VALDOSTA 27, DALTON 6
The star: Valdosta quarterback Josh Belton completed 14 passes, four of them for touchdowns, as the Wildcats ended Dalton’s season.Up next: Valdosta will play Tucker for the Class AAAAAA championship in the Georgia Dome next Friday at 8 p.m.
DALTON, Ga. - Turnovers.
They are the unpredictable bane of every football coach's existence, the stuff nightmares of made of. Friday night, in the GHSA Class AAAAAA semifinal at Harmon Field, they were the undoing of Dalton's previously magical season.
Dalton muffed a pair of punts that turned into 14 points as visiting Valdosta earned the right to play for the state championship next week with a 27-6 win. The Wildcats (13-1) managed only 228 yards, 182 through the air, but the Catamounts' special-teams mistakes turned a defensive struggle into a comfortable victory.
"We got fortunate with some turnovers and played good defense, kind of like we have all year," Valdosta coach Alan Rodemaker said. "Those turnovers were extreme momentum swings, and we took advantage of them."
Neither team could move the ball early as the first quarter ended with just three first downs, all by the Catamounts (13-1). Valdosta's first possession of the second quarter reached the 46, but a big third-down stuff by Matthew Howell forced a punt.
That punt, though, was muffed at the Dalton 28, but three plays and a penalty had Valdosta facing a third-and-goal from the 20. Rodemaker, after a timeout, reached into his bag of trick plays and sent 6-foot-3, 230-pound tackle Devonnsha Maxwell out on a tackle-eligible pass play.
Quarterback Josh Belton faked a handoff, looked one way and then hit Maxwell at the 8 over the middle, with the athletic Maxwell diving the last 3 yards into the end zone.
"We wanted to run the football, but we couldn't, so some of the play-action stuff ended up working," Rodemaker said. "We ended up tricking them a bit, including that first touchdown."
Dalton answered with its best drive, reaching the Valdosta 49 before an errant snap helped stall the progress as the half ended 7-0.
The Catamounts forced a quick three-and-out to start the second half, but this time the Valdosta punt hit a Dalton downfield blocker in the helmet. Taking over at the 39, Belton went play-action three plays later and hit a wide-open Jontae Baker over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown and 14-0 lead.
It was a killing start to the final half for a defense that had answered nearly ever challenge to that point.
"We gave everything we had," said Dalton defensive tackle John Wesley Whiteside, who had a sack and three other tackles for loss. "It was a good run and we laid everything out on the field. You take those two mistakes away and it's a close game. Good teams capitalize on mistakes, and that's what they did."
A Dalton three-and-out was followed by a Valdosta 59-yard drive, with Belton again going up top for the score, this time 25 yards to J.R. Ingram for a 21-0 lead. The Catamounts rallied late in the quarter, going 86 yards and scoring on a hook-and-ladder play, with Kyric McGowan taking a pitch from Ahmaad Tanner 19 yards for the score.
Dalton got the ball back moments later when Maddux Houghton stripped a Valdosta receiver after a short catch, but three plays later quarterback J.P. Tighe was sacked and left the game with an ankle injury. He did not return and the Cats' comeback hopes faded away.
"These young men did the best they can," Dalton coach Matt Land said. "I love them and they laid it on the line play after play. You never like endings like this, but you know what, the sun will come up tomorrow. This season is something these kids should be very proud of.
"I knew this was going to be a game of possessions and we had to make every possession count, but we had some mistakes and our execution wasn't where we needed it to be. I would go to battle with this young group against anybody, anywhere at any time."
Belton, who ended his night with a 22-yard touchdown pass in the final two minutes to Ingram, was 14-for-25 and four touchdowns. Dalton star running back Tanner was limited to 57 yards on 11 carries.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22