Jackets dominate rival Dalton
After last Friday’s close win in their opener against Douglass, Calhoun wanted to get off to a fast start and put together a more complete performance in their rivalry showdown against Dalton. The Jackets did that, scoring 10 points in the first quarter to deal the first blow and held steady from there for an impressive and dominant non-region victory 24-0 over their longtime rival at The Reeve.
The defense pitched the shutout and forced two turnovers, and the offense came through with some big plays and long drives, especially in the second half as they salted the game away with a touchdown to open the third quarter and long TD drive midway through the fourth.
Calhoun coach Hal Lamb said he was extremely pleased with how his team responded from last week and rose to the challenge against a good Dalton team.
“I’m really pleased with our whole team,” said Lamb. “There were a lot of people probably doubting us after last week, and we came back with a great response. I’m really pleased with our defense. They are playing so well right now. And (quarterback) Gavin Gray played an outstanding game tonight. He was the difference in the game, and he ran the offense like we know he’s capable of. We got the ball to our playmakers, and they made plays. We played very well in all three phases.”
Gray finished the night with exactly 300 yards on 19-of-28 attempts with two touchdowns, and he also added 33 yards on the ground.
After Calhoun (2-0) led 10-0 at the half, the offense took the ball on the opening possession of the third quarter and went down the field immediately and scored to make a statement and extend their lead to 17 points. After a 57-yard pass from Gray to Davis Allen, Calhoun’s Zack Fuller finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Fuller finished the game as the Jackets’ leading rusher with 67 yards on 15 carries with the touchdown.
Dalton’s best chance at scoring came on the next drive as they pushed the ball deep into Calhoun territory, but on third-and-goal, pressure got to Dalton quarterback JP Tighe for a sack and forced fumble. Calhoun’s Canyon Turner recovered it at the 13 to end the Catamount’s best drive of the game.
Calhoun put the game completely out of reach with a long, clock-churning drive in the fourth quarter that ended with Gray scrambling and finding Luke Moseley for an eightyard touchdown pass to make it 24-0.
The Calhoun defense came out to open the game and made a statement early with two straight three-and-outs to start the game, which included some punishing hits on the Dalton ball-carriers.
The Jackets’ offense returned the favor, going down the field on their first possession on four plays and scoring on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Gray to Brannon Spector to make it 7-0. Spector finished the contest with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Moseley had four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown.
On their next possession, Calhoun drove down the field before stalling at the Dalton 10 and settling for a 28-yard field goal from Elmer Gutierrez.
The Jackets defense came up with several big plays in the first half, including an interception by Bralin Barton and a sequence of backto-back sacks by Bailey Lester to force a Dalton punt.
The Calhoun defense held Dalton to 168 yards total on the night with close to half of those coming on the Catamounts’ long third-quarter drive that ended in the fumble on third-andgoal.
The Jackets are on the road next week for another tough non-region test as they travel to two-time defending Class AAAA state champion Cartersville.