Monroe Area rolled into Dawsonville and pulled off the rare 4-over-1 seed upset in the first round of the state playoffs, taking a 35-13 final. The Purple Hurricanes made a statement by scoring on its first couple of drives to get up to a quick 14-0 lead and never trailed.

Junior RB Darrion Manuel scored first on a 17-yd TD on the opening drive, and QB Jeremiah Anderson found Jeremy Anderson for a 38-yd TD with 3:54 to go in the quarter. Dawson County (8-3) retaliated after coming up with a fumble and turning it into a Davis Glass TD pass to Dom LeBlanc. That cut the deficit in half with 9:50 to go in the second.

However, Monroe Area (6-5) wasted no time getting it back, scoring on a Manuel 2-yd TD with 7:42 on the clock. Manuel scored again with 3:45 to go on a 7-yd TD, pushing the lead up to 28-7 going into the half.

Out of the break, Dawson chewed up the clock and got a Glass TD pass to Doug Pagel from 20 yards out to pull within 28-13 (XP missed). That score held to the fourth, and Monroe Area put the game on ice with a Manuel TD run, his fourth of the game, on a 4^th & Goal play from the 1-yd line.

Glass rushed for about 40 and threw for 108 with a pair of TDs, while Elijah Smith rushed for 140. LeBlanc had 65 yards receiving and a TD, while the Purple Hurricane’s Manuel finished with 94 yards rushing and 4 TD. Jeremiah Anderson had 140 passing yards, and Jeremy Anderson had 115 receiving.

In the Monroe win, coach Kevin Reach ‘reached’ 100 career wins.