Last night, the PHS Dragons football team traveled to Tunnel Hill to take on the Bruins of Northwest Whitfield in a 6-AAAA meeting. This was the 6th meeting between the two schools with the Bruins holding a 1-4 series advantage.

The Dragons won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. After driving down the field, Jacob Brumby found Zach Goss for a 29-yd score. The PAT was missed, giving Pickens the 6-0 lead with 9:57 left in the opening quarter. The Bruins got into field goal range during their first drive, looking to cut the Pickens lead in half. The Dragons were able to block the attempt, and Michael Casey took it to the house to extend the lead to 13-0 with 7:23 left in the opening frame.

23 seconds later, Northwest Whitfield got on the board with a 54-yd td run. The two point conversion was good, cutting the Dragons lead to 13-8 with 7:00 left in the 1st. Two minutes later, the Bruins took the lead after an 80-yd td run, giving them a 15-13 advantage over Pickens going to the 2nd quarter.

Dylan Huffman scored after a 23-yd run and the ensuing two-point conversion try was good, giving the Dragons a 21-15 lead with 10:11 left in the half. Northwest Whitfield took the lead back at the 8:28 mark of the 2nd quarter after a 3-yd run, making it 22-21. The Bruins extended their lead after a 30-yd td pass at the 7:27 mark, giving them a 29-21 lead. Northwest Whitfield again found the end zone again after a 33-yd td pass at the 5:46 mark, making it 36-21 Bruins. Pickens cut into the lead just before halftime after a 1-yd run from Huffman. The score at the break, was 36-28 Bruins.

The Dragons surprised Northwest Whitfield with an onside kick to start the 2nd half as Pickens would recover, setting themselves up with great field position. The Dragons capitalized on the recovered onside when Brumby found CJ Streicher in the back of the end zone for a 25-yd score at the 8:16 mark of the 3rd. The two-point try was unsuccessful, making the score 36-34. The Bruins again stretched their lead after a 32-yd td pass, making it 43-34 as we went to the 4th.

Pickens cut the Bruins lead to 43-41 after a 15-yd run from Kelton Gilbert at the 8:31 mark of the 4th. At the 3:01 mark, Northwest Whitfield extended their lead to 50-41 after a 1-yd td run. The Bruins were able to hold on and get the win over the Dragons, 50-41.

Stats for Pickens:

15 1st downs, 10-17 on 3rd down, 1-2 on 4th down, 355 total yards on 68 plays, 159 yards rushing, 196 yards passing

Jacob Brumby went 16-28 for 192 yards & 2 tds & CJ Streicher went 1-1 for 4 yards

Chris Pittman ran it 14 times for 67 yards, Dylan Huffman ran it 8 times for 36 yards & 2 tds, Kelton Gilbert ran it 2 times for 29 yards and 1 td, & Josh Cain ran it 1 time for 11 yards

Zach Goss caught 8 passes for 79 yards & 1 td, C.J. Streicher caught 2 passes for 48 yards & 1 td, Luke Smith caught 1 pass for 23 yards, Huffman caught 2 passes for 16 yards, C. Pittman caught 1 pass for 14 yards, J. Cain caught 2 passes for 11 yards, & Trevon Hawkins caught 1 pass for 5 yards

Alex Pittman had 12 tackles, 2 TFL, Michael Burrell had 8 tackles, 1 forced fumble, Jordan Burton with 8 tackles, 1 TFL, & 1 sack, Michael Casey, Jacob Gordon, & Will Wotring had 7 tackles each

C. Pittman punted it 5 times for 207 yards. A 41.4 yard average, Huffman had 2 punt returns for 24 yards & 3 kick returns for 24 yards, & Gilbert had 2 kick returns for 56 yards

Victor Moya went 3-3 on PAT

Next Friday, the Dragons return home to host the 4A top ten ranked Ridgeland Panthers. The Panthers are 6-0 & 3-0 in 6-AAAA while Pickens is 3-4 & in 3rd in 6-AAAA at 2-1. The series is tied between the two schools at 2-2, with the away team winning each game. Kickoff is at 7:30.