Atlanta Falcons honor Dalton's Matt Land

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

Dalton football coach Matt Land was honored before Thursday night's Atlanta Falcons game for earning the NFL team's Community Coach of the Week award.

The Falcons annually recognize 12 high school head coaches for their work on and off the field, and they give each winner a plaque and a $1,000 grant for his school's football program.

"It's obviously an honor to be represented, but it speaks more to our coaching staff, our program and the Dalton community," said Land, who also was interviewed by the Falcons' radio crew for a pregame spot. "It's based on criteria of not only what you do within your program but also in the community.

"The exciting thing about an award like this is it's not only about winning on the field but it speaks to the character of the staff."

National No. 14

In its national small school rankings for the last decade, Maxpreps has Calhoun listed 14th.

Calhoun, which won a Georgia Class AA state championship in 2011, had a 137-16 record during the period under consideration. The only school from Georgia, Tennessee or Alabama ranked above coach Hal Lamb's Yellow Jackets was Buford, Ga., which was No. 1. Buford won state titles in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.

Sprawls done again

Tyner running back and linebacker Shannon Sprawls had his season cut short again. The Rams senior was hoping to get his first full season of football but suffered a broken ankle in their loss last week.

During his career, Sprawls had one season cut short when he got run over by a car, then two more with torn ACLs (each knee). The ACL and ankle injuries all occurred in the third game of each season.

Donations for coach

Grundy County coach Phil Dees, whose home burned down a couple of weeks ago, received a check this week for $1,900 from Notre Dame. Silverdale Baptist Academy, Grundy's opponent last week, raised $1,000, and an anonymous donor at that game added $500.

Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so at www.gofundme.com/DeesHouseFire.

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