Dragons Force Five Turnovers in 43-27 Homecoming Victory over Cass

Featured Stories, Team FYN Sports

The Pickens Dragons got the job done in their homecoming game against the Cass Colonels on Friday night, as the offense racked up 362 yards and the defense forced five turnovers in a 43-27 victory that gave the Dragons a 4-1 record on the year and a 1-0 record to start sub-region play.Pickens won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball, giving the Dragons’ offense a shot at firing up the home crowd early on in this contest. The offense looked to cut through the Colonels’ defense on the ground on this opening possession but was unable to maintain the drive, which ended after three quick plays. The Colonels then got the ball on the Dragons’ forty-two yard line and put together a seven-play, forty-two yard drive that ended on a three yard touchdown run by Justin Reed with 7:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Down a touchdown early in the opening period of play, Pickens responded with a nice touchdown drive of its own, which was highlighted by a thirty-five touchdown run by quarterback Tanner Brumby on the ninth play of the drive to cut Cass’s advantage to 7-6 with 3:59 left in the quarter.

A three-and-out forced by the Dragons gave punt returner Zack Hermann a chance to show his abilities and he did not disappoint, as the sophomore returned the Colonels’ punt all the way to the Cass twenty-five yard line. Provided excellent field position thanks to Hermann’s return, the Dragons had no trouble punching the ball in once again, scoring on a five yard touchdown pass from Brumby to Jake Dean to put the Dragons up 13-7 with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

Another Cass possession came and went abruptly (the Colonels had -6 net yards on this drive), which meant that the Dragons would start their next series on its own thirty-five yard line with 11:50 left in the second quarter. Pickens had no issues running the ball on this possession, as Shannon Brooks’ twenty-four yard gain was followed two plays later by a forty-one rushing touchdown by Jake Coleman, pushing Pickens’s lead to 20-7 with 10:42 left in the first half.

The Colonels then took the ball and promptly drove down the field, preparing to cut into the Dragons’ lead; however, the Dragons’ defense had other things in mind. On third down Pickens forced a fumble, which defensive lineman Mathew Devroy recovered on the Dragons’ eleven yard line. Pickens looked to extend their lead on the following possession but were unable to sustain the drive, which led to a punt that was downed on the Colonels’ twenty-two yard line.

Cass’s next series saw the Colonels put together another scoring drive, this one being a eleven-play, seventy-eight yard drive that ended on a five yard rushing touchdown by Chaz Rokins to make it a 20-14 contest with forty-eight seconds left in the second quarter. The Dragons then opted to run out the clock, keeping Pickens up six points at halftime.

Cass came out of the gate ready to play in the third quarter, quickly scoring on a fifty-three yard rushing touchdown by Kelin Wells to give the Colonels a slim 21-20 advantage with 10:46 left in the third quarter. Now trailing for the first time since the opening quarter, the Dragons responded with a long twelve-play drive that saw Pickens gain four first downs and re-take the lead on a five yard touchdown run by Shannon Brooks, making it 27-21 with 7:17 in the third quarter.

The next possession for Cass would prove to be crucial for Pickens, as the Colonels’ play on second and eleven saw Kalyn Brooks intercept Trevor Lowe’s pass and return it to the Cass twenty-two yard line. Pickens was now in prime position to score thanks to the heads up play by one half of the Brooks Brothers duo for the Dragons and made sure not to waste the opportunity, scoring on a twenty-one yard pass from Brumby to Shannon Brooks on fourth and long to stretch the Dragons’ lead to 35-21 (the two point conversion was good) with 4:38 remaining in the third.

A quick three-and-out caused by excellent run defense by the Dragons gave Pickens the ball back on its own forty-two yard line with 3:28 left in the third quarter, opening up the chance for the Dragons to place Cass in an uncomfortable three touchdown deficit. Unfortunately for Pickens, this drive could not be sustained, leading to a punt fourth and nine that was fair caught on the Colonels’ one yard line. Buried deep within their own territory, the Colonels would get bit by the turnover bug yet again, as Caleb Brooks made an interception and returned it to the Cass four yard line.

Pickens attempted to push their way into the end zone but were unsuccessful in doing so, leading to a turnover on downs that gave the Colonels the ball back on its own one yard line with just 11:02 remaining in regulation. Once again situated in an uncomfortable position, Cass found itself caught in an even worse position when Zack Hermann caught the Colonels’ running back in the end zone, resulting in a safety and a 37-21 lead for the Dragons with 9:41 left in the game.

Another rare three-and-out by the Dragons’ offense gave Cass the ball back with a great deal of field left in front of them, which left several obstacles standing between the team and more points. One such obstacle was Hermann, who made another big play when he recovered the football on the Cass seven yard line with 6:48 remaining in the game. With just seven yards between the line of scrimmage and a touchdown, it seemed as though Pickens was primed to score again, but penalties would derail this possibility, and an incomplete pass on fourth down gave the Colonels the ball back on its own twenty-four yard line.

The struggles by both offenses would be no more following Cass’s next drive, as the second play of the series saw Keylon Woodard catch Lowe’s pass and sprint down the sidelines for an impressive eighty-four yard touchdown, cutting the Dragons’ lead to 37-27 with just 5:06 still on the clock. In danger of letting the Colonels get back into the game, Tanner Brumby did his part in preventing such a comeback, recovering Cass’s onside kick following the touchdown and leading his squad on an eight-play drive that ended with Brumby calling his own number for a two yard touchdown to push Pickens’ lead to 43-27 with just 2:06 remaining.

Cass continued to fight and try to close the gap, but Zack Hermann was not quite done making plays. Hermann effectively closed the book on the Colonels on Cass’s fourth play of the drive, as he intercepted the pass and returned it to the Cass forty-seven yard line. The Dragons then ran the clock out, giving the team a nice 43-27 victory.

The Dragons offense made plays throughout the contest, racking up 362 yards (311 rushing and 51 passing) with six touchdowns in the game. Quarterback Tanner Brumby had another solid outing for Pickens, completing five passes for 51 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Brumby also had 20 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns, making the senior signal-caller responsible for four of the team’s six scores.

Running back Shannon Brooks had a fine game despite facing a stingy Colonels’ defense, taking twenty-eight carries for 168 yards and one touchdown. Brooks also had two receptions for 41 yards and one touchdown.

Jake Coleman has continued to prove to be a formidable backup to Brooks, taking eight carries in the game for 54 yards and one touchdown.

While the focus often goes towards the offense, the Dragons’ defense once again played outstanding, shown by the unit forcing five turnovers in the win (the defense has forced sixteen turnovers through five games). Along with these fumbles and interceptions, the defense also kept Cass guessing, and at the end of the day the Colonels only had 326 yards (168 passing and 158 rushing).

Dragons head coach Chris Parker seemed content with the effort the Dragons’ gave on both sides of the ball, saying

“Defensively it was hot-and-cold. We struggled some on defense, but we did force some turnovers. You’ve got to put the pressure on them and make them earn it, and we did that. We still made a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball, and we’ve got a long way to go to get to where we want to be…I was happy overall with the effort. Proud to be 1-0 [in the sub-region].”

The win over Cass puts Pickens at 4-1 on the season, the team’s best start since 2006 when the team managed to start the season 6-1 in a year that saw the Dragons post a 7-3 record.

Next up for Pickens is a game against the Cedartown Bulldogs, who have the top running back in Georgia in senior Nick Chubb. Chubb, who is committed to Georgia, currently has 1,356 rushing yards through five games and has been a driving force for Cedartown, who sit at 6-0 after the Bulldogs’ 41-25 victory over the River Ridge Knights on Friday night. When asked how soon he would begin game-planning for the Cedartown game, Coach Parker laughed and simply said

“When I walk up the steps [to my office] here in a minute.”

PickensvsCassHighlights from Fetch on Vimeo.

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