Dalton scored first and was tied with Allatoona after two quarters of play, but some quick scores by the Buccaneers left the Catamounts too far behind.
Despite its best offensive night by far, Dalton (0-6, 0-2 Region 7-4A) dropped 42-29 at Allatoona (3-3, 1-1 Region 7-4A) Friday night.
Dalton led 7-0 after Ashton Parker recovered an offensive fumble in the end zone and the score was 14-14 at halftime thanks to a Caine Woods 17-yard strike to Nash Smith. Two Allatoona touchdowns within a minute in the third — a rushing score followed by an interception return — made it 28-14.
“Our kids worked hard and played well at times,” Dalton head coach Kit Carpenter said in a radio interview after the game. “The margin for error is so small that it quickly got away from us, but we fought to the end.”
Dalton cut it back to a one-score game early in the third with an 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown from Woods to Kendrix London, but another pair of quick touchdowns by Allatoona made it 42-21.
Woods got in for a late rushing touchdown, and Elijah Long took the ball in for a 2-point conversion to make the final score 42-29.
Woods totaled 264 passing yards, and 152 went to London. Long led the Catamounts in rushing with 60 yards. Dalton totaled 399 yards.
The game was the fourth consecutive road game for Dalton, which finally returns to Harmon Field next week for a home game against Hiram.
Dalton hosts Hiram Friday at 7:30 p.m.