Dragons Finish Fourth In Region, Play Jefferson In State Playoffs

This past Friday, the PHS football team hosted the Generals of Heritage in a big 6-AAAA region matchup. A win for the Dragons would give them a share of the region title, and the #3 seed as determined by a tie-breaker. It was also a special night as they recognized all the seniors from players, managers, cheerleaders, & band members before the ball game.

 

Heritage won the toss and elected to receive to have a crack at the 1st points. After each team traded possessions, The Generals got on the board first with a 17-yd td pass at the 4:52 mark to lead it 7-0. The Dragons found their way into the end zone at the 2:55 mark after a 3-yd run from C.J. Streicher, tying things up at 7 as we went to the 2nd quarter.

 

Heritage took the lead back at the 10:19 mark after an 8-yd td pass, making it 14-7 Generals. Pickens answered when Streicher found pay dirt for a 2nd time, this one coming after an 8-yd run at the 6:15 mark to once again tie things up at 14. An interception by the Generals led to a 65-yd td pass at the 4:01 mark giving Heritage a lead of 21-14 as we hit halftime.

 

In the 3rd, Heritage added to their lead with a 7-yd td run at the 5:43 mark, making it 28-14 Generals. The Dragons were able to counter with a 3-yd td run from senior Chris Pittman at the 1:44 mark to cut the Heritage lead in half, 28-21. The Generals however were able to stretch the lead out once again just before the end of the 3rd with a 13-yd td run. Giving Heritage a 35-21 advantage going to the 4th.

 

The Generals again added to their lead with a 44-yd td pass at the 10:19 mark, making it 41-21 after a missed PAT. An interception returned for a td at the 8:18 mark gave Heritage a 48-21 lead. Dylan Huffman found the end zone for the Dragons at the 6:14 mark making it 48-28 Heritage. Pickens again scored late in the 4th after a 9-yd td pass from Jacob Brumby to Trevon Hawkins gave us a final of 48-35, Heritage.

 

Stats for the game:

 

Pickens had 17 1st downs, went 5/10 on 3rd down, & 1/1 on 4th down, 371 yards on 63 plays, 115 yards rushing & 256 yards passing

Jacob Brumby went 19-28 for 231 yards 1 td

Trevon Hawkins went 1-1 for 25 yards

Chris Pittman ran it 16 times for 53 yards & 1 td, Dylan Huffman ran it 7 times for 30 yards & 1 td, C.J. Streicher ran it 4 times for 15 yards & 2 tds, Brumby ran it 5 times for 13 yards, & Josh Cain ran it 1 time for 4 yards

C. Pittman caught 3 passes for 65 yards, Elijah Lawson caught 3 passes for 43 yards, Zach Goss caught 4 passes for 40 yards, J. Cain caught 3 passes for 34 yards, D. Huffman caught 2 passes for 31 yards, Colby McDowell caught 1 pass for 22 yards, T. Hawkins caught 3 passes for 18 yards & 1 td, & Streicher caught 1 pass for 3 yards

Defensively, Michael Burrell & Kelton Gilbert each had 6 tackles, Nick Southern, Jordan Burton, & Alex Pittman each had 5 tackles, A. Pittman added a sack, Devin Grant & Streicher each had 4 tackles, T. Hawkins, Jacob Gordon, & Michael Coriell each had 3 tackles

C. Pittman punted it 3 times for a 118 yards, a 39.3 yard average with a long of 47

T. Hawkins returned 3 kickoffs for 109 yards, a 36.3 yard average with a long of 73, D. Huffman returned 3 kickoffs for 32 yards, K. Gilbert returned 1 kick for 28 yards, J. Cain returned 1 kick for 18 yards

Rudy Perez & Victor Moya combined to go 5/5 on PAT attempts. Perez went 4/4, Moya 1/1

 

Next week, the GHSA 4A state football playoffs begin and Pickens will be on the road taking on the #1 seed out of region 8, the Jefferson Dragons. Jefferson is 9-1 on the season and finished 5-0 in region 8. Kickoff is set for 7:30