As Dalton High’s top 5 matchup nears, past players recall 1994 game with Cedartown

Published 10:57 am Thursday, October 20, 2016

DALTON, Ga. — “It wasn’t a place for children.”

That was legendary Dalton High School football coach Bill Chappell’s comment after the No. 3 ranked Catamounts defeated No. 1 ranked Cedartown 20-14 on Oct. 28, 1994. It’s been almost 22 years since that showdown, and finally, the lights of Harmon Field will shine on another game between two top-five state ranked teams.

The Catamounts, tied at No. 1 with Valdosta in the latest Georgia Sports Writers Association class 6A poll released Tuesday, welcome fourth-ranked Harrison to Harmon Field on Friday. The ranking marks the first time Dalton has been ranked No. 1 since 1986.

Friday’s game will likely feel like a classic with a large crowd expected. As today’s Catamounts prepare, memories of that 1994 game against Cedartown are still fresh in the minds of those who played in it.

“I remember it was a very physical, hard-hitting game,” said J.T. Finley, a senior wide receiver for Dalton in 1994. “It was a very loud game. Their crowd really showed up. Coach Chappell would have killed me if he had known this, but I remember at one point being on the field during a timeout and we were still in the huddle. And I’m looking out in the crowd and seeing all the people thinking ‘This is really big time.'”

After starting the 1994 season with what then senior center Buckie Burgess remembered as an uninspiring 16-0 win over Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, the Catamounts moved to 2-0 with a 28-7 victory over Murray County. From there, Dalton rolled over its next five opponents, averaging 43.8 points while giving up just 31 points during that stretch.

“Until that point in the year, I don’t really remember us having a significant struggle, especially a physical struggle, with anyone,” Burgess said. “We found out later that the coaches didn’t think we were that good before the season. And the first game we played an opponent we should have beat handily and we didn’t. But we turned out to be a lot better than maybe we should have been.”

Finley remembers the build up to the game being unlike any he had ever seen. Burgess recalled the coaching staff under Chappell was notorious for downplaying the importance of rankings, saying Chappell’s famous quote was “That No. 1 ranking and 75 cents can get you a cup of coffee at the Oakwood.”

But regardless of the coaching staff’s efforts, the hype surrounding the matchup was impossible to ignore.

“The coaches tried their best to make us focus on the fact it was important because it was the next game and don’t get caught in the rankings or who they are,” Finley said. “But it was hard not to when our parents were talking about it, kids in the hallways are talking about it and of course the newspaper was writing about it. A couple of players from previous years called us and told us they were coming home to watch us play. You could just feel the anticipation of that game everywhere.”

Chappell said he doesn’t remember many of the details surrounding the game, but remembers Cedartown quarterback Lee Jolly, who would go on to play for the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Chappell said Jolly was just one of several talented players the Bulldogs had on their team.

“It was a good nip and tuck game, Jolly was a great player and he would go on to play college and do a good job,” Chappell said. “They probably had more Division I talent than we did, it just happened we played a tremendous football game. Our kids rose to the occasion and did a great job.”

In that game 22 years ago, Dalton jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half. The Catamounts drove 62 yards in seven plays on their first drive of the game as halfback Peter Putnam went untouched 42 yards for the opening score. Putnam finished the game with 185 yards on 16 carries.

Fellow halfback Ty Macon scored the second touchdown of the game with 7:06 remaining in the first half on a 31-yard run right up the gut and quarterback Benji McConkey passed to wide receiver Ricky Hammontree for the two-point conversion.

The Bulldogs pulled back within one score with a 68-yard run by Jolly with just 1:04 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts would have been content to go into halftime with a one-score lead, but McConkey and Putnam had other ideas.

“They scored right before the half to go up 14-7 and coach Chappell said let’s run some dives with Peter Putnam,” McConkey said. “Well he ripped off two runs of about 30 yards real quick and got inside their 30 in about 15 seconds. Then I score from about 30 yards to put us up 20-7. From there it was a defensive battle.”

Indeed, the Catamounts were held off the scoreboard in the second half. Cedartown running back Quinton Delaney had entered the game with 798 rushing yards, but Dalton held him to just eight yards in the game, although he did score on a four-yard run after a pitch from Jolly. The extra point made the score 20-14 in the third quarter. Dalton had missed the extra point after McConkey’s score and when the Bulldogs were driving in the final minutes of the game, Finley feared the worst.

“They were driving and we had missed the extra point, so I was afraid they were going to go down and score and win by 1,” Finley said. “Then Marcelle Anderson (a cornerback who went on to play at UT-Chattanooga) came in and made a tackle to strip the ball and our defensive lineman fell on it right in front of our sideline.”

That defensive lineman was the late Jamie Harris, then a 275-pound sophomore. He fell on the loose ball with 20 seconds remaining to seal the Catamounts’ victory, a memory which Burgess recalls clearly because Harris’ reaction.

“(Harris’) nickname was ‘Peavy’ and he didn’t really get very excited usually, just wasn’t a very excitable person,” Burgess said. “If he made a good play he’d usually just high five a couple guys and go straight to the sideline. But he was excited on that play. I used to drive him home because I drove down past where he lived. He passed away a couple years ago. He was a really great guy.”

Through the years, Burgess’ pride in his school and what his teams accomplished hasn’t wavered.

“I’ve always been proud to be part of that program,” Burgess said. “50-plus years of winning. And being older now I can see what football gave me in teaching me about struggle and mental toughness. That school helped produce that in me. I took over my parents’ season tickets that they’ve had since 1983 and have been at every home game.

“We lost six games in my four years. That was a point of pride for us. We weren’t always the fastest, the biggest or the strongest, but we always found a way to win. This year’s team certainly has the playmakers, but it seems like they are really coming together in that same way.”

Fast forward 22 years later, and the Catamounts are once again preparing for another big showdown. In another twist of irony, Harrison, this week’s opponent, pulled off a 42-41 upset victory over Dalton’s rival, Northwest Whitfield, on the same night the Catamounts beat Cedartown in 1994.

There have been plenty of other big games at Harmon Field since that day, but perhaps none carry the lofty accolades of Friday’s game against the Hoyas.