Our Round One Game of the Week (#3) takes us to Dawsonville for a first-round matchup between Dawson County and state-ranked Monroe Area.

DAWSON COUNTY

The Tigers are the Region Champions for the second time in team history. Dawson is riding a 6-game win streak coming into this contest, and have been stellar since losing in late September to Stephens County. Since that loss, the defense has given up just 48 points (8/game). Overall, the defense gives up 16.9 per game, a stingy unit that ranks 9th in the state. Kevin Haymond, Cade Adams, Kade Moledor, and several others are beasts on that side of the ball. On the offensive side, Davis Glass orchestrates the offense really well, and his 9:2 TD:INT ratio is solid for a first-year starting sophomore QB. The RB room has several guys who can tote the rock – Moledor, Elijah Smith, Matt Bennett, and others.

MONROE AREA

The Purple Hurricanes are an interesting team. Ranked #7 overall, Monroe Area is legit and might be the state’s best #4-seed. That’s a tough first round draw for Dawson. The Canes are only a 4-seed due to Region 8-AAA having four state-ranked teams crowding it up. Monroe has the state’s 9th-best offense (35.5), and it’s all centered around QB Jeremiah Anderson (1,900 total yds, 15 total TD). It’s a run-heavy team, but Anderson can throw the ball as well to open it up.

BY THE NUMBERS (2022)

DAWSON COUNTY

• 8-2 (6-0 in 7-AAA)
• Region Standings: Region Champions
• 27.4 OFFENSE AVG
• 16.9 DEFENSE AVG (9th in Class 3A)
• N/A State Ranking

MONROE AREA

• 5-5 (3-2 in 8-AAA)
• Region Standings: 4th
• 35.5 OFFENSE AVG (9th in Class 3A)
• 19.9 DEFENSE AVG
• #7 State Ranking

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Be looking for highlights post-game late tonight as well as a story recapping Round One. You can also follow us on Twitter (@BlitzSportsGa) for live score updates (5G pending).

OUR PREDICTION

As usual, let’s make the case for what both teams have to do to get a win here. Dawson County needs to play crisp football. Simple enough, but you can’t give an offense like Monroe Area too many opportunities. That means first off, taking care of the pigskin. No turnovers. If the Tiger defense plays up to par, that can help make the fielder shorter for Davis and company. Dawson will have to capitalize, and the crowd needs to be LOUD! For Monroe Area, if their defense can make some early stops and keep the game low-scoring, it’s a given that the Canes offense will at least generate some scores. Monroe will be looking to make its defense jumpstart its offense. That’s the case for both, but we have a clear prediction… OUR PICK: SEE HERE

DO WE BRING LUCK?

We are 12-7 all-time for Dawson County in games for the Tigers. That includes them going 1-0 in prior playoff games. More often than not, Dawson plays well when we are there to see the Tigers.

DETAILS OF THE MATCHUP

TIME: 7:30 PM Kickoff (Saturday)
PLACE: Dawson County HS / Dawsonville, GA
LAST MEETING: 2018 (#3 Monroe Area 49, #7 Dawson County 17) – RND 1 of State
ALL-TIME RECORD: Monroe Area leads the all-time series 1-0
RECORDS: Dawson County Tigers (8-2; Region Champions 7-AAA); #7 Monroe Area Purple Hurricanes (5-5; 4th in 8-AAA)
HEAD COACHES: Sid Maxwell (191-113; 28 Seasons); Kevin Reach (99-52; 13 Seasons)

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING

The history here includes just one meeting all-time, and it was the same type of situation we have here. A first round matchup back in 2018 between the #7 Tigers and #3 Purple Hurricanes. Same two coaches went up against each other, and Monroe Area came away with a huge 49-17 win. The Canes were at home, so this time is a bit different, but feels a lot similar due to the coaches and being a first-round game.

TEAM LEADERS (2022 Stats)

*Stats accumulated by team-published data on Ga Maxpreps

DAWSON COUNTY

PASSING
Davis Glass – 931 yds, 9 TD, 2 INT, 47% completion

RUSHING
Elijah Smith – 670 yds, 5 TD, 6.6 YPC
Kade Moledor – 532 yds, 5 TD, 5.3 YPC
Matt Bennett – 224 yds, 3 TD, 6.6 YPC
Davis Glass – 210 yds, 3 TD, 3.3 YPC
Kenny Nelson – 81 yds, 2 TD, 7.4 YPC
Sawyer Bearden – 41 yds, 1 TD, 2.0 YPC
Bentlee Caine – 29 yds, 1 TD, 3.6 YPC

RECEIVING
Dom LeBlanc – 553 yds, 5 TD, 28 rec
Sawyer Bearden – 146 yds, 1 TD, 11 rec
Hunter Casserleigh – 108 yds, 1 TD, 3 rec
Will Kurtz – 65 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec
Doug Pagel – 54 yds, 1 TD, 4 rec
Matt Bennett – 48 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Kade Moledor – 83 TKL, 8 TFL, 5 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FR, 1 FF
Alex Stewart – 57 TKL, 3 TFL, 1 Sack, 3 FR, 2 FF
Cade Adams – 49 TKL, 20 TFL, 13 Sacks, 2 FR, 2 FF
Cruz Matheson – 39 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Kevin Haymond – 37 TKL, 10 TFL, 6 Sacks
Christian Webb – 34 TKL, 4 TFL, 4 INT
Will Kurtz – 34 TKL, 12 TFL, 9 TFL
Matt Bennett – 32 TKL, 1 TFL, 2 INT
Kenny Nelson – 31 TKL, 6 TFL, 3 Sacks, 2 INT
Ian Costley – 25 TKL, 6 TFL, 4 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 FF
Tucker Caine – 14 TKL, 2 INT

MONROE AREA

PASSING
Jeremiah Anderson – 1,205 yds, 7 TD, 3 INT, 66% completion

RUSHING
Jeremiah Anderson – 711 yds, 8 TD, 6.8 YPC
Alan Jones, Jr – 588 yds, 8 TD, 7.7 YPC
Darrion Manuel – 449 yds, 7 TD, 7.4 YPC
Jitt Carr – 159 yds, 1 TD, 12.2 YPC
CJ Willborn – 132 yds, 3 TD, 13.2 YPC
Semion Hodge – 112 yds, 1 TD, 11.2 YPC

RECEIVING
Jahlun Flud – 450 yds, 3 TD, 32 rec
Jeremy Anderson – 331 yds, 2 TD, 16 rec
Kenzi Battle – 107 yds, 0 TD, 5 rec
Alan Jones, Jr – 105 yds, 1 TD, 8 rec
Jakyri Jones – 21 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Jakyri Jones – 103 TKL, 10 TFL, 1 Sack, 6 FR, 1 FF, 1 BLK
Russell Hurley – 74 TKL
Cavaughn Durham – 65 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR
Blake Raffield – 64 TKL, 2 INT
Zillion Hammond – 58 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 1 FF
Rickey Robbins – 47 TKL, 6 TFL, 2 Sacks, 1 FR, 1 FF
Max Thurston – 46 TKL, 5 TFL