Something to smile about

Dalton’s Moore is Player of the Year after dynamite ‘09

By Larry Fleming

As part of a three-headed rushing monster that forced opposing defenses to pick their poison, Dalton fullback Shaquon Moore delivered his share of lethal strikes in 2009. He set in motion a spectacular offensive showcase of a football season with 212 rushing yards and three touchdowns — he also hauled in a a 34-yard touchdown catch — in the Catamounts’ season-opening loss at Calhoun, which was ranked No. 1 and undefeated before falling to Buford in the Class 2A state championship game earlier this month.

Seven times this season Moore, a 6-foot, 185-pound senior, scored at least two touchdowns — rushing and receiving combined — in a game; on six occasions, he accomplished the feat on the ground. He completed the season — Dalton lost to state-ranked Tucker in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs and finished with a 7-4 record — with the area’s second-best rushing total of 1,238 yards on 177 carries and an area-leading 18 touchdowns. Moore added 13 catches for 305 yards and five touchdowns, giving him 1,543 yards of total offense, 23 touchdowns and an area-best 138 points.

For his superlative season-long performance, the multitalented Moore has been selected The Daily Citizen’s All-Area Football Player of the Year by area coaches and The Daily Citizen’s sports staff.

“With Shaquon, he’s really a tailback playing fullback” Dalton coach Adam Winegarden said. “At that position, he could outrun you, make you miss, run with power and catch the ball out of the backfield. He didn’t have a weakness. He gave us a weapon similar to what Ronnie Brown gave Auburn and gives the Miami Dolphins. What separates Shaquon is the fact that once he got to the second level, he could make defenders miss or leave them behind with his speed. Most fullbacks can’t do that.”

Being somewhat out of position didn’t bother Moore, who began playing football as a running back and safety in the seventh grade at Dalton Middle.

“Not really,” he said. “Most fullbacks are 6-3 and 250 pounds and I’m 6-foot, 185. I consider myself a running back and not like most fullbacks. I just tried to do my job.”

Moore’s preseason goals were lofty and he strived to reach them in his final season with the Cats.

As a junior, Moore got a jump on a strong two-year effort that produced 2,490 yards of total offense — a whopping 7.8-yard average per touch — and an eye-popping 39 touchdowns over a time span in which Dalton won 14 of 21 games.

In 2008, Moore rushed for 808 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding eight catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The Cats finished that season with a 7-3 mark and missed the state playoffs when they lost to Hillgrove 43-29 in a Region 7-4A playoff game.

What makes Moore’s senior year stats so remarkable is the fact that he shared the offensive load with sophomore tailback Tre Beck, the area’s leading rusher, and senior quarterback Stryker Brown, sixth among area rushers.

Those three players combined for 3,230 yards on the ground — Beck had 1,360 and Brown 632 — on 418 carries, 38 of them touchdowns. The threesome averaged 7.7 yards per carry and three times Beck rushed for 200-plus yards, including a season-high 294 in a region victory against Rome that clinched the program’s 50th consecutive winning season.

“That kept most defenses confused,” said the 18-year-old Moore, who is also a standout guard for Dalton coach Mike Duffie’s basketball team. “We had too many playmakers on our team for them to handle. We were a tough combination.”

That was, of course, by design.

“It was a cat-and-mouse thing with our offense and the other team’s defense,” Winegarden said. “I don’t think there was a game where anybody shut down all three of those kids — Moore, Beck and Brown.”

Only once all season did Dalton fail to have a 100-yard rusher, and that was in the second week against Sprayberry. Moore topped Dalton rushers with 85 yards in the 27-21 region crossover win.

In two games, Dalton had two 100-yard rushers. Moore was involved in both of them. He had 177 and Beck 244 against Woodland-Bartow, while going for 141 as Brown added 115 against Northwest Whitfield.

“If teams focused on one area, it left them weak in another,” Winegarden said.

Winegarden, who was the Cats’ offensive coordinator for most of the decade before taking over as head coach following the 2007 season, got exactly the type of production from Moore he anticipated prior to the 2009 season.

“We certainly knew he was capable of having a great year,” Winegarden said. “The key was him staying healthy to have that type of season. He had some nagging injuries in both his sophomore and junior seasons. That was the key for Shaquon. The surprise to me was having all three of those kids having great seasons in the same year. I wasn’t expecting that.”

Moore, who is contemplating returning to the Cats’ track program after giving up that sport between his freshman and sophomore years, really had one individual goal coming into his senior season.

“I wanted to get 1,000 yards rushing,” he said. “I got close last year. It felt good getting that 1,000 yards, knowing I had helped the team have a good season.”

The season’s surprise to Moore was putting up 23 touchdowns.

“I pushed myself in every game because we were playing some good defenses,” said Moore, a unanimous choice for the All-Region 7-4A Team and three votes shy of being named its Offensive Player of the Year. “I wanted to get into the end zone, but I didn’t know I’d do it that many times. Just before our fourth game, I noticed that I had eight touchdowns. I don’t really care about stats, but I do care about my teammates and my coaches. I just love to play football and help the team any way possible.”

And he doesn’t want it to end now. Moore aspires to play college football and said he has received “some interest” from Georgia Southern, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Georgia Tech and Louisville. Along with wide receiver Tevin Collins and defensive back Trae Washington, Moore made an unofficial visit to Georgia Southern during the season.

If football at the college level isn’t in his future, Moore said he’s likely to attend Kennesaw State University and prepare for a career in engineering or dentistry. But he’d like to keep playing.

“I want to see how college football is,” Moore said, “and get the experience of it.”

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