The Adairsville Tigers were eliminated in the first round of the GHSA Class AAA football playoffs Friday night with a 45-31 loss to Dawson County.
Adairsville, the No. 2 seed from Region 6, fell behind 21-3 with just under nine minutes left in the second quarter and a blowout seemed inevitable. The local Tigers then scored 21-unanswered points in a span of eight minutes to take a 24-21 lead into the half.
Eli Agnew had a 13-yard rushing touchdown, Courtney Slocum had a 21-yard rushing touchdown, and Chris Roper had a 6-yard rushing score. Halftime appeared to come at an inopportune time for Adairsville, as all the progress it appeared to have made in the second quarter dissipated in the third. Dawson County scored two quick touchdowns while the Adairsville offense was stymied in its opening possessions.
Dawson County scored the half’s first 17 points on their first three possessions to lead Adairsville 38-24.
Connor Crunkelton found Courtney Slocum for a 21-yard pass to make it a 38-31 game with 11:33 left in the fourth quarter. Adairsville then recovered an onside kick in an attempt to tie the game. The Tigers were unable to do anything with the free possession and, to make matters worse, fumbled the fake-punt, which was returned by Dawson County for a touchdown. That appeared to be the nail in the coffin for Adairsville.
Adairsville ends its season with a 6-4 record.