CALHOUN 21, DALTON 14 Yellow Jackets pull off late rally for victory

A mistake-filled first half came close to costing the Calhoun Yellow Jackets a win on Friday night, but a big special teams play helped bolster the Jackets giving them momentum to rally and top Class 5A Dalton, 21-14, at Dalton.

Dalton opened the scoring in the first quarter when Catamounts quarterback Payton Veraldi hooked up with Peter Sigmun on a 44-yard touchdown, giving Dal- ton a 7- 0 lead. The Catamounts added another touchdown midway through the first quarter when Tyler Noland rambled six yards into the end zone for a 14- 0 lead.

Late in the second quarter, Dalton attempted a field goal, but the Jackets managed to block it. The big play gave Calhoun momentum going into halftime even though they trailed 14-0.

In the second half, the Yellow Jackets’ offense woke up and got buzzing.

Tailback Cole Jackson finished off two Calhoun drives with touchdown runs, one on a seven-yard jaunt and the other on a four-yard scamper, tying the game at 14.

Another Jacket tailback, this time Olico Dennis, put Calhoun on top 21-14 in the early fourth quarter with an eight-yard touchdown run. Veraldi and Dalton weren’t done though as the quarterback led the Catamounts on a late drive attempting to cut into Calhoun’s lead.

Calhoun linebacker Austin Bennett came up with a big tackle and defensive back Baylon Specter swatted a promising deep pass down, helping preserve the win for the Jackets.

Calhoun quarterback Kaelan Riley finished the night compelting 9 of 20 passes for 116 yards. Jackson led Calhoun in rushing with 53 yards.

This is the sixth- straight win Calhoun over Dalton.

Dalton (1-1) gets a bye next week. The Catamounts return to action on Sept. 12 when they play host to North Atlanta.

Calhoun (1-0) returns home to play host to Class 4A power Carrollton.

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