CALHOUN, Ga. — There’s nothing quite like getting hit in the mouth to get one’s attention.
Dalton did just that to Calhoun on Friday night at Phil Reeve Stadium, jumping out to a two-touchdown first-quarter lead, but Hal Lamb’s second-ranked Class AA Yellow Jackets did the rest of the scoring for a 24-14 win.
“Everybody thought we were going to win by a big margin, but I knew this wouldn’t be that kind of game because Dalton has too good of coaching and has a great running back,” Lamb said. “There was no doubt in my mind we were going to win this football game, even down 14. They showed a lot of character in coming back to win it.”
Dalton, sparked by senior running back Tre Beck’s elusive running, scored on consecutive drives in the first quarter. Beck began the first quick drive with a 34-yard run, then two plays later scored from 20 yards out on a sprint around left end. Following a quick three-and-out by a fired-up Dalton defense, the Catamounts needed just four plays to score again, this time Beck getting in from 5 yards out.
It took Calhoun until its last drive to get points as Dalton’s quick defense held the Jackets to three first downs on its previous drives. First-year quarterback Taylor Lamb, though, began finding his targets, hitting Josh Barnes for 28 yards to start the drive, then going to Darius Washington for 17. Washington, the senior running back, scored four plays later on a 5-yard run just before the half.