Dalton High School's Chris Childs (7) stiff-arms Calhoun High School's Andrew Haynes (6) during the first half of play Friday evening at Harmon Field.
DALTON, Ga. - Dalton has been playing football since 1924.
It had never competed in a game with so many points until its 56-41 loss to Calhoun on Friday night.
The two teams' 97 points topped Dalton's previous combined record of 93 when it beat Ringgold 49-44 in 1982.
Dalton running back Kelvis Rhodes scored six touchdowns, but they weren't enough. Calhoun quarterback Taylor Lamb accounted for four touchdowns and the Yellow Jackets (2-0) came away with six turnovers to help their effort.
They combined to kick off seven times in the first 14 minutes, eight kickoffs in the first 15 minutes and 12 kickoffs in the first half.
The red-and-black fire truck from Squad 1 wailed for Rhodes, a sophomore, five times in the first half. He scored on runs of 22, 5, 50, 15 and 75 yards in the first half. He went into the break with 179 yards on 10 carries.
Calhoun had no answer with its defense until Carter Edwards and Austin Haynes intercepted Cole Calfee late in the second quarter.
So the Calhoun's offense had to keep pace with Dalton's offense -- or was it the other way around since Calhoun jumped out to a 17-7 lead?
Yellow Jackets quarterback Taylor Lamb accounted for three touchdowns in the first half, including a 1-yard sneak, a 23-yard pass to Tydus Curtis and a 25-yard scramble with 1:01 to go in the half.
The Yellow Jackets led 39-34 when the bands took to the field for halftime entertainment.
Dalton (1-1) had an awful start to the second half -- a half that slowed due to injuries (Rhodes sat out a few plays) and several unsportsmanlike penalties against both teams in this rivalry that dates back to 1925.
After forcing Calhoun to punt, Brandon Dale muffed the kick at the 2-yard line. Alex Urbano scored from there. Then Rhodes fumbled on Dalton's first snap of the second half when he was hit from behind.
The Cats survived with Devonte Davis picking up an Urbano fumble, but Calhoun increased its lead to 49-34 on a 43-yard field goal by Brandon Blaylock with 6:14 to go in the third quarter.
Surprisingly, neither team scored in the final minutes of the third as they traded punts. Dalton had possession and trailed by 15 points at the start of the fourth -- not an impossible situation based on its earlier offensive production.
Dalton had a chance to get back in the game when Ethan Fromm intercepted Lamb and returned it to the Calhoun 31-yard line with more than six minutes to play.
Rhodes scored his sixth touchdown of the night on a 1-yard toss. Three penalties later, two by Dalton, Kiko Rodriguez booted the PAT to pull the Cats within 49-41 with 3:24 to play.
But Urbano dashed the dreams of an impressive comeback with a 66-yard sprint putting Calhoun in field-goal position. They scored a touchdown on a screen pass from Lamb to Josh Barnes to help set the combined scoring record.ontact