The Pickens Dragons made the trip to Rossville, Georgia on Friday night and promptly pulled off something that most expected the team would be unable to do, as the offense racked up 441 yards on the ground and beat the Ridgeland Panthers, last year’s AAAA state runner-up, at Bowers and Painter Field by the final score of 41-28.The Dragons won the opening coin toss and elected to receive to start the contest, and after a twelve yard kickoff return by running back Shannon Brooks the offense would take the field on their own twenty-nine yard line.

The first drive would not end the way the Dragons would have envisioned, as on the second play of the series a pass from Tanner Brumby intended for Justin Hamrick was ruled to have been behind the line of scrimmage and as a result a live ball, which the Panthers picked up and returned thirty-one yards for a touchdown to give Ridgeland a 7-0 lead early in the contest.

Following this tough turnover, Pickens sent the offense back on the field in hopes of getting some momentum going on the road. This drive for the Dragons just could not get going, which resulted in a punt back to the Panthers after three quick plays. Now with a chance to go up two scores on Pickens, Ridgeland moved the ball with some success until a bobbled pitch in Pickens’ territory hit the ground, where Dragons’ defender Ty Prather recovered it on the Dragons’ 44 yard line.

Now with a chance to tie the game up at seven, the Dragons offense got going quickly with an impressive fifty yard strike from quarterback Tanner Brumby to Marcus Byrd, who reached the Ridgeland six yard line. Unfortunately for the Dragons, trouble would strike on the very next play a bad exchange would result in a fumble, which the Panthers’ would recover on their own four yard line. Despite the turnover, the Dragons’ defense would bail out the offense on the Panthers’ first play on offense, as the defense stripped the ball and had Kyle West fall on it on the Ridgeland eight yard line.

With the trading of turnovers now out of the way, the Dragons offense stood ready to hit the end zone and did just that on their first play of this drive, tying the game 7-7 on an eight yard run by Shannon Brooks with 8:51 remaining in the first quarter.

Following the Brooks’ scamper for a score, the Ridgeland Panthers were hampered by a block in the back on the kickoff and as a result took possession on their own twenty-one yard line. The Panthers’ offense failed to do anything against the stout Dragons’ defense on this drive, gaining just three yards on three plays before punting to the Pickens thirty-one yard line.

The next Pickens’ possession showed early promise via the rushing attack—something that would be key for the Dragons in this contest—but it simply could not be sustained, which resulted in a punt on fourth down that was returned to the Ridgeland twenty-four yard line with 4:10 remaining in the opening quarter. It was almost no time before the Dragons’ offense would have another shot at some points, as on the very first play of this Ridgeland drive the Panthers fumbled again, leading to Dillon Gasaway recovering the ball on the Ridgeland twenty-seven yar line.

The Dragons’ offense lived up to their potential on this drive, attacking the Panthers again and again on the ground on a six-play, twenty-seven yard drive that was culminated by a two yard rushing touchdown by senior running back Jake Coleman to hand the Dragons a 14-7 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter.

Ridgeland appeared to wake up on the resulting possession of this contest, marching thirty-five yards down the field before the defense stopped the Panthers on third down, which meant it was field goal time. The Panthers lined up for a thirty-eight yard attempt, but the kick fell short of the crossbar, effectively keeping Ridgeland from cutting into the Pickens’ lead and also giving the Dragons possession on their own twenty-four yard line.

Once again the Dragons moved the ball effectively on the ground with nice plays from Brumby, Brooks, and Coleman, but found themselves in a tough fourth and five situation on the Ridgeland twenty-eight yard line. Pickens head coach Chris Parker elected to leave his offense on the field and attempt to convert, but unfortunately Brumby’s pass attempt fell incomplete, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Although the Dragons’ defense had contained the Panthers for a good portion of the first half of play, Pickens was unable to prevent Panthers’ points on the next possession, as Ridgeland used ten different plays (nine running plays) with three different players (freshman quarterback Ivy Beohm, senior running back Noah Cooper, & junior running back DJ Chesney) to garner seventy-two yards on a drive that would end with an eleven yard touchdown run by Cooper to tie the game at fourteen all with 3:27 remaining in the second quarter.

Two minute offenses often get overlooked at the high school level, but the Dragons showed how important having an offense capable of scoring with very little time remaining in the particular period of play on the drive following Cooper’s touchdown. Starting from their own twelve yard line with 3:27 left before halftime, Pickens progressively burnt the Panthers’ defense, highlighted by an outstanding fifty-nine yard run by Tanner Brumby that left Pickens just sixteen yards away from a touchdown.

Trying to effectively milk the clock while still re-taking the lead, the Dragons accomplished this mission following Brumby’s burst of speed, running five plays and finally scoring another touchdown on a two yard run by Brooks to make it 21-14 with 1:04 remaining in the first half. Due to get the ball at the start of the second half, Ridgeland head coach Mark Mariakis elected to run out the rest of the clock and head to the locker room down a touchdown to the Dragons.

Following the halftime ceremony for Ridgeland High School’s homecoming, the teams took to the field ready for twenty-four more minutes of action. Understandably rattled by their play in the first half, the Panthers’ offense got the ball on their own forty-two yard line and proceeded to work their way down the field. Despite these good plays, a holding penalty on third down diminished the Panthers’ chances, which led to a punt that the Panthers would down on the Pickens two yard line.

