Dunwoody, Dacula off to turnaround starts for 2023 season
The 2023 Georgia High School Association flag football season is in gear with teams roughly at the halfway mark of their seasons and preparing for region play with hopes of reaching the state championship tournament. Two teams off to solid starts are the Dunwoody Wildcats, now at 7-2 on the season, and the Dacula Falcons, sitting at 10-2 on the season. On Monday, the two teams faced off as the Wildcats hosted the Falcons and the Chamblee Bulldogs in a triple header day of action, with the Falcons going unbeaten on the day with wins over both Dunwoody and Chamblee, while the Wildcats would pick up a win over the Bulldogs.
However, outside of the wins and losses from Monday, both Dunwoody and Dacula have posted more wins this season than they each totaled last season. The Wildcats wrapped their 2022 campaign at 6-10 overall, but with a 4-4 region record, they found themselves in the playoffs but would have a first round exit. Now with one more win, than they totaled last season, Dunwoody head coach, Montez Swinney credits his players for the “fighting” they display every game leading to the success they have had to this point in the season. Swinney would add that the stinginess of the Wildcats defense, allowing a combined 39 points through nine games, and the aggressiveness of the offense has been huge for them. And as Dunwoody prepares for the remainder of the season, Swinney ‘s message to his players is simple, “every day we have to get better,” he said as they will work on “a new craft” each opportunity they have to better themselves.
On the other side, the Falcons have more than double their win total from a year ago as the 2022 season ended with them posting a 4-10 overall record and 1-5 in the region standings and the start to this season, head coach Nick Crabb, says is largely in part to his players coming “together as a team and they started hitting on all cylinders and making big plays,”. Crabb noted that the team missed Malea Doyle early in the season, when they suffered their only two losses and the impact of her return has been a “difference maker” for the Falcons. And as Dacula looks to keep their momentum, Crabb says that he wants to see his players to continue working at strengthening their defense. “Keeping everything I front of us and making flag pulls, that’s what we have to do,” Crabb added
