Dragons drop heart breaker in season finale
PHS Football, Team FYN Sports November 2, 2024
Jasper, Ga – It was a foggy night in Jasper on Friday, November 1st as the Pickens Dragons took on the Lumpkin County Indians. The Dragons, needed at least a win and some help from GAC to get into the playoffs. A win for the Indians, coupled with a GAC loss, would move them up to the #2 seed in 6-AAA. In a game that was back and forth throughout, it came down to the final possession. The Indians, would hold on for a 29-26 win.
The Indians, got the ball first to begin the ball game. The Dragons, were able to get a stop to get the ball to the offense. As the Dragons were approaching mid-field on their opening possession, the Indians were able to force a fumble and recover it. The Indians, would take advantage of the turnover as Nolan Matthews would run it in from 42-yards out. The PAT was good and with 6:45 left in the first quarter, Lumpkin led Pickens, 7-0.
The Dragons, responded with a scoring drive of their own as Hayden Jones scored a 4-yd TD run. The PAT was good and as they headed to the second quarter, Pickens and Lumpkin were tied at 7.
The Indians, were able to retake the lead at the 7:47 mark of the second quarter as Ga Tech WR commit Cal Faulkner, would jump into the end zone after a 4-yd TD run. The PAT was good and Lumpkin led Pickens, 14-7. The Indians, would add to their lead as Matthews would break through for a 47-yd TD. The PAT was good and with 4:24 left in the first half, Lumpkin led Pickens, 21-7.
The Dragons, knew they needed an answer prior to halftime and they got it as Jones found Ike Wyngaard streaking down the middle of the field and connected for a 35-yd TD. The PAT attempt would be blocked. Heading into the half, Lumpkin led Pickens, 21-13.
Like the Indians earlier, the Dragons were able to force and recover a fumble. They would be able to convert that turnover into points as Jones found Sam Hammontree for a 14-yd TD. The PAT was good and the Indians lead was cut down to 21-20. The Dragons defense, would force and recover another fumble on the Indians next possession. Heading to the fourth, the Indians were clinging to a 21-20 lead.
The Dragons, again cashed in on the turnover as Jones reached the ball over the goal line for a 1-yd TD. The Indians, would claim that he lost the ball before scoring, but the side judge signaled touchdown and that call would stand. Pickens, would go for two, but would not convert. With 8:24 left in the game, the Dragons now led the Indians, 26-21. Later on in the fourth, the Indians were looking to retake the lead.
Faulkner, would find Mason Hester down the sideline for a 59-yd TD. The Indians, would then go for two as a reverse pass to Faulkner connected. With 4:56 left in the game, Lumpkin led Pickens, 29-26. The Dragons were looking to drive down the field for a potential game winning score. The Indians, were able to pick off a pass attempt and give the ball back to their offense.
Faulkner, would be able to convert on 3rd and short to seal the win for the Indians as they took this one, 29-26.
Final 6-AAA Standings:
North Hall: 8-2 (7-0)
Lumpkin: 7-3 (5-2)
Chestatee: 5-5 (4-3)
GAC: 4-6 (4-3)
Pickens: 5-5 (3-4)
Dawson: 4-6 (3-4)
White County: 3-7 (2-5)
Johnson, Gainesville: 0-10 (0-7)
Dragons set to battle Bobcats for 7-AAA Championship
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports February 16, 2024
Dahlonega, Ga — A trip to the 7-AAA Region Championship was up for grabs as the Pickens Dragons took on the Lumpkin Indians on Thursday, February 15th. The Dragons, defeated Lumpkin in both match ups in the regular season. Defeating a team three times in one season is a tough feat, but the Dragons were able to get by the Indians, 51-35.
The Indians, started off hot offensively to begin the ball game as Cal Faulkner would hit back to back threes to put them up 6-0 early on. The Dragons, would answer with an 8-0 run as both Dodge and Parker Davis, as well as Caleb Lanford helped give Pickens its first lead of the night. Stephen Sherrill, ended the Dragons run with a three to put the Indians ahead, 9-8.
Lanford and McCord Purdy would hit back to back threes to put the Dragons on top, 14-9. A layup by Faulkner would end the first quarter as the Dragons would take a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.
The Dragons, began the second quarter by going on a 9-0 run as Dodge Davis, Lanford, and Purdy all contributed to the run to put Pickens up, 23-11. The Indians, responded with a 7-0 run as Landon Pierce hit a three, and Faulkner and Preston Cox made back to back baskets to cut the lead to 23-18. Parker Davis, would then go on a 4-0 run to stretch the lead back out to 27-18.
Faulkner and Purdy would trade buckets to end the first half as the Dragons would go into the locker room with a 29-20 lead.
The second half scoring started with a 5-0 run by Dodge Davis to make it 34-20 Dragons. A three by T.J. Gaddis would end the run and cut the lead to 34-23. Both teams would then trade baskets to end the third quarter as Hayden Jones would get into the score book with a layup, Faulkner would add to his total, and Nathan Wallace would score on a layup to make it 38-26 Dragons going to the fourth.
Parker Davis and Purdy would split free throws to make it 40-26 to begin the fourth quarter. A bucket by Sherrill would cut the lead back to 12. A three by Lanford and a pair of split free throws by the Davis Brothers would make it 45-28. A three by Faulkner would cut the lead down to 15. After Purdy split a pair of free throws, Cox was able to make the layup and the free throw to cut the lead to 46-33.
A 5-0 run by Purdy and Lanford would extend the lead to 51-33. A late basket by Gaddis, would make it 51-35 as the Pickens Dragons would advance to the 7-AAA Region Championship game.
Scorers for the Dragons:
Dodge Davis: 14 points
Caleb Lanford: 14 points (4 threes)
McCord Purdy: 11 points
Parker Davis: 8 points
Hayden Jones: 2 points
Nathan Wallace: 2 points
The Dragons, will now turn their attention to the 7-AAA Region Championship game on Saturday, February 17th as they take on their 515 rivals, the Gilmer Bobcats. The Bobcats, defeated the Dawson Tigers 74-60 in the other region semifinal game to advance to Saturday. The Dragons and Bobcats split their regular season meetings with each team winning on their home floor. Tip off is set for 7:30 pm.
Dragons hit 18 threes in road win at Lumpkin
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports January 31, 2024
Dahlonega, Ga — The Pickens Dragons, made the trek to Dahlonega on Tuesday, January 30th as they took on the Lumpkin County Indians in a battle of two of the hotter teams in 7-AAA. Coming into the game, the Dragons, were 15-6, 6-2 in 7-AAA, and winners of 7 out of their last 8. The Indians, were 11-11, 4-5 in 7-AAA, and winners of 8 out of their last 9. The Dragons, hit 17 threes during the game including 6 from freshman Jamin Martin en route to a 70-50 win.
The ball game started with Hayden Jones knocking down the first three of the night to make it 3-0. T.J. Gaddis, would cut the lead to 1 as he got his first shot to drop. A lay in by Parker Davis would put the Dragons back up by 