Dalton 17, Atlanta Carver 7
The star: Jake Myers caught a touchdown pass on a fake field-goal attempt with 23 seconds left in the first half to put the Catamounts up 14-0.Up next: Dalton (9-2) will get Glynn Academy (10-2) in the second round next Friday. Glynn Academy beat Jones County 28-22.
DALTON, Ga. - Timing is everything.
For Dalton High School football fans - and especially Catamounts coach Matt Land - a super surge of energy and execution came at just the right moment for his offense Friday night in the first round of the Class AAAAA state playoffs at Harmon Field.
Late in the fourth quarter, the Cats (9-2) put together the type of drive teams dream of and held off Atlanta's Carver for a 17-7 win on a chilly night in which Dalton heated up in the right situations. Dalton, the Region 7 champion, advances to the second round and will host Glynn Academy, a 28-22 winner over Jones County, next Friday night.
Region 6's Carver, playing Dalton for only the third time in history, ended its season 7-4 and is now 0-3 against Dalton.
"That was a signature drive for us," Land said. "We've been waiting for our offense to do that. I tell you, that is the best region in the state that we played tonight. (Carver) is a number four seed, but they don't play like a number four seed. A drive like we had late there tonight shows our offense is maturing. We didn't press. We stuck with our game plan."
With 10:26 left in the game and a 14-7 lead, Dalton had to find a way to keep Carver's offense off the field. The Panthers came into the game with a pair of rushers who had combined for 1,900 yards this season. And the time truly was now for the Cats after Carver's running attack finally took off in the third quarter as Gregory Payton dashed 18 yards for a touchdown with 3:54 left in the third quarter to cut Dalton's lead to a touchdown.
Land had been waiting for his offense all year to engage in a drive that would decide a game on its own.
Cats quarterback J.P. Tighe threw two interceptions against the Panthers, and the running game was often stifled by Carver's big defensive line. But with 10:26 left in regulation, the Cats marched 56 yards in 16 plays to seal the game on a 27-yard field goal by Isai Hernandez with 2:02 left to play. During the decisive drive, Tyler Noland ripped off 17 yards on a reverse and Tighe gained 8 yards and a first down to escape a third-and-7 pinch.
In the first quarter, Dalton jumped on top 7-0 when Matt Cook recovered a Carver fumble at the Panthers' 15-yard line and, five plays later, Drake McCowan raced in for a 4-yard touchdown with 8:39 left in the period.
The Cats increased their lead to 14-0 in the second quarter with a little trickery as Jase Chastain threw an 11-yard pass to Jake Myers on a fake field goal. Kyric McGowan's 39-yard run helped set up that touchdown.
Chastain also intercepted a pass and made a big hit on Payton that knocked off the Carver running back's helmet.
"The defense is kind of our big brother," Land said. "The defense played hard and had our back all night. I'm glad the offense pulled their weight tonight."