DALTON, Ga. — Of the many traditions associated with the Dalton Catamounts football program, maybe the most consistent — and often overlooked — is the presence of a strong offensive line.
Legendary coach Bill Chappell never made a postgame interview in which he didn’t single out his line. Ask the man who won 317 games about one of his many high-profile running backs or quarterbacks and Chappell would inevitably spout something along the lines of, “He’s nothing without that offensive line doing all the hard work.”
The Cats once again boast a strong front, though many thought before the season that, having lost all-state performer and current University of Georgia freshman Watts Dantzler, the line would be average at best. Instead, losing Dantzler, combined with a stunning end to the season, has unified and transformed the group into arguably Region 7-AAA’s best unit.
“A lot of the guys played last year for the first time, and the improvement they’ve shown this year is tremendous,” said offensive line coach Chad Jordan, a veteran of 14 years on the Dalton sideline. “To me, the key is their understanding of the game and the concepts they apply during a game. When defenses change something, they’re smart enough to make the adjustment on the fly. We’ve had some lines in the past that it hasn’t come as easily to.”
The line takes great pride in the accomplishments of a running attack that averages 306 yards per game and has scored 31 touchdowns. When all-star tailback Tre Beck went down early with a broken leg, Tre Bonds stepped in and has rushed for 1,400 yards.
There are no All-Americans up front, but former Dalton and University of Tennessee star Bill Mayo, who works with the unit, gushes over how they work together.
“We’ve got six guys who all play to go with tight end Will Erwin, and the thing that stands out is how well they work together,” Mayo said of tackles Elias Ortega and Robert Alexander, guards Brad Alexander and Brady Willocks, center B.J. Rowland and super-sub Jake Roberts, son of former Dalton star Stephen Roberts.
“What’s really telling is we’ve had teams go out and completely change what they do defensively because of the way our line works together,” Mayo added. “That’s as big a compliment as you can get.”
Ortega, the biggest of the linemen at 6-foot-1, 310 pounds, said losing Dantzler led everyone to work harder in the offseason, as did the way the 2010 season ended. A week 10 Region 7-AAA crossover play-in game against Gilmer County was supposed to be a laugher, especially considering the Cats had won an earlier game by three touchdowns. However, Gilmer shocked Dalton at Harmon Field, keeping the team out of the playoffs.
The memory still stings.
“We remember it and we’re determined to not let that happen again,” said the senior Ortega, who leads his team against Cartersville tonight with a playoff berth on the line. “We don’t want that feeling again.”
As if the Cats needed any more motivation, the forfeiture of four wins following last week’s GHSA ruling that the team played an ineligible player has taken the team’s resolve to a new level, according to Ortega. Dalton went from a possible eight-win regular season and a shot at the region championship to 2-6 and fighting for its playoff life.
It’s a fight the Cats won’t lose easily.
“Everything that’s happened has brought us even closer,” Ortega said. “We’re not going to lose that Dalton tradition and we’re determined to make it to the state and play for a while. This team may not have the most talent, but we do have a lot of heart.”
Words, Bill Chappell would surely attest, that have been echoed many times over the past half-century.