BONUS Game of the Week is Lumpkin County vs Dawson County. BLITZ is partnering with another media outlet to get the video coverage of this big-time region title game. As if a it needed any more sauce, this is the biggest game between these nearby rivals in their history, arguably. This one’s for the all the marbles in 7-AAA.

LUMPKIN COUNTY

The Indians have a top-10 ranked offense and defense, but according to MaxPreps, the 44th toughest schedule in Class 3A. That’s the only thing that holds Lumpkin back from the respect in the state polls, which the Indians have been absent from all season despite this incredible run. Mason Sullens has averaged nearly 6 yards per tote and has 892 yards and 15 TD, and Cooper Scott (20 total TD, 1,800 total yds) is a legit dual threat QB who can burn defenses. While that duo has been the weekly highlight reel combo, it’s Cal Faulkner that flys under the radar often. He has 3 interceptions on defense, and 540 receiving yards and 7 TDs on 33 catches. He’s also just a sophomore. This team is led by Scott’s senior leadership, but this junior and sophomore group is something special.

DAWSON COUNTY

The Tigers have gotten it done in Region 7-AAA. It hasn’t always looked pretty, such as a couple of games in which the offense was unable to find the end zone in the first half (or getting on the board just before the break). Dawson head coach Sid Maxwell is closing in on 200 career wins, but he only cares about the next one up. There’s not a big-time star player that grabs the spotlight, rather it’s a lot of great players sharing the spotlight. That makes this team even more dangerous. Kade Moledor has 527 yards and 5 TD on the ground, and Davis Glass is quietly having a solid season in his first year as QB (1,043 total yds, 11 total TD). Meanwhile, the defense has been spectacular at just over 17 points per game. What’s more, in region play, the Tigers are outscoring their counterparts 162-38. That’s an average of 32.4-7.6. There’s not a better stat than that to show the dominance of the Tigers in 7-AAA.

BY THE NUMBERS (2022)

LUMPKIN COUNTY

• 7-1 (3-1 in 7-AAA)
• Region Standings: 2nd
• 38.4 OFFENSE AVG (5th in Class 3A)
• 16.4 DEFENSE AVG (8th in Class 3A)
• N/A State Ranking

DAWSON COUNTY

• 7-2 (5-0 in 7-AAA)
• Region Standings: 1st
• 26.22 OFFENSE AVG
• 17.7 DEFENSE AVG
• N/A State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Week Eleven. BLITZ partners with Fox 5’s 11 PM “High 5 Sports” show throughout the season. For this game, we are partnering with another media outlet to get video highlights of this one! You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).

OUR PREDICTION

As usual, we’ll give you the case for both. First for the home team Indians. Lumpkin obviously is playing in its first big game like this in over a decade. That can be a positive and a negative, depending on how the team handles the anxiety. Chances are, coach Heath Webb will have the team calm, collected, and focused. The offense and defense have both been top-10 ranked for a reason. But if we pair it down to within region play, Lumpkin County averages 35.8 on offense and 24.5 on defense. The latter number is a bit concerning. This team will need to ratchet things up on defense to win this game, and have good bend-not-break drives that result in punts or turnovers. If the offense powers in about 4 TD, and the defense can force a turnover or two, Lumpkin can win this game. For Dawson…the Tigers just need to play the way they have on defense. This will be the toughest offense they’ve faced so far, but defense plays anywhere and everywhere. That includes in a region title game at Lumpkin. The Tigers allow 7.6 per game against region foes so far, and the offense in those games is better than the full season average. To win, the Tigers have to get off to a quicker start. They can’t go scoreless in the first half or get anything less than double-digit points. A quick start would help, and not getting too conservative if they get that early lead. The Tigers will have to open up the field with a good mix of pass and run, and the defense just has to keep containment on Cooper Scott (easier said than done). Dawson can win if it does those things. Either team can win, but here’s our official pick: OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff
PLACE: Lumpkin County HS / Dahlonega, GA
LAST MEETING: 2021 (Dawson County 42, Lumpkin County 8)
ALL-TIME RECORD: Dawson County leads the all-time series 23-19-2
RECORDS: Lumpkin County Indians (7-1; 3-1 in 7-AAA); Dawson County Tigers (7-2; 5-0 in 7-AAA)
HEAD COACHES: Heath Webb (68-68; 13 Seasons); Sid Maxwell (190-113; 28 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

