavy cream
■ 14 cup powdered sugar
■ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
■ 1 (14 ounce) package Oreos,
crushed and divided
Gummy worms
In a bowl, whisk together pudding
mix and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Using an electric mixer, combine
heavy cream, powdered sugar, and
vanilla extract. Mix until stiff peaks
form. Gently fold whipped cream and
1/3 of the crushed Oreos into the pud
ding mixture. Divide into clear glass
es and top with more crushed Oreos
and some gummy worms.
Monster Eyeball Truffles
• 1 (14 ounce) package of Oreos
• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream
cheese, softened
• 1 cup finely chopped Snickers
bars
• Vi cup Reeses Pieces, chopped
• 1 'A cups white chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Green gel food coloring
• Candy eyeballs
• Purple sprinkles
In a food processor, pulse Oreos
until fine. Pour into a bowl. Add
cream cheese and mix to combine.
Add Snickers and Reeces Pieces.
Line a baking sheet with parchment
paper. Using a small cookie scoop,
form “dough” into small balls and
place on parchment paper. Freeze
until hardened, about an hour.
Combine white chocolate chips and
coconut oil and microwave for a few
minutes, stirring every 30 seconds,
until melted and smooth. Add 10
drops of green food coloring and stir
to combine. Dip frozen cookie balls
in chocolate mixture and arrange on
parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Press a candy eyeball onto the topside
and then add purple sprinkles . Freeze
for 30 minutes.
"Eyeball" Meatball Pasta
• 1 pound ground beef
• !/2 onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 14 cup parsley, minced
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 14 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Vi teaspoon pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 Vi cup favorite marinara
sauce
• Sliced black olives
• Mozzarella slices, cut into
small rounds
• Parmesan, grated
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a
bowl, combine ground beef, onion,
garlic, parsley, egg, Panko, salt and
pepper. Shape mixture into 1-inch
balls and place on parchment paper
lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 min
utes, until cooked through.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in plenty of
salted, boiling water until done.
Drain. Top each cooked meatball with
a round of mozzarella cheese and top
with an olive slice to resemble an eye.
Toss cooked and drained pasta with
marinara and then top with meatballs
and sprinkle with parmesan.
Marshmallow Spiders
• 6 marshmallows
• 48 pretzel sticks
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 16 candy eyes
Line baking sheet with parchment
paper. In a small bowl, add white
chocolate and coconut oil. Microwave
until melted, stirring every 30 sec
onds. Dip pretzels into white choco
late and place on parchment paper
and refrigerate until firm. Use white
chocolate to “glue” the candy eyes to
the marshmallows. Dip the bottoms
of the marshmallows in the white
chocolate. Press the pretzels into the
marshmallows to make the spider
“legs.” Freeze for 20 minutes or so.
Ghost Bagel Pizzas
• 8 mini bagels, split in halves
• Vi cup favorite marinara
• 8 slices mozzarella
• 4 black olives, chopped into
small pieces
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut mozzarella slices into ghost
shapes, or use a small ghost cookie
cutter. Spread marinara onto bagels.
Top with cheese ghost. Bake until
melty, about 12 minutes. Use olive
pieces to make eyes.
ADLEN
ROBINSON
Columnist
Lady Tigers’ season ends in region tourney
By Rio White
riowhite@dawsonnews.com
In an elimination game
at the Region 7-3A tour
nament, Dawson County
softball’s junior pitcher
Layne Bailey stood on
the mound laser-focused
on helping her team put
up a fight against a strong
White County team who
had beaten the Lady
Tigers twice already this
season.
Bailey — and the
defense behind her — did
exactly that, making
clutch play after play to
keep the Lady Warriors at
bay.
Whether it was catcher
Bryce Greenwood throw
ing a runner out at second
base to help keep White
at one run or a lineout
catch by Calleigh Lamb
that she turned into a dou
ble play, the defense was
ready to assist Bailey in
any way they could.
With every play made,
the Dawson dugout
became louder — and
belief spread that an upset
win was possible.
“I told [the players]
when we got out there
that I don’t know if I’ve
ever seen a team come as
far as this team has,” head
coach Justin Rickett said.
“Two weeks ago [White]
beat us 17-0.”
The only problem was
that the Lady Warriors
were able to keep
Dawson limited on
offense through a combi
nation of their own clutch
plays and missed oppor
tunities by the Lady
Tigers.
After scoring one run
in the first inning, White
stayed in front until the
fourth inning when the
bats got warm for
Dawson.
Freshman Sadie Dotson
hit an opposite-field dou
ble that was followed up
by a Greenwood single.
Sophomore Micah
Burruss drove Dotson in
with an RBI groundout.
Dawson would have
multiple scoring opportu
nities after that but came
up just short on capitaliz
ing. From flyouts to
groundouts to sharply hit
line drives, every ball
found a line directed right
at the defense.
Yet the score would
remain stuck at one run
apiece, as Bailey became
more locked down the
further the game pro
gressed.
Eventually, the game
reached extra innings
after neither team could
bring a runner home.
Dawson had the first
major chance, placing
runners on first and third
in the top of the eighth
inning.
A dropped pop fly gave
speedster Ace Cochran a
chance to score, but a
strong throw by the
opposing shortstop got to
the catcher in time.
Bailey continued into
extra innings with no sign
of fatigue, continuing to
pile on the strikeouts.
One last chance present
ed itself for the Lady
Tigers in the ninth inning,
with the go-ahead run on
base with two outs. A long
fly ball hit by Lauren
Kurtz fell just short of hit
ting the wall, with the out
fielder catching it with lit
tle room left to run.
An opening triple by the
Lady Warriors in the bot
tom half of the inning put
Dawson on the ropes, and
on the next at-bat, White
would hit a walk-off RBI
hit to end the Lady Tigers’
season with a 2-1 defeat.
For Rickett, the team’s
resolve to win the previ
ous tournament game
against West Hall and the
overall improvements
made since a difficult start
to the season was a testa
ment to the team’s charac
ter.
“From where we’ve
come from to come to the
region tournament and
play three games that were
all walk-off games...I’m
so proud of these kids and
the way they fought and
battled,” Rickett said. “We
hit the ball hard and
[White] did too. We gave
up the one run but
[Bailey] kept them right
there until the ninth.”
The head coach also
credited the support of the
parents and community
for helping support and
uplift the team during the
season.
“Anybody that was in
the ballpark tonight can
tell you that high school
sports matter and they will
continue to matter,”
Rickett said. “Eve never
seen a community like the
Dawson community get
behind a team when it’s
playoff time. They did it
last year, they did it again
this year and I’m looking
forward to them doing it
again next year.”
FROM 1B
Football
stood at 24-17 and
momentum had firmly
shifted to the Wolves.
With their backs against
the wall, the Tigers came
out on the next possession
with an immediate
response.
Glass rolled out and
found his trusty receiver
Dominic LeBlanc for the
second time in the game
— this time on a 72-yard
connection to tie the score
at 24 with nine minutes
remaining.
After regaining posses
sion in good field position
following a poor punt, the
Tigers looked determined
to finish the game off.
A 35-yard pass from
Glass to Sawyer Bearden
set up Dawson around the
6-yard line, with Glass
eventually pushing the
pile forward on the goal
line to score.
Wesleyan would make
progress on their next
drive and would head well
into Tigers territory.
But with around 50 sec
onds left in the game,
Kevin Haymond came up
with a fourth-down sack
to help Dawson seal a
sixth win of the season
and maintain an undefeat
ed record in region play.
Before the scoring fren
zy from both teams in the
second half, Dawson had
scored on a screen pass
from Glass to LeBlanc
followed up by Kade
Moledor touchdown run
that was set up by a deep
pass to Hunter
Casserleigh.
With just over a minute
left, Wesleyan caught the
Dawson defense off guard
and used a 50-yard pass to
help fuel a scoring drive to
cut the deficit in half
going into halftime.
The Tigers fumbled the
ball to begin the second
half to set up a Wesleyan
field goal, with the Wolves
later taking a 17-14 lead
on another long pass.
Dawson hit a chip shot
field goal to tie the game
before both team would
trade scores in the fourth
quarter.
Next week, the Tigers
will host their regular sea
son home finale against
Gilmer. The Bobcats most
recently faced an upset
loss to Pickens, leaving
them at a 2-2 region
record.
A scrappy race horse
from the mountains
One of my favorite days is always the first Saturday in
May when hundreds of private jets land in Louisville,
Kentucky, and limousines arrive for a ride over to beauti
ful Churchill Downs.
The Kentucky Derby has delivered some of the best sto
ries in sports history. Winners become losers. Losers
become winners.
And, on rare occasion, a hero emerges to inspire the
world to believe that, on any given day, anyone can win.
Seabiscuit, a star that inspired two movies and a mon
strous bestselling book, brightened American hearts in the
darkest days of the Great Depression.
On Derby Day, I start watching at 11 a.m. and, although
no woman loves hats more than I do, it’s not the remark
able creations that draw
me. It’s the stories behind
the animals. I listen to them
all then decide which horse
I will be cheering.
In the last Derby, an
owner, family and trainer,
were grinning ear-to-ear
early that morning. “It’s
hard to believe we’re here!”
The horse, Rich Strike, had not made the race. They
were preparing to load him when another horse had to be
withdrawn from the 21-horse field. Rich Strike was
entered with less than 60 seconds of entry time left.
It wasn’t just their childlike enthusiasm that grabbed
me. I saw something familiar that felt like home. They
weren’t expensively dressed nor spoke in sophisticated
language.
We country folks can spot each other from across a
crowded, hay-filled bam.
They were off to the races and Rich Strike was last —
but he was my horse and I was sticking with him, training
my eyes to focus on him in a mashup of bobbing hats and
long legs. It wasn’t looking good. Rich Strike was running
17th as he came out of the final turn.
Then, magic happened. He gritted his bit. His eyes fired
up wildly and his skinny legs took off in a ran that looked
more like a bumble than a gallop. It wasn’t finesse. It was
determination. The other horses trotted gallantly, elegant
ly. Not Rich Strike.
Again, something looked wildly familiar.
“Tink, look at that horse stomp. It looks like a back-
woods boy who is runnin’ away from the mountains as
fast as he can go.”
I’ve rewatched his astounding, history-making victory
dozens of times. I know that run. I know that desperation.
I know that disregard for the rules or a refusal to bow to
the higher classes. I’ve witnessed it many times.
As it turned out, there was a stark Appalachian story in
Rich Strike’s past. His trainer, Eric Reed, is the son of a
man named Herbie who, too, is much loved in the racing
world. His son insisted that his father, his hero, share
Victory Lane.
They cried. Again, I saw a kinship I felt I shared with
them as though they were blood related. Three weeks
later, Tink found a story in Sports Illustrated and forward
ed it to me. It explained my intuition.
Herbie grew up in dirt-poor hopelessness, in the cruel
Appalachians. His mother died when he was five then, at
age 9, he hitched a ride on a cattle buck and left behind
the hollers where his bloodline ran deep like a vein of
rusted silver.
“I came up by myself,” Herbie Reed told the magazine.
At 14, he was working in the horse business then, later,
teaching his son about the magnificent beasts who seem
simple but, yet, are so complex.
What I saw that day was the truth — Rich Strike had
been ingrained with a scrappiness that only a mountain
survivor can fathom.
I know because I am the daughter of a man much like
Herbie Reed. He ran from those mountains at the age of
13, racing at a full gallop into a better life.
Desperation has a different gait than discipline. That’s
how I was able to recognize our people in that horse.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling author of What Southern
Women Know (That Every Woman Should). Visit www.rond-
arich.com to sign up for her free weekly newsletter.
FROM 1B
Elliott
as far as 13th before
spending the majority of
his day right around where
he finished.
He could hardly be
blamed for already having
Miami on his mind post
race.
“I just did a really bad
job,” Elliott said. [We
were] obviously missing
something at a place like
this to compete with the
gentlemen who know what
they’re doing.
Homestead’s definitely dif
ferent but I need to re-eval-
uate myself in general to
have a shot next week.”
Despite picking up just
16 points from the race,
Elliott remains third
among the eight remaining
playoff drivers. He now
sits one point behind Ross
Chastain, who finished in
second behind Logano at
Las Vegas.
Elliott is nine points
clear of Denny Hamlin,
who is currently the final
driver above the
Championship 4 cut line.
Below him are William
Byron, Chase Briscoe,
Ryan Blaney and
Christopher Bell.
Bell, who won at the
Roval last week, had his
Vegas run cut short after
becoming caught in the
crossfire of a retaliatory
move made by Bubba
Wallace on Kyle Larson.
Elliott and the No. 9
team will look to bounce
back at Homestead-Miami
Speedway for the Dixie
Vodka 400 on Sunday, Oct.
23. The race will be at 2:30
p.m. on NBC.
FROM 1B
Volleyball
even the season series at
two matches apiece.
“I didn’t think that we
kept our energy level con
sistent throughout the three
sets,” Porter said. “We put
a lot into that first set [and]
the emotions were really
high. I thought we played a
good second set [but] once
we lost the lead we weren’t
able to get it back.”
Dawson would then
defeat Gilmer 25-13, 25-20
in an elimination match to
clinch a state playoff spot
and play Thursday.
The Lady Tigers, now
with a 26-17 record, travel
to Dacula to play Hebron
Christian Academy. The
winner of that match will
face either Sandy Creek or
Coahulla Creek.