Charlton County vs. Early County

4SHOT Sports

Football - 2006
Charlton County vs. Early County
By Jabari "Klapp" Glapion
Dec 10, 2006, 05:43 EST

Indians hold off ‘Cats in close one

Defense comes up big for Offense in win

Charlton County vs. Early County

Georgia Dome - Atlanta, GA

The Class AA semifinal matchup had all the makings of a classic from the get-green. Early County Bobcats bring with them a potent offense led by quarterback, Emmanuel Taylor, while the Indians of Charlton County boasts one of the top players in the state in quarterback, Dwight Dasher. With these two generals running the show offensively, we’re bound to have a shootout. Right?

Not quite. Despite the offensive firepower on both teams, early on, it was all defense. Prior to this matchup, both defenses held their previous playoff opponent to seven or fewer points, so something had to give. Senior D.J. Donley led the defensive attack of the Indians. Donley was every where, coming up with big hits, tackles for losses, and pass break ups in the secondary. The Bobcats held it down on defense, as well. Linebackers Shawn Williams and Demetrius Cody led a Bobcat defense that kept Dasher on the move the entire game.

After almost a scoreless first half, Taylor engineered a wonderful two minute offense to put Early County on the scoreboard. With 2:16 left in the half, Taylor drove the Bobcats 75 yards and capped it off with a 10-yard bullet to John Micah Henderson for the score. After a missed point after attempt, the Bobcats went into the half with a 6-0 lead and momentum in their corner.

The second half got off to a more exciting start. Donley picked off Taylor deep in Bobcat territory, setting up Charlton County beautifully to take over. But that Bobcat defense stepped up to the challenge forcing the Indians to go for three. That plan was also thwarted by the Bobcats as they broke through the line to block the attempt.

The Indians got another chance to put some points on the board on their next possession. On probably the most exciting play so far, Dasher hit wide receiver, Terrance Milton on a 58-yard catch and run that brought Charlton County to the Bobcat 7 yard line. After a couple timely sacks by the Early County defense, the Indians came up empty, again.

The 4^th quarter got underway with the Indian defense coming up with the big play again. As Taylor took off on a quarterback draw, Adam Davis snagged

him, slammed him, and knocked the ball out. Now, he appeared to be down, but nevertheless, he scooped up the rock and took it 48 yards to paydirt to put Charlton County up for good 7-6.

With less than four minutes in the game, Taylor had the Bobcats driving. On a rollout pass to the right, Donley came up with a pick that sealed the deal for the Indians. Charlton County added one more score just for good measure as they get past an Early County team that may have some say in the postseason for years to come. But for now, they go home and the Charlton County Indians head to the championship game to face a tough Dublin Fighting Irish squad.

Final Score: Charlton County 15 – Early County 6

4SHOT Player of the Game: D.J. Donley (2 ints, 9 tckls)