Newspaper Page Text
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
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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.
