Rockmart races past Dalton with 21-point third quarter

Thomas Ehlers, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
Updated ·3 min read

Sep. 10—In a high scoring, turnover-filled game, Dalton High School fell to the Rockmart Yellow Jackets 63-42 at Harmon Field on Friday night.

The Yellow Jackets, now 2-1, used a 21-point third quarter to overwhelm the Catamounts, who fell to 1-2.

Jojo Haynes, Rockmart's leading rusher, opened the second-half scoring with a 38-yard touchdown on the ground. Dalton failed to recover the ensuing kick, which allowed quarterback JD Davis to drive and score on a 9-yard rush. Bubba Tanner took the ensuing kick to the house, which stopped the bleeding only for a moment. Four plays later, Davis found Dennis Sims on a 38-yard pass to take the lead 49-28.

Catamount senior running back Tyson Greenwade said the team needs to make some mental adjustments to prepare for next week and the rest of the season.

"We just can't give up. I feel like we're getting down on ourselves right, two losses in a row," Greenwade said. "... It's not going to get any easier. We've got to get to practice ready to work."

Heading into halftime, Rockmart held a 28-21 lead despite turning the ball over three times.

The Yellow Jackets fumbled the game's opening kickoff, giving the Catamounts the ball on the Rockmart 41-yard line. Five plays later, Greenwade scored the game's first points, breaking a 22-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Rockmart fumbled another kickoff, giving the Catamounts the ball at the Jacket 10-yard line. Dalton would score three plays later from an Adriel Hernandez rush from inside the 5-yard line.

Greenwade found his way to the end zone later in the first half on an 8-yard score that would tie the game at 14. While he led the Catamounts in rushing and receiving for the game, it wasn't enough to lead to a win.

"It felt good — the first two — but the last two came a little bit too late," Greenwade said.

For the game, he tallied 107 yards on 20 carries. Greenwade scored late in the fourth on a 61-yard pass from Ethan Long, also finding the end zone on a 6-yard run in the same quarter.

But the Rockmart defense made plays to keep them in the game. After the Jackets drove 82 yards at the end of the first quarter, Dalton forced a fumble on its 6-yard line. The Jackets forced a fumble on the ensuing play, giving Bobby High a scoop-and-score touchdown and Rockmart a 14-7 lead.

The Yellow Jacket defense held the Catamounts to 94 yards total on the ground, forced three punts and stopped the Catamounts on a fourth down before halftime.

Friday's game was the first for Rockmart against the Catamounts since 1979, when the two teams met in the state quarterfinals. Rockmart's win is the first for the school against Dalton since 1948 and moves the all-time series to 4-2 in favor of the Catamounts. Dalton returns to action next Friday, traveling to Marietta to face Lassiter at 7:30 p.m. Rockmart will face Irwin County at home.