Cats, Indians keep rivalry fair, fresh

Published 11:58 pm Sunday, September 10, 2006

Dalton and Northwest Whitfield took their latest steps toward Region 7-4A play with success, earning a pair of victories on Friday in road games.

Each team will need to be road-tough again this week, with a trip to Hiram on tap for the cats and one to Paulding County slated for the Bruins.

Southeast and Murray County each have the week off — the second in a row for the Raiders — and will be looking for their first victories when they return to the playing field on Sept. 22.

Of course, that’s looking ahead. Here’s a look back at the best and worst from last week:



Dalton

THUMBS UP: In a rivalry game with extra spice, the Cats did their part to keep it clean and entertaining.

In the first quarter, the Cats’ Jon Michael Padgett lost a fumble, but on the next play defensive back Tyler Wofford intercepted a Murray County pass, and that launched a 79-yard scoring drive.

Quarterback Harrison Scott did a masterful job keeping the Cats’ offense balanced — 205 yards rushing and 120 passing. Kareem Hawkins came of age with four catches for 86 yards.

It was another solid effort by linebackers Jake McIntosh, Grant Raber and Preston Keck.

THUMBS DOWN: Five fumbles — three lost — and a blocked field goal. Those mistakes could cost the Cats in a tight game.



Murray County

THUMBS UP: For doing its part to keep the game clean and entertaining.

The Indians certainly found a nice running back in Brent Reece, who gained 106 yards on 16 carries and scored their only touchdown. Those numbers meant the offensive line was doing its job, too.

Murray turned Paul Whaley’s fumble recovery into a quick-strike, two-play scoring drive of 60 yards. Reece took care of the final 48.

Jeremy Norman, leading an all-out stampede, blocked the Dalton’s field-goal attempt just before halftime.

THUMBS DOWN: With the score 21-7 in favor of Dalton, the Indians stopped a Cats drive and Dalton was ready to settle on a 27-yard field goal try. But the Indians jumped offsides, Dalton shuttled the attempt, and three plays later the Cats scored a touchdown.

Forced by the score to go for it on fourth-and-five at their own 40 late in the game, Norman was sacked and Dalton then ran out the clock.

The Indians’ offense was hampered in the second half with Chad Townsend hobbled with an ankle sprain.



Northwest Whitfield

THUMBS UP: Stopping Kaleb Beard. That may seem a strange assessment, considering Pepperell’s hard-charging running back rushed for 85 yards — but after he picked up 60 in the first quarter, the Bruins didn’t yield much to him. Beard picked up more than 10 yards on his first two carries of the night, but had just one rush of more than 5 yards in the second half.

Wide-open offense. With a solid night from quarterback Drew Carter, who completed passes to five different receivers, and six different ball carriers getting touches, the Bruins showed their offensive potential. Stopping the Bruins will mean being ready for a two-fold offense.

THUMBS DOWN: Letting the QB roll. As Beard slowed down, the Bruins let Pepperell back into the game largely behind Dragons quarterback Kyle Davis. On the first series of the third quarter, he scrambled once for 25 yards, then eluded defenders long enough on another play to complete a 35-yard touchdown pass to an uncovered receiver. On the next series, he set up his own 1-yard touchdown run with a 14-yard bootleg.