On a wet night with a mushy field, the Dacula Falcons pounded the ball on the ground, took advantage of turnovers and field position and emerged with their third straight Region 8-AAAAAA championship.
Dacula rolled to a 23-0 win over rival Lanier and clinched the title, which guarantees the Falcons a home playoff game for at least the first two rounds. It was the first time the Falcons have won three consecutive region championships.
Dacula (7-2, 4-0) got 137 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Trenton Jones and four interceptions and a fumble recovery from their defense in posting their second shutout of the season. Jaiev Khan had two interceptions and Tyler Lawary and Chris Smith had one pick apiece. Smith also recovered a fumble.
“It means a lot to our community and this program,” Smith said. “Our defense played great. We shot ourselves a lot in the foot with penalties. I thank God for giving us the opportunity and the coaches had a great game plan and we executed it.”
Lanier (6-3, 3-1) never got much going on offense. Quarterback Zach Calzada had a poor night, completing only 3 of 24 passes with four interceptions for 30 yards and was sacked six times.
“Our defense bent a little bit but never broke,” Dacula coach Clint Jenkins said. “Kids kept fighting. We had too many penalties, but we’ll clean that stuff up and keep moving. Really proud of these guys. They gutted it out.”
Dacula scored first after Khan intercepted Zach Calzada’s pass and gave the Falcons the ball at the 37. Dacula scored in two plays, the final 24 yards on a run by Trenton Jones.
The Falcons got another takeaway on Lanier’s next possession .Tyler Lawary came up with the interception near the end zone and returned it to the 12.
Dacula wasn’t able to score, but kicked Lanier deep at the 13. Chris Smith dropped Calzada for a 10-yard loss on first down and T.J. Young grabbed Taj Barnes in the end zone for a safety on the next play, giving Dacula a 9-0 lead.
Dacula got another takeaway when Jalen Cole recovered a mishandled snap at the 24. Four plays later the Falcons punched it in when quarterback Jarrett Jenkins threw a deep pass to Jalen Perry for a 23-yard touchdown.
Dacula’s Khan got his second interception to end Lanier’s first drive of the second half. The Falcons drove to the 13 before turned the ball over on downs.
Lanier moved the ball to the 43 before a bad snap resulted in an 18-yard loss. Smith’s interception on the next play ended the threat and set up Dacula’s final score, a 27-yard run by Jones.
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