Dr. David Davis
Dawson faced the No. 11 area-ranked Hightower Hurricanes and held the lead until 1:15 left in the game when Hightower scored on a 1-yard run. The all-important PAT hit the mark and the Canes survived a tough Eagle team 20-19.
Special teams for both schools played an important part of the first quarter.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first when the Dawson defense forced the Canes to punt on fourth down.
Jerimiah Treadaway broke through the Hightower punt protection to block the punt and then recovered to ball to score a touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good and the Eagles had a 6-0 lead with 7:09 left in the opening quarter.
Dawson returned the favor as QB Gage Greene was sacked and fumbled the ball which was picked up by Hightower and returned for a 42-yard touchdown with 5:23 left in the first period. The PAT was no good and the game was tied 6-6.
The Eagles bounced back with a touchdown of their own with 1:23 left in the first quarter as Greene scored on a 1-yard keeper. Aaron Johnson hit the PAT to give Dawson a 13-6 lead.
Both offenses struggled for the rest of the first half until Dawson got a 44-yard field goal from Ayden Treadaway with 2:10 remaining in the half to make the score 16-6.
With less than two minutes before the end of the first half, Hightower got the ball on their own 36.
Facing a 3rd and 8, the Hurricanes complete a 45-yard pass to the Dawson four-yard line. On the next play, Hightower scored on a 4-yard run. The PAT hit the mark the score was 16-13 at intermission.
Defense controlled the second half as both teams sputtered on offense.
The Eagles got a 40-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining in the third quarter as Aaron Jensen booted a 40-yarder to give Dawson a 19-13 advantage.
The Canes didn’t score in the second half until there was only 1:15 left in the game.
Hightower began their game-winning drive at the 47. The Canes went on an 8-play, 47-yard drive that ended when they scored on a 1-yard dive. The PAT was good and Hightower survived with a 20-19 win.
Greene was 10-of-26 passing for 96 yards while he rushed for 43 yards on 10 carries and one TD.
Bryce Burgess had 10 totes for 37 yards while Tony Roberson had 10 carries for 19 yards and John Spotsville had 20 yards on four carries.
Noah Rhodes had four catches for 54 yards and Braylon Howard had two grabs for 38 yards.
Dawson travels to Klein Memorial Stadium to face Klein Collins on Saturday, September 2 at 7:30 p.m.
