Dodge County dominates in second-straight region win at East Laurens

After one over Vidalia at home to open October and its region schedule, make it back-to-back statement wins for a Dodge County team that’s intent on being taken just as seriously as its fellow contenders in the 2-AA title race over the season’s last four weeks.  

The Indians knocked out East Laurens, and a second victory in as many league matchups, with their latest impressive performance Friday at the new Falcon Field. 

It was a dominant three-quarter showing by their varsity defense, and a productive night for pretty much all their main offensive playmakers, that wasn’t also without some key plays on special teams. Dodge wasted no time racing past the Falcons, 49-21, to continue rounding the midseason corner and enter a challenging home stretch of the schedule that begins with rival Bleckley County back at Memorial Stadium this week. 

For East Laurens, a short trip to Vidalia is next on the region itinerary, after a homecoming loss that seemed to carry over zero of the momentum gained the week before in a potentially galvanizing upset of ACE for its second win in three weeks. 

The Falcons (2-5, 1-2 region 2-AA) were beset by mistakes and miscommunication throughout the night, and unable to gain a first down until the fourth quarter as early-series sacks and short-yardage stuffs frustrated their every effort to move the ball. 

Demarcio Holliman’s 80-yard return of the second half kickoff for their first touchdown, and two fourth-quarter scores by the offense against Dodge County reserves, were the only bright spots on the overwhelmingly dreary night. 

The runback briefly cut the Indians’ lead to 29 points, but they would score twice before the East Laurens offense could find its footing. 

Dodge didn’t get much going on the first drive until Mincey’s short dump-off pass to Jerimiah Burns, for what probably should’ve been a 15-yard at best, turned into a 55-yard catch and run after three or four broken tackles. 

Dianco Murray jumped a route to pick off a pass and offset the muffed kick, but there was still nothing doing on the Falcons’ first offensive possession of the second half. 

The Indians ran into an impenetrable red zone barrier multiple times in search of their seventh TD of the night, but Fountain finally finished off the odyssean sequence from a few inches out to put the final Dodge tally on the board. 

Skyler Snead hit Tawan Horne on a 55-yard catch and run against Dodge County backups for the first official move of the chains, then took a keeper a little over 20 yards to get the Falcons on the board early in the fourth period. 

JaBryan Bigham’s fumble recovery gave them one more shot to chip away late, and Aveone Wicker took one off the right side for a run to set up the touchdown on Snead’s pass to Major Floyd. 

Dialing it in… 

The Indians (4-2, 2-0 region), who have been playing some of their best football since a second bye week, shined in the rain with multi-touchdown efforts by their traditional and wildcat quarterbacks. 

The main starter Kain Mincey fired two passes for scores in the first half, and a third in the second, while situational QB Aamaury Fountain added runs in both, and a recovery of his own blocked punt, for another. 

But the visitors’ outstanding night got off to a somewhat shaky start as Peyton Butts got a ball knocked loose for a fumble on just their second play from scrimmage. 

Holliman got in on his third turnover in two games with the recovery to seemingly put East Laurens in business. 

But nothing came of three minimal runs, and a busted play, leading to a turnover on downs. 

The teams traded two more threes-and-out before Dodge finally got to work from its 40, and strung together several quality gains on runs from its newly converted running back Kawaski Robinson to set up the first touchdown of the night, as Mincey found Jauriel Bray on a corner route from 17 yards. 

The Indians would drive roughly 60 to score on a second-straight Mincey pass that was perhaps his prettiest of the season: a 49-yard raindrop into the arms of Burns to double the lead. 

East was close to moving the chains twice on its next drive, but had a long Bryson Hazley run called back on a foul, and then fumbled the ball on the end of a likely chain-mover on a fourth and short. 

Fountain took a touchdown pass off the hands, but Dodge converted the plus field position anyway as Robinson finished off another scoring drive early in the second with a four-yard run. 

The Falcons could only move backwards their next time out, and wound up punting from their own end zone after Snead narrowly avoided a safety as he got rid of the ball while reeling into the end zone from a straight-on rush by Jakavion Harris 

A flag came out for intentional grounding, but officials gave the benefit of the doubt and spotted the foul at the 1, giving East a chance to kick the ball away. 

That turned out to be better for the Indians, whose Fountain would storm through to block the ensuing punt of Logan Gibson, and make the touchdown recovery. 

Dodge forced another quick punt, this one surviving a close call with more potential blockers, to take over at the East 48, and scored in a handful of plays as a long reverse run by Burns set up the 10-yard fountain touchdown carry. 

In a small win, the Falcons were able to prevent a sixth touchdown before halftime, as the Indians fumbled an under-center snap and just missed converting a fourth and very short, with Kayleb Butler joining Dianco Murray on the stop of Mincey’s extended scramble with only seconds to go.