The Pickens Dragons overcame a slow start on Friday night against the River Ridge Knights, eventually outscoring River Ridge 34-14 in the second half in a game that saw running back Shannon Brooks and linebacker Thomas Howard set new school records as part of a 41-21 victory.Pickens won the coin toss to begin the ballgame and elected to receive the opening kickoff and began the game on its own forty-six yard line thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty on the return. Looking to gain momentum to begin the game, the Dragons attempted a trick play on a halfback pass, but the Knights’ defense was prepared for the play and promptly intercepted the first play from scrimmage and returned the ball to the Dragons’ forty-four yard line with 11:49 left in the first quarter.

River Ridge then put together a quick five-play, forty-four yard drive that ended on a one yard touchdown run by Knights quarterback Marcus Spears, which gave the home squad a 7-0 lead with 10:24 left in the quarter.

Following the touchdown, the Dragons took possession on its own forty-one yard line thanks to a nice kick return by quarterback Tanner Brumby. This drive showed a great deal of potential for Pickens, as the team gained two first downs on the first three plays of this drive; however, things slowed down on the River Ridge seventeen yard line, and a failed fourth down run gave the Knights the ball back.

The Knights then began another drive that looked promising and were looking to increase their seven point lead until the Dragons stood tall on third down, resulting in a fourth and five from the Dragons’ twenty-eight yard line. Rather than go for the first down, River Ridge head coach Robert Braucht elected to send his kicker out on the field for a forty-four yard field goal attempt; however, the kick would fall short of its intended target, which meant the Dragons would start from the twenty-yard line with 3:16 remaining in the opening quarter.

Still down 7-0 to the 1-7 Knights, Pickens started this possession with an eighteen yard run by Shannon Brooks and then a 20 yard run by Brooks, who came into the game needing 102 yards to break the PHS record for rushing yards in a single season. The Dragons looked anxious to even the score at seven, but a holding penalty on third down was proven to be too much to overcome. Pickens was forced to punt the ball, which would be downed on the River Ridge nineteen yard line.

River Ridge’s offense then took to the field and was hampered by the Dragons’ defense, which buckled down after a 21 yard pass on third and eighteen and soon forced a River Ridge punt, which was downed on the Dragons’ thirty-five yard line with 11:09 remaining in the second quarter. Still needing a spark on offense, Pickens’ next possession once again showed potential, but the team was unable to consistently move the football, which led to a punt by Brumby that was aptly downed on the Knights’ two-yard line.

With very little room to maneuver, the Knights’ offense planned to play conservatively while backed into a corner, but Dragons defensive end Silas Lott did not adhere to this plan. Lott forced a fumble on the Knights’ first play of the drive and recovered the football on the two yard line, giving the Dragons and excellent opportunity at scoring. The Dragons struggled against a tough Knights defense on three straight plays, but on fourth and goal Brumby called his own number and pushed forward for a two-yard touchdown, tying the game 7-7 with 6:12 left in the second period.

The next drive for River Ridge ended on a punt that was downed on the Dragons’ thirty yard line with 1:20 left in the first half, which meant that Pickens would have to enter its hurry-up offense if the team wanted to take the lead before hitting the locker room. This possession started off smoothly, as the offense gained four first downs and found themselves on the Knights’ eight yard line with 0:08 remaining on the clock. Rather than kick a field goal, the Dragons opted to attempt to score seven points, but this dream was crushed when River Ridge’s Wesley Terry intercepted Brumby’s pass and had his eyes set on a pick six until the Dragons forced him out of bounds on the forty-five yard line, effectively ending the first half at a 7-7 stalemate.

River Ridge came out of the locker room and put together a drive that certainly must have concerned the Pickens faithful in attendance, as the Knights gained sixty-seven yards on seven plays and scored on a 12 yard run by EJ Ellis to put River Ridge up 13-7 with 8:17 still left in the third quarter. Down by a touchdown on the road, Pickens was determined to keep playing hard, which paid off on the very next play: Shannon Brooks took the handoff from Tanner Brumby and took off for a sixty-eight yard touchdown to give Pickens a slim 14-13 lead.

Now separated by a single point, it became clear that mistakes on either side would be very harmful, a point that the Knights would soon learn the hard way. A run on first down from the Dragons’ forty-four yard line would see the Knights’ ball carrier put the pigskin on the ground, where Kyle West would recover it. Motivated by the big play by West and the previous drive, the Dragons kept the ball rolling on this possession, putting together a four-play, fifty-six yard drive that ended on a twelve yard run by Brooks that gave the Dragons a 21-13 lead over the Knights with 5:28 still showing in the third period.

River Ridge’s offense then took to the field and began moving the ball at a rapid pace, overcoming a tough fourth down situation before eventually scoring on a one yard run by Spears that was then followed by a successful two point conversion to even the score at 21 apiece with just 11:55 left in regulation.

