Quarterbacks climbing up state’s all-time list
- 10/30/11
- Categorized in: Football
by Mark Brock
Martin Luther King Jr. senior quarterback Jonquel Dawson and Cedar Grove junior quarterback Johnathan McCrary are climbing up the state career passing charts as the high school football season moves into its final two weeks.
Dawson continues to add to his DeKalb County career passing mark of 5,383 yards that he set last fall. Through eight games he has passed 2,125 yards this season with 24 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
His career total is 7,708 yards, good for sixth all-time for a high school quarterback in Georgia, according to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. Dawson is less than 600 yards away from passing Cedric Johnson of Americus (2001-04), who is No. 5 all-time with 8,226 yards passing
Dawson also has four of the top five single-game passing marks in the county including the DeKalb County record of 527 yards (23 of 47, six touchdowns) versus Colquitt County in 2010), second at 486 yards (19 of 34, six touchdowns) versus South Gwinnett in 2010, fourth with 449 yards (28 of 34, four touchdowns) versus Luella this season and fifth with 413 yards (20 of 24, three touchdowns) versus Valdosta in 2010.
McCrary has risen to No. 2 on the county’s all-time passing yardage list behind Dawson with 5,232 career passing yards. The junior has completed 72.5 percent of his passes (108 of 149) for 1,777 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. McCrary passed Peachtree’s Todd Rampley (1981-83), who was the previous record holder prior to Dawson, with 4,614 yards.
McCray’s efforts this season lifts him to No. 21 on the state high school career passing list, just ahead of former University of Georgia quarterback Buck Belue, who passed for 5,214 yards at Valdosta (1974-77).
Two of McCrary’s games are among the top single-game performances in DeKalb County history. His is No. 7 on the list with 386 yards (15 of 23, four touchdowns) versus Veterans in 2010. His best game of 2011—319 yards (9 of 11, three touchdowns) versus Columbia is among the top 20 in the county.