Region title hopes vanish

It was a matchup defined by big plays in the run game and in the end, it was Hiram’s Charlie Sashington — who rushed for two touchdowns and 185 yards on 17 carries — and a 25-yard field goal by Diego Mondragon with three minutes left that proved to be the difference in the Hornets’ 17-14 win over Dalton on Friday night at Harmon Field for the Region 7-4A championship.

The victory gave the fifth-ranked Hornets (10-0) their first-ever region title and a No. 1 seed in the Class 4A state playoffs, which begin next Friday. They’ll host Chamblee (8-3), the No. 4 seed out of Region 6-4A.

The Catamounts (7-3) have to settle for Region 7’s No. 2 seed and will host third-seeded Tucker (8-2), also from Region 6.

Hiram trailed 7-0 at halftime, but Sashington’s 60-yard scoring run on the Hornets’ first possession of the third quarter breathed new life into an offense that managed just three first downs in the first half.

Sashington said he knew the Hornets — they trailed at halftime in each of their previous two games — would be ready to come out and play better in the third quarter.

“For some reason in the first half we always come out sluggish,” the 5-foot-6-inch, 150-pound Sashington said. “If it wasn’t for the defense, we wouldn’t have been in that position. But in the second half, I don’t know where it comes from, I guess I’m just speechless.”

The Cats also had their share of big plays on the ground, led by Shaquon Moore’s 123 yards on 20 carries. His 8-yard scoring run midway through the second quarter gave Dalton a 7-0 lead. Tre Beck’s 45-yard touchdown run in the third quarter followed Sashington’s long scoring play, allowing the Cats to regain a 14-7 lead.

But following Beck’s run, Sashington answered with a 10-yard touchdown with four minutes left in the third quarter. The nine-play drive was highlighted by Javon Smith’s 40-yard run to the Cats’ 15.

Sashington scored two plays later.

After Beck’s run, the Hornets defense, as well as Dalton penalties — the Cats were flagged nine times for 70 yards — prevented the Cats from seeing the red zone the rest of the game.

“The game came down to us beating ourselves,” Dalton coach Adam Winegarden said. “You’ve got to give Hiram and their staff credit, they did a good job of making more plays than we made. But when it’s all said and done, we beat ourselves with mistakes and penalties and missed opportunities. And it wasn’t just one thing, it was just a culmination of things the whole ballgame.

“I’m very disappointed and frustrated.”

Dalton started off with momentum when Trae Washington intercepted Hornets quarterback Jared McClain’s pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage — the only turnover of the contest. However, the Cats failed to capitalize on the ensuing 5-minute drive when kicker Jose Garcia missed a 28-yard field goal.

With less than a minute left in the first half and the Cats on their own 45, Dalton quarterback Stryker Brown heaved a deep ball to Chas Thomason that hit him in the numbers at the 5-yard line, but he was unable to pull in the catch.

Hiram then started to show signs of life.

With 30 seconds to go in the half, Sashington broke his first long run of the game, 33 yards, which set the tone for Hiram heading into the second half. The Hornets forced the Cats to a three-and-out to start the third quarter, and Hornets coach Andy Dorsey said that was a turning point in the game.

“I told them we needed to go out there and stop them,” Dorsey said. “They were going to get the ball first the second half, and I told them we need to force them to a three-and-out and get field position. I feel like our offense feels better when we’re starting outside of our own 20.”

On the Hornets’ second play of the drive, which started on their own 34, Sashington scored on a cut up the middle and dash to the left, outrunning would-be Dalton tacklers in the process.

“It was a big confidence-booster,” Sashington said. “That’s what helped us to put 17 on the board. Our line, defense, running backs — everybody — we just came together in the second half and we won.”

Moore, a senior, said the Cats must now regroup for next week’s matchup against the Tigers.

“We’ve got to come out focused and 100 percent,” he said. “This is our senior class’ last time playing, so we’ve got to come out hard next week.”

The Cats will play next week, but they’ll be without punter and defensive back Toombs Norman, who suffered a left knee injury on Hiram’s extra-point attempt in the third quarter. Brown took over punting duties for Norman, kicking twice for an average of 36.5 yards. Winegarden said Brown will continue to be the team’s punter in Norman’s absence.

HIRAM 17, DALTON 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Hiram 0 0 14 3 — 17

Dalton 0 7 7 0 — 14

SCORING SUMMARY

Second Quarter

DAL — Shaquon Moore 10 run (Jose Garcia kick), 6:38

Third Quarter

HIR — Charlie Sashington 60 run (Diego Mondragon kick), 9:43)

DAL — Tre Beck 45 run (Garcia kick), 7:52

HIR — Sashington 10 run (Mondragon kick), 4:05

Fourth Quarter

HIR — FG Mondragon 25, 3:24

YARDSTICK

HIR DAL

First Downs 13 14

Rushes-Yds. 32-252 44-180

Passing Yds. 77 60

Com.-Att.-Int. 8-14-1 5-10-0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0

Punts-Avg 5-32.2 6-35.3

Penalties-Yds. 7-65 9-70

Turnovers 1 0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Hiram: Charlie Sashington 17-185, Trey Wesley 5-31, Javon Simon 5-22, Jared McClain 5-14; Dalton: Shaquon Moore 20-121, Tre Beck 15-56, Stryker Brown 9-3

PASSING — Hiram: McClain 8-14-1 77; Dalton: Brown 5-10-0 60

RECEIVING — Hiram: Ethan Slate 2-24, Dylan Cook 2-23, Mario Rolland 3-18, Zach Collett 1-12; Dalton: Chas Thomason 1-26, Beck 1-19, Moore 2-15

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