The PHS varsity football team were finally back home after nearly a month on the road as they welcomed the Chamblee Bulldogs to Dragons Stadium for their final non-region game of the season. After falling in back to back tough games on the road, the Dragons looked to get back on the right track heading into next week.

The first quarter, was one of a coaches worst nightmares. Turnovers. In total, the two teams combined to turn the ball over 5 times in a sloppy start to this one.

Pickens forced two of those turnovers with a fumble recovery by Alex Snelgrove and an interception by Tucker Lowe. The Dragon defense forced a safety at the 9:25 mark of the 1st quar

ter, giving Pickens a 2-0 lead. With 30 seconds left in the quarter, the Bulldogs connected with a 22-yd field goal, to give them a 3-2 lead, going to the 2nd quarter.

58 seconds into the 2nd quarter, the Dragons retook the lead after a 30-yd touchdown pass from CJ Streicher (who was named Mr. PHS prior to the game) to Snelgrove. The PAT was good and Pickens took a 9-3 lead with 11:02 left in the first half. Soon after that, Tucker Lowe collected his 2nd interception of the first half. Pickens later added to their lead when Jarod Whitmore scampered 28-yds for the touchdown, giving the Dragons a 16-3 lead over Chamblee at the half.

The third quarter, saw an explosion of offense from the Dragons. The first of three 3rd quarter scores came after Streicher lobbed it up for Mykel Hand from 27-yds out & Hand came down with it after a one handed leaping grab to give Pickens the 23-3 lead over the Bulldogs with 7:52 left in the quarter. At the 5:12 mark, Whitmore scored his 2nd rushing touchdown of the night, this time from 35-yds out, to make it 30-3 Dragons. The 3rd and final score of the quarter came at the 1:36 mark when Streicher made some nifty moves to get in from 17-yds out. Dragons held a 37-3 lead over Chamblee, going to the 4th and final quarter.

The 4th quarter saw a lot of backups and younger players get into the ball game to get some much valued varsity experience. After a long run by backup QB TC Jarrett, Andrew Burrell was able to take it in from 19-yds out, giving the Dragons a 44-3 lead. Your final score from Dragons Stadium, Pickens 44 Chamblee 3.

With the win, the Dragons improve their record to 2-2. But next week, the real fun starts. Region play. Pickens, will start region play next week on the road against their friends from the north, the Gilmer Bobcats. Both teams will come into this game with identical 2-2 records and looking to start region play off on the right foot. Game time is set for 7:30 in Ellijay.