This series goes all the way back to 1968. The rivalry is deep. It’s been lopsided as of late in favor of Dawson County, though the all-time series is fairly close at 23-19-2 in favor of the Tigers. Lumpkin used to run the series, winning the first 9 matchups up to 1982. In 1983, the Tigers got their first victory, which started a streak in which they won 7 of the next 10, and tied another. Starting in 1993, Lumpkin County then won 3 of the next 6 and earned a tie in there as well. Back-and-forth the rivalry went, as Dawson took over in 2004, winning 12 of the next 14 to date. That includes winning the last 7 meetings since 2015. The last time Lumpkin won was in 2014. Since then, the Indians have scored more than 8 points just one time in the past 7 tries, and have given up 40-plus in 6 of those 7 games. However, this is a new era for the Indians.

TEAM LEADERS (2022 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga Maxpreps

LUMPKIN COUNTY

PASSING
Cooper Scott – 1,223 yds, 10 TD, 4 INT, 71% completion

RUSHING
Mason Sullens – 892 yds, 15 TD, 5.7 YPC
Cooper Scott – 527 yds, 10 TD, 5.8 YPC
Will Wood – 100 yds, 1 TD, 14.3 YPC
Cal Faulkner – 69 yds, 2 TD, 6.9 YPC
Gerald Walker, Jr – 39 yds, 1 TD, 9.8 YPC

RECEIVING
Cal Faulkner – 540 yds, 7 TD, 33 rec
Carter Disanto – 149 yds, 0 TD, 11 rec
Mason Sullens – 130 yds, 1 TD, 10 rec
Harper Davenport – 129 yds, 1 TD, 13 rec
Caleb Norrell – 44 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (incomplete stats)
Preston Cox – 46 TKL, 4 TFL, 1 FR, 1 FF
Jay Grizzle – 44 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR, 1 FF
Will Wood – 37 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 FR
Cameron Stringer – 35 TKL, 3 TFL, 2 FR, 1 FFF
Connor Greilich – 31 TKL, 7 TFL, 1.5 Sacks, 1 FR
Tavion Lawrence – 26 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT
Harper Davenport – 19 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Caleb Norrell – 16 TKL, 1 INT
Cal Faulkner – 14 TKL, 1 TFL, 3 INT

DAWSON COUNTY

PASSING
Davis Glass – 848 yds, 8 TD, 1 INT, 48% completion

RUSHING
Kade Moledor – 527 yds, 5 TD
Elijah Smith – 442 yds, 4 TD
Matt Bennett – 221 yds, 3 TD
Davis Glass – 195 yds, 3 TD

RECEIVING
Dom LeBlanc – 543 yds, 5 TD, 27 rec
Matt Bennett – 48 yds, 1 TD

DEFENSIVE LEADERS (incomplete stats)

Kade Moledor – 39 TKL, 6 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 FF
Alex Stewart – 38 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 FR, 2 FF
Cade Adams – 33 TKL, 14 TFL, 8 Sacks, 2 FR, 1 FF
Cruz Matheson – 22 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Kevin Haymond – 21 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 Sack
Ian Costley – 21 TKL, 5 TFL, 3 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF
Matt Bennett – 19 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT
Kenny Nelson – 19 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack, 2 INT
Will Kurtz – 19 TKL, 8 TFL, 6 Sacks
Christian Webb – 16 TKL, 1 TFL, 3 INT