CALHOUN, Ga. — Caden Williams entered the 2022 prep football season as the most talked-about running back in northwest Georgia.
After Calhoun's 28-13 win Friday night over Dalton, which has the state's third-leading rusher in Tyson Greenwade, Williams will get plenty more attention in the coming days after a heretofore subpar season by his standards.
The junior, who entered the game with just 490 yards and an average of 3.9 yards per carry this season after amassing more than 1,500 yards last year, pounded the Dalton defense for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 40 carries.
The win moves Calhoun to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in GHSA Region 7-AAAAA and drops Dalton to 5-4 and 3-1. A win next week over Cass would secure the region title for the Yellow Jackets. Dalton could still win the championship with a win over Cartersville and a Calhoun loss. The Jackets and Catamounts have clinched playoff berths.
"It was a great win, and it was nice to be back at home," Calhoun coach Clay Stephenson said. "We were going to try to pound it and be more physical than them, and we accomplished it tonight."
That physicality showed itself on defense, too, as Calhoun "limited" Greenwade to 110 yards on 22 carries. The senior entered the game with 1,590 yards in seven games.
"He's a great back and tough in space," Stephenson said. "We had to tackle him from the back side and get everybody in on him and not let him get loose."
Calhoun's running game was so strong, the team threw just six passes. The Jackets' passing game had outgained the rushing attack nearly 3-to-1 entering the game.
Williams ran the ball on 26 of Calhoun's first 31 plays. After fumbling on a 37-yard run that ended the team's opening possession, his 4-yard touchdown run for the game's first points capped a quick second drive that featured a 57-yard run by Cam Curtis.
Dalton responded with a 66-yard scoring drive. On first down at the Calhoun 44, quarterback Ethan Long ran a play-action pass that had several Jackets going with Greenwade and hit a wide-open Warner Ross for a 44-yard touchdown to tie it.
Williams then ran the ball on 11 plays of a 12-play drive, ripping off runs of 11, 14 and 15 yards before scoring from 3 yards early in the second quarter for a 14-7 lead.
On the next Calhoun possession, which started at its 12, Williams ran seven consecutive times to get to the 48. Super sophomore Emaree Winston then showed off his talents with a 14-yard catch and a 29-yard run from the wildcat formation, leading to quarterback Trey Townsend's 1-yard sneak for a 21-7 lead at halftime.
Dalton used an interception to set up at its 46, where Greenwade ripped his biggest run of the night, a 14-yarder, and later converted on fourth-and-3 with a 5-yard run to set up his 1-yard touchdown dive to cut Calhoun's lead to eight.
Calhoun, after stopping a Dalton drive at midfield to start the final quarter, put the game away with an 80-yard drive as Williams and Winston alternated bruising runs, with Williams scoring from a yard out.
Winston finished with 79 yards on seven carries as Calhoun ended with 427 yards on the ground.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.