TRENTON, Ga. — When the final horn sounded Friday night after Trion’s 28-21 win over host Dade County at Magic Morgan Stadium, it was hard at first to tell who had won and lost.
Players on both teams, having slugged it out for 48 hard minutes, fell on the turf or bent over to try and catch their breath after a game with four lead changes, the final one coming on a Toby Maddux 7-yard run with 8:15 remaining to give the Bulldogs their final lead.
“This is a tough place to play, and (Dade County coach Jeff Poston) does a great job with those kids,” said Trion coach Sean Patrick, whose team improved to 5-0 overall for the first time since 1997 and 1-0 in GHSA Region 7-A Division I. “Man, this is Class A ball, and those kids play both sides of the ball and special teams. Those kids competed, and at the end of the game you should be spent and they all were tonight.”
Dade County’s hard-luck season continues, with the Wolverines falling to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play despite outgaining the Bulldogs 374 yards to 350. It is their fourth loss against a ranked team this season, including losses by four points to Tennessee’s Marion County and six to Darlington.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)