Pickens Can’t Neutralize Nick Chubb, Bulldogs Beat Dragons 42-34

Featured Stories, Team FYN Sports

The Pickens Dragons faced a tough challenge on Friday night against the Cedartown Bulldogs and did all they could to hand Cedartown their first loss of the season but were unable to do so in part because of Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb, who had 352 yards and five touchdowns to help Cedartown defeat Pickens 42-34.Pickens won the opening toss of the game and elected to receive the first half kickoff, but things would not go the way the Dragons would want to on this first kick, as Pickens fumbled the return. The Bulldogs recovered the football on the Dragons’ twelve yard line and wasted no time in taking the lead, giving Nick Chubb the carry on first down for a twelve yard touchdown with 11:49 remaining in the first quarter.

Down 7-0 early in the first period, the Dragons’ offense hit the field ready to make some noise. Unfortunately, this first drive would be a struggle, leading to a quick three-and-out and a great punt by Tanner Brumby that was downed on the Bulldogs’ four yard line.

Cedartown’s next drive looked like it would be another scoring series, as the Bulldogs quickly gained fifty-nine yards on four plays. However, Dragons’ defender Kyle West had other things in mind. West tipped Cedartown quarterback Harrison Barnett’s pass on third and twelve and then intercepted it, giving Pickens the ball on its own forty-one yard line with 7:21 remaining in the quarter.

The Dragons wasted no time in making big plays on offense, as Shannon Brooks took the ball on second and nine and took off down the right sidelines for an impressive fifty-eight yard touchdown, tying the game at 7-7 with 6:38 left in the first.

Trying to slow down the Bulldogs was still near impossible for the strong Dragons’ defense, and this was made clear on the next series for Cedartown. Chubb showed once again why he is considered the top running back in the state of Georgia, taking off on a sixty-four yard touchdown run to put Cedartown ahead 14-7.

Pickens did their best to tie the game back up with another touchdown run following Chubb’s scamper, but this drive would not be quite good enough to provide the Dragons with some points. After six plays the Dragons were forced to punt, which rolled out of the end zone for a touchback.

Cedartown continued to make big plays on offense, shown on its next drive in which the team gained eighty yards on just four plays and padded its lead to 21-7 on a thirty-two yard run by Chubb. Down by two touchdowns with 2:29 remaining in the opening quarter, it was time for Pickens to really respond, and that is exactly what they did. Motivated by a tremendous fake punt by Brumby that saw the senior quarterback hit Kyle West for a forty-eight yard gain, the Dragons cut into the Bulldogs’ lead on a four yard quarterback keeper by Brumby to make it 21-13 with 11:54 remaining in the second quarter.

Needing a huge stop, the Dragons stepped up in a memorable manner on Cedartown’s next possession, overcoming a twenty yard run by Chubb on the first play of the drive to slow the Bulldogs’ down on three straight plays and force the Bulldogs to punt for the first time in the game. Now with a chance to tie the game, Pickens worked to gain as many yards as possible but had trouble doing so against a stingy Cedartown defense, and after eight plays were forced to punt.

Cedartown then got the ball back on its own twenty yard line and began another impressive drive that saw the Bulldogs reach the Dragons’ eleven yard line in ten plays. The Bulldogs opted to go for it on fourth and three, but Pickens would stand tall on this play, dropping Chubb one yard short of the marker to give its offense another chance to score with 2:53 left in the first half.

The Dragons began really forcing the Bulldogs’ defense to step up their game on the next drive, as Pickens gained three first downs in a relatively short amount of time. Unfortunately, the Dragons would get bit by the turnover bug on second down when Cedartown defender Isaiah Battle, who returned it to the Dragons’ twenty-eight yard line.

Prepared to add seven more points to its lead, the Bulldogs would see Dragons’ defender Caleb Brooks ruin these plans, as he intercepted Barnett’s pass and returned it to the Dragons’ forty-four with just thirteen seconds left in the half. Pickens attempted to put together a last-second drive and score but were unable to do so, leading to Cedartown holding a 21-13 lead at halftime.

Cedartown would start the third quarter with the ball and quickly put together a scoring drive, putting seven more points on the scoreboard thanks to a thirty-six yard touchdown pass from Barnett to Battle to make it 28-13 with 9:22 remaining in the third. Pickens would then respond with an impressive drive of its own, gaining sixty-eight yards on thirteen-play drive that ended when Brumby connected with Brooks on fourth and long for a sixteen yard touchdown, making it a 28-20 ballgame with 4:42 left in the third period.

The Bulldogs would continue attacked the Dragons’ defense on the ground, which they did several times in the subsequent drive that saw Nick Chubb score on a five yard carry to make it 35-20 with just forty-five seconds left in the third quarter. Needing more points with time against them, the Dragons drove down to the sixteen yard line and did what they could to keep it going; however, Pickens would be stopped short on fourth down, giving the Bulldogs the ball back.

Cedartown seemed set to drain the clock on its next possession, but a bad snap on its fourth play saw the Dragons recover the football on the Bulldogs’ forty-one yard line with 8:41 remaining in the fourth. Needing some points to try and keep their hopes alive, Tanner Brumby and Co. did their part on this drive, putting together a seven-play, fifty-nine yard drive that ended once again on a fourth down touchdown pass from Brumby to Brooks, this one being a thirty-three yard pass on fourth and seventeen to make it 35-27.

The next drive for the Bulldogs was crucial for the Dragons, but unfortunately the defense just could not slow down Chubb and the other playmakers on Cedartown’s side. The Bulldogs would gain sixty-five yards on eight plays, drain a considerable amount of clock off the board, and make it a 42-27 game thanks to a fifteen yard rushing touchdown by Chubb, his fifth of the contest.

Down but certainly not out in this game, the Dragons continued to play hard on the following possession, and before too long the team cut into Cedartown’s advantage with an eight yard run by Shannon Brooks with just twenty-three seconds left in the fourth.

Trailing by eight points with no timeouts and under thirty seconds left in the game, the Dragons were forced to go for the onside kick following Brooks’ touchdown, but Cedartown’s Isaiah Battle would fall on the ball, sealing a hard-fought 42-34 victory for the Bulldogs.

The Dragons finished the game with 458 yards (231 rushing yards and 227 passing yards) compared to the 549 yards the Bulldogs finished the game with (409 rushing yards and 140 passing yards). Quarterback Tanner Brumby overcame some crucial drops from some of his receivers in this game to have a fine outing, completing eighteen passes for 227 yards and one touchdown.

Dragons’ running back Shannon Brooks showed everyone in attendance that there was truly two talented runners in this matchup, taking twenty-six carries for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Brooks also had three receptions for sixty-six yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Achilles’ heel for Pickens in this loss was definitely Nick Chubb, who showed everyone at Dragons Stadium that he is worthy of his five-star prospect status. Chubb finished the game with 252 yards on thirty-five carries with five touchdowns in Cedartown’s victory.

Pickens (now 4-2) must shake off this tough loss and get ready for next week’s matchup against the rival Gilmer Bobcats. The Bobcats are sitting at 5-1 so far this season and will be coming off of a 30-13 victory over the Cass Colonels, meaning that ending Gilmer’s four-game winning streak in this series (longest streak since 1997) certainly will not be easy.

PickensvsCedartownHighlights from Fetch on Vimeo.

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