Teams are often defined by how they play when the game is on the line, so naturally this next drive for the Dragons would go a long way in showing how capable the team really is. Pickens did not disappoint, as the team drove down the field and eventually reached the Knights’ fourteen yard line on a fourteen yard run by Brooks, giving Pickens a fresh set of downs to work with.

The Dragons would find themselves in an incredibly difficult situation on the third play following the Brooks’ run, as Tanner Brumby would call his own number on a play that was stopped at the line of scrimmage and left the senior signal caller on the ground, grimacing in pain. With a fourth and fifteen play ahead of them, Dragons head coach Chris Parker inserted wide receiver/backup quarterback Marcus Byrd behind center, who promptly connected with Jake Dean on a beautiful twenty-one yard touchdown pass that helped Pickens regain the lead and push the score to 28-21 with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter.

Needing a big stop to maintain its handle on the game, Pickens was not disappointed by its defense, which bent a bit because of nice plays by River Ridge but eventually forced a punt after eleven plays, giving the Dragons the ball back with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. Although most in attendance simply assumed Pickens would milk the clock and leave River Ridge with very little time to work with, Brooks would have none of this concept, instead taking the carry on first and ten for a seventy-two yard touchdown to increase the Dragons’ lead to 35-21 with just 2:03 left in the game.

Attempting to make a miraculous comeback, the Knights attempted to utilize their two-minute offense, but an interception by Zack Hermann on fourth and seventeen ended these hopes. Once again, it looked like the Dragons would slowly take the remaining ticks off the game clock, but the Dragons’ running backs refused to settle; this time, it was Jake Coleman who got the job done on a forty-five yard run that resulted in another touchdown, making it a 42-21 game with just 0:42 left in the game. River Ridge did what it could to make some more plays late, but it was not enough, leading to a twenty-one point victory for the Dragons.

It is often said that the numbers never lie, but the final score of this contest truly does not show how competitive and close this game was for the better part of four quarters. In the end, the Dragons outgained the Knights by the margin of 483 (411 rushing yards and 72 passing yards) to 342 (289 rushing yards and 53 passing yards). Both teams also traded turnovers at different times in the game, and in the end the Dragons had two turnovers while the Knights coughed the ball up three times.

Tanner Brumby overcame the interception before the half and the painful hits to have a solid game, completing four passes for 51 yards. Brumby also had eleven carries for 80 yards and one touchdown.

Shannon Brooks has hovered around the tenth spot in the rushing leaders in the state of Georgia this season, and he showed how he deserves being mentioned with the best of the best in this victory, taking twenty-five carries for 276 yards–giving him 11 yards per carry–and three touchdowns. Brooks also reeled in two catches for eighteen yards.

Jake Dean may have only had one reception in this contest, but it was both crucial for the Dragons’ chances in getting the victory and impressive in its execution, providing Pickens with what it needed to close out the game.

Dragons head coach Chris Parker made his feelings on his team’s play apparent following the victory, saying

“We don’t quit. We play forty-eight minutes, and we have most of the season…Tonight, we got a few breaks in the second half, but honestly we struggled in the first half because River Ridge is good; they’re probably the best team in America with their record (the Knights are now 1-8).”

A successful season often coincides with record-breaking performances, and last night several school records were broken thanks to great play by the Dragons. Among these records were rushing yards in a season, which is now held by Shannon Brooks with 1,529 yards; tackles in a career, which is now held by Thomas Howard with 383 tackles; and points in a season, which has surpassed last year’s 279 mark and is currently situated at 282 points.

The Pickens Dragons are now 6-3 on the season, which guarantees the team its first winning season since 2006. While this accomplishment is certainly one to be celebrated, the Dragons are not done yet, as they have a chance to go to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. In order to make the most of this opportunity, the team must win its play-in game this Saturday, which will be against the Northwest Whitfield Bruins at Pickens High School on Friday, November 8th. The Bruins are currently 8-1 this season and will be fresh off of a 77-0 victory over the Lafayette Ramblers. Northwest Whitfield and Pickens met earlier this year in a game that the Bruins ultimately won 25-13.

Coach Parker was candid concerning this upcoming matchup, stating that

“[The game] is at our place, and it’s a big game. Last year we were in a similar situation, and we lost this game to River Ridge and then played terrible in the play-in game (a 42-0 loss to the Dalton Catamounts). We wanted to avenge this game because it was important to us as a program, and it’s important that we compete with Northwest Whitfield and make sure we give ourselves a chance to get in the playoffs. Every year I have ever coached we have been in a tenth game that mattered, but that’s not good enough: you want to win one of them. It says a lot about our program that every single year we are playing games that matter and I’m looking forward to the opportunity this week.”

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