Buried extremely deep in their own territory with 7:07 left in the third quarter, the Dragons’ offense was forced to tread lightly on this drive but was able to obtain some breathing room by gaining eighteen yards before punting the ball back to Ridgeland. With great starting field position ahead of them, it seemed like the Panthers were destined to even the score at twenty-one, but the opportunistic Dragons’ defense made Ridgeland pay on a halfback pass from Noah Cooper, as defensive back Zack Hermann intercepted the pass and returned it fourteen yards to the Dragons’ thirty-eight yard line.

Up one touchdown with a little over two minutes left in the third quarter, the Dragons looked to add on to their advantage and were able to so, putting together an eight-play, sixty-two yard drive that was highlighted by a fourteen yard run by Shannon Brooks on third and ten and efficiently capped off by a four yard touchdown run by Brooks to make it a 28-14 score with 0:31 left in the third quarter.

With time running out for the home team to make a comeback, it was apparent on both sides that the next Ridgeland possession would be pivotal in the outcome of this game. Desperately searching for some big plays, the Panthers were simply unable to gain any yards on the ground against the Dragons’ defense on this drive, which was a quiet three-and-out that ended on a great punt by Shaun Sryock that sailed fifty-five yards to the Dragons’ fourteen yard line with 10:23 remaining in regulation.

Pickens then took possession and looked ready to play conservatively and run the clock as much as possible; however, Tanner Brumby had other things in mind. Deep in their own territory, Brumby called his own number on second and six and promptly took off, cut across the field, and scored an eighty-two yard rushing touchdown to give the Dragons a comfortable 35-14 lead with just 9:50 left on the game clock.

The Dragons’ defense then stood tall on the following drive by forcing a turnover on downs on the Panthers’ forty-six yard line, which appeared to be the nail in the Panthers’ coffin. However, Ridgeland was determined to not give up without a fight, shown by the heads-up play by junior Jacob Russell, who forced a fumble and returned it to the Pickens thirty-three yard line. Now with new life, the Panthers wasted no time in scoring, as Calvin Davenport took the carry on the first play of the drive and accelerated for a thirty-three yard rushing touchdown, cutting the Dragons’ advantage to 35-21 with 6:48 left in the fourth.

Ridgeland then lined up for an onside kick and successfully recovered it, meaning the Panthers had another shot at slicing the Dragons’ lead. Starting from the Dragons’ thirty-nine yard line, the Panthers made a significant push at sustaining another big drive, but were slowed down and put in a tough spot on fourth and six. Needing another big stop, Pickens played perfectly on this fourth down, leading to an incomplete pass and a turnover on downs with 4:00 left on the clock.

Up two scores with four minutes left in the game, the Dragons’ rushing game just refused to slow down regardless of how much time was or was not left in the game, gaining twelve yards on four plays before Brooks had yet another humongous run, reading the lanes that were open amidst the Panthers’ defense and outrunning the opposition en route to a sixty-five yard touchdown to give Pickens a 41-21 lead with 2:16 left.

At this point it looked as if Ridgeland’s chances were very slim, but that did not hinder the team’s offense in any way whatsoever. The Panthers came back onto the field and refused to yield to a Dragons’ defense that was obviously worn out from the hassles that fourth quarters of play against such a talented team can present, gaining sixty-three yards on five plays and scoring on a thirty-eight yard rushing touchdown courtesy of Davenport, making it a 41-28 contest with just 0:36 remaining.

Down to their last opportunity, the Panthers lined up for another onside kick, but fortunately the Dragons were able to recover the football. Tanner Brumby then took a knee to run out the clock, giving Pickens an outstanding 41-28 victory over Ridgeland.

The Panthers’ defense was simply unable to stop the Dragons on Friday night, displayed by the team’s 504 total yard of offense (441 yards rushing and 63 yards passing). Crucial to the Dragons offense was both quarterback Tanner Brumby and Shannon Brooks, who gave several more examples of how they may be the best quarterback/running back duo in 7-AAAA.

Brumby was explosive running the football in this contest, taking nine carries for 162 yards and one touchdown. He also had three completions for sixty-three yards.

Shannon Brooks just continues to leave defensive players shaking their heads, taking thirty-four carries for 248 yards and four of the Dragons’ six touchdowns in the victory. Together Brooks and Brumby combined for 473 of the Dragons’ 504 yards in the win.

Not to be overshadowed by the offense’s explosiveness, the Dragons’ defense did their part in this game, giving up just 283 yards (0 passing yards) and twenty-eight points and forcing four turnovers from a team that won thirteen games and averaged forty points per game last season.

Pickens Dragons head coach Chris Parker was very pleased with his team’s big victory, saying

“We had to earn it. We played well, [the offense] moved the ball down the field, and [the defense] stopped them. They played well, and that’s what championship teams do, and Ridgeland is a championship program. They hung in the game and made us earn it, but I thought we played fantastic. We’re going to have to earn these wins against these tough teams because they won’t come easy for us… I’m proud of the kids for not giving up and for making some huge plays. Excellent job by the linemen, by the receivers, by Tanner and Shannon running, and the defense. I thought the defense played outstanding. The score doesn’t show how well the defense played.”

The Dragons now sit at 3-1 on the season and are now 2-1 against region 7-AAAA opponents, although all three of the teams Pickens has played so far (Northwest Whitfield, Heritage, and Ridgeland) are in the sub-region B, whereas the Dragons are in sub-region A.

Pickens kicks off their sub-region play this upcoming Friday night, when they take on the Cass Colonels for the Dragons’ homecoming game. The Colonels sit at 2-3 so far this season and will be coming off a 30-17 loss at the hands of the Dalton Catamounts.

PickensvsRidgelandHighlights from Fetch on Vimeo.