Jeff Poston told his Dade County High School football team earlier in the day they it was going to win Friday night's game against GHSA Region 7-AA power Pepperell. The third-year coach was met with a few wry smiles, but no real belief.
After Friday's 21-20 win, however, there is belief in Trenton for the Wolverines (3-1, 1-0).
"They didn't believe us, but at halftime they realized we were the better team," Poston said. "It's a huge win for this program. We've been telling them all year we could win the region championship and we could be playing Thanksgiving weekend."
Dade County missed two weeks due to COVID-19 protocol within the team and came back with a mistake-filled 35-28 loss to Mount Zion-Carroll last week. Friday wasn't perfect - the Wolverines fumbled three times and threw two interceptions - but a powerful ground game that produced 271 yards was enough to pull off the upset.
Cody Williams had 122 yards and two touchdown runs, including the winning 30-yard score with just less than three minutes left. The Dragons put together a strong drive but a potential winning field goal was missed.
"On the winning drive, we ran (isolation plays) at them over and over again, and basically just ran it down their throat," Poston said. "They had no answer for Cody Williams, and our line was outstanding."
Cayden Cooper added 109 rushing yards and David Cole had a touchdown catch for the Wolverines, who will host Tennessee power South Pittsburg next Friday.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area high school football games)
South Paulding 55, Dalton 48: The Catamounts nearly pulled of the upset as Brady Pendley passed for 249 yards and four touchdowns against a South Paulding team that defeated Rome the previous week in Region 5-AAAAAA.
A Pendley-to-Karim Page 10-yard touchdown pass put Dalton (1-4, 0-2) up 34-19 in the first half, and the lead remained at 14 when the two connected again just before halftime for a 42-yard score. South Paulding, though, scored the next 21 points, two by Jamarian Wilcox (264 rushing yards), to take a seven-point lead. Pendley tied it with a 13-yard pass to John Frank, but the Spartans (4-1, 1-0) won as Wilcox capped a long touchdown drive with a 1-yard run.
"The guys continued fighting the whole night," Dalton first-year head coach Kit Carpenter said. "Offensively we had a great game plan, and the kids executed it well, and although he scoreboard really doesn't show it, defensively we did a lot of good things as well. We have to keep working and something good will happen for these guys."
North Murray 27, Sonoraville 20: The Mountaineers led by 20 in the second half and had to hold on for the Region 6-AAA win at home. Seth Griffin had touchdown passes of 19 yards to Jadyn Rice and 8 yards to Michael McDade to lead North Murray (3-1, 2-1), which took a 27-7 lead on Judson Petty's 4-yard run in the fourth quarter.
The Phoenix (2-2, 0-2), however, scored on a Jaxon Pate-to-Wyatt Springfield pass and a 33-yard scoring toss to Tanner Hicks with just less than four minutes left to get within a touchdown before the Mountaineers ran out the clock.
Coahulla Creek 34, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe 12: Five games into its 2021 schedule, Coahulla Creek has already set a program record for wins in a season. The Colts used a strong ground game and a pair of Jace Kinnamon to Justin Baker touchdown passes to get past Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe Friday night in Varnell to improve to 3-2 (1-2 Region 6-AAA), passing the two-win mark the decade-old program put up in three other seasons.
Tyler Locklear added touchdown runs of 8 and 4 yards, with Baker scoring on touchdown catches of 10 and 61 yards. LFO (0-4, 0-3) scored its first points of the season on a Gabe Helton 80-yard interception return and Benji Valdes' 3-yard run.
Ringgold 78, Murray County 0: The Tigers (5-0, 3-0 Region 6-AAA) rolled as Kori Dumas scored four first-half touchdowns. Ringgold has outscored its past two opponents 134-0, and its defense, which scored three touchdowns a week ago, added two more Friday on a Ty Gilbert interception return and Javon Coney's fumble return. Ringgold, which will travel to fellow unbeaten Adairsville next week, also had kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns.
Bowdon 35, Trion 13: Robert McNeal passed for 193 yards and three touchdowns and added 100 yards on the ground for Bowdon (4-1, 2-0 Region 6-A). Rob Brown put Trion (4-1, 0-1) on the board first with a 19-yard run, but the visitors scored the next 35 points to take control. Gage Stephens had touchdown catches of 38 and 9 yards for Bowdon.
Gordon Lee 29, Southeast Whitfield 0: The Trojans improved to 3-2 with the nonregion win as the defense held the Raiders to 23 total yards. Gordon Lee put up 287 rushing yards, led by Ryan Swaney's 80, with Justin Cruise running for two touchdowns. Quarterback Conner Whitman added 50 yards on the ground and a score, with Cade Cowan also adding a touchdown run.
Adairsville 22, LaFayette 6: Jonathan Gough had touchdown passes to Evan Sanders and Grayson Belcher as the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Region 6-AAA) remained unbeaten. The Ramblers (3-2, 2-1) managed only 109 total yards.
Chattooga 49, Model 21: The Indians won their Region 7-AA opener as senior running back Lashaun Lester had touchdown runs of 6, 23 and 1 yards. Brody Mobbs pass for a pair of touchdown passes to Jaylon Johnson and Rowan Burdick added a 35-yard score on the ground for Chattooga.
Calhoun 31, Cedartown 7: The Yellow Jackets (4-1) won the battle of state-ranked teams Thursday as Christian Lewis passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns, Caden Williams ran for 125 yards and a score and Quin Smith had 127 receiving yards and a touchdown while also passing for one to Cole Speer.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.