About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2022)
Wednesday, October 26,2022 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3B Season ends for Lady Tigers in first round of playoffs Rio White Dawson County News The LadyTigers react after earning an early point against Hebron Christian Academy in their state playoff match onTuesday, Oct. 18. By Rio White riowhite@dawsonnews.com For the majority of three sets, the Dawson County varsity volley ball team showed why they had earned a spot in the class 3A state playoffs in their first- round match against Hebron Christian Academy. Between a strong showing by senior Abby Felkai, an energetic defensive effort all around and general con fidence up against an intimidating opponent, the Lady Tigers fought to the finish. But strong perfor mances by Hebron toward the end of each of those three sets allowed the 2019 state champions to sweep Dawson in a best-of-five set situation. “I thought that they played well ... in the face of the giant,” head coach Tanya Porter said of her team. “They com peted until the very end and that’s all I ask of them to be able to do.” Any early nerves shown by Dawson in the first set quickly van ished as the team fed Felkai to help get the team to a 13-11 lead. Hebron gradually gained momentum on their home court, pull ing away late to take the opening set 25-18. The next set proceed ed in a similar fashion to the first, with the two teams trading punches until both were at 15 points. At that point, Hebron turned up the heat again and rattled off five straight points to place pressure on Dawson. Another late come back effort by the Lady Tigers in the second set fell short, with Hebron going ahead 25-17 to take a commanding two- set lead. The third — and ulti mately final — would prove to be the tightest, with Dawson giving all they had in an attempt to extend the match. This time, the Lady Tigers managed to cross the 20-point mark and pushed Hebron to step up their own game. A close third set finished 25-22 in favor of the hosts, ending Dawson’s 2022 season. “I told them I’m super proud of them. It’s a big accomplishment to go back to [state],” Porter said. “They’re the win- ningest team in our pro gram [history].” The Lady Tigers fin ished the season with a 26-18 overall record and a 12-5 region mark. Porter expressed her admiration of the group of seniors who helped lead the team to improve both in skill and maturity throughout the season. “[We had] a big group of seniors who started as freshmen and we will definitely miss them as we see them go,” Porter said. “This was hopeful ly preparation for life for them not to bow down in the face of something huge. I’m proud of them for the season that they had and for the time that they’ve spent with our pro gram.” DAWS01 DAW SDR FROM 1B Elliott sixth position. With 85 laps remaining in the race, Elliott made another charge into the top- four that looked more sustainable than at previous points of the day. But the disruptive caution during the pit stop cycle interrupted all of Elliott’s momentum. After exiting the caution in 13th position, he would move up as far as 10th before the final caution of the race would move him back toward his eventual finishing position of 14th. Next week, the No. 9 team seeks to solidify a place in the Championship Four at the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Elliott has collected 93 points in the Round of 8 — his 46 playoff points plus the 47 combined points earned at Las Vegas and Homestead. He sits just 13 points behind current playoff leader Joey Logano but just 11 points above fifth-placed Denny Hamlin. The Martinsville race will be Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC. Rio White Dawson County News FROM 1B Roche said. “I felt really happy to earn .BAWSOtEGOUHTY SEWS iELIIE HEATISGO^AnF Bradley M. Maple CPA, PC 706-216-2362 2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100 Dawsonville Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital 706-265-8381 ANH Collision Specialists 706-216-0992 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE All proceeds benefits Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. the Humane bocietv SERB OS A PHOTO OF YOUR CHILD M THEIR /y- HALLOVEEH COSTUME V n FOR A CHANCE TO WIH A w 1 SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO ON MVSONNEWS.COM/ HALLOWEEN2022 by OCTOBER 3| VOTING m BEST PHOTO BEGINS OCTOBER 29 AND ENDS NOVEMBER 5. ' T T / T'X7 V LL/JL^JL X 11, fftuJCXvup &. C-C-C2 lUjrf 100% Financing Available DawsonCountyNews DawsonNews > com These Dawson County staff members were recognized prior to Friday night's game on Staff Appreciation Night. FROM 1B Football the clock by the time they scored a touchdown. The Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick and went into victory formation to celebrate a 5-0 record in Region 7-3A and 7-2 record overall. “Once we got up three scores we were making sure we didn’t make a mis take,” Maxwell said. “A team like [Gilmer] will play really hard. That offense is tough to stop but it’s also tough to come from behind with.” Smith led the way with 72 rushing yards while Kade Moledor picked up 59 yards on the ground. Looking ahead to next week’s Battle of Highway 9, the Indians just had their highest-scoring game of the season. While Dawson and Gilmer battled in a low- scoring tussle, Lumpkin and White County com bined for 70 points at half time. Lumpkin would eventually win 56-35. The 7-1 Indians are in the midst of a massive turn around season under first- year head coach Heath Webb. Webb and his coaching staff have helped unlock the potential of a team that had combined for three wins in the previous three seasons. Led by junior running back Mason Sullens and senior quarterback Cooper Scott, Lumpkin has scored fewer than 27 points on just one occasion — in their lone loss to Wesleyan. Next Friday, that electric offense will play host to the region’s best defense in a clash for region glory. The only scenario in which that game would not be for the region title is if Lumpkin were upset by a 1-7 West Hall team the next week. “We just have to go out with each player doing their job and execute,” Maxwell said. “You can’t worry about what you’re playing for, you worry about the play and make that play and the next one.” All-Region grateful and honored,” Porter said. Roche was the team’s next-highest scorer after Felkai, utilizing her role as an outside hitter to give the Lady Tigers a strong secondary scoring option. She finished second on the team in both kills and digs with 143 and 231, respectively. “I was honored to be noticed and that all of our hard work was paying off,” it.” Sallee was the veteran force on the back line for Dawson, frequently helping stave off opposing offenses with her quick defensive instincts — finishing with 168 digs. She and freshman Hope Selzer combined for a formidable defen sive duo. “I was thankful and honestly sur prised,” Sallee said. “I was not ready to hear my name but when I did, I was like ‘Awesome!’” FROM 1B Lee loved to share with people what I enjoy and teach them how to do it,” Lee said. “I’m glad the [young er members] can see me as someone they can talk to.” Her role as a leader is inspired by her own disci plined approach to shoot ing. Spending several hours a day practicing dur ing the week and on week ends, Lee enjoys helping others who take an interest in the sport and wish to put in the work to improve. “I’ve just worked really hard on building my posi tions, being consistent every single time and being hard on myself in a positive way,” Lee said. “I feel like because I’ve devoted so much time to it [I have] gotten to where I am.” Although she is just a few months away from graduation, Lee has long held aspirations to shoot at the collegiate level. “That was kind of my main goal this whole time,” Lee said. “Even in ninth grade, I was thinking ‘What college team can I shoot on and how can I build up this resume?”’ Such ambitions take plenty of planning and work — both of which she started at a young age. By her freshman year, Lee was already visiting club competitions on weekends and meeting coaches to gain knowledge. Between the goals she set for herself early on and the constant grind of everyday work to achieve those goals, Lee is begin ning to experience the payoff. “This is something I’ve been working toward for a very long time,” Lee said. “I’m so excited about the opportunities coming up. It’s crazy because you have these goals you set in life — long-term and short-term — and when you finally see one of your long-term coming through, you feel like you can relax.” With the high school riflery season coming up, Lee is preparing to further display her leadership skills by helping the DCHS team grow closer together. While on her travels with the Rangers, Lee noticed that a team from Texas was able to elevate its success by vocally sup porting each other. That sense of cohesion will be important for the DCHS team to constantly improve, according to Lee. “Instead of it being a competitive team where [we] want to out-shoot each other, [we] really want to help and teach each other new things,” Lee said. “I feel like watching people be friend ly with one another... teaches you even more than a coach could.” Lee credits her father as an important supporter in her riflery efforts. “I’m really appreciative of my dad because he’s the one who got me to where I am,” Lee said. “He was my BB coach and has given up being a BB coach to now take me to all these matches.” As for her accomplish ments, she has shot 294 out of 300 points at the high school level and 584 out of 600 at the club level. Outside of riflery, Lee is the president of the DCHS chapters of FCCLA and National Honor Society. She is also the social media and events coordinator for FBLA. Lee is a longtime mem ber of Mill Creek Baptist Church in Lumpkin County and is active in their music program. Dawson County Humane Society a no kill shelter Doggy Spotlight 706-265-9160 For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex Scarlett and Redman Meet our dear Redman and Scarlett. These two are the perfect pair for a quiet relaxed home that is looking for a couple of furry companions. They both walk excellent on leash and are very easy to handle at the same time by one person. While they appreciate the occasional walk, these two don’t require much and would be happy to just lay and be in the company if their people. Unfortunately both Scarlett and Redman came to us with serious skin infections due to flea infection and potential owners will have to commit to regular grooming to help them grow their coats back and keep their skin hydrated. Scarlet and Redman are about eight years old and weigh 19 pounds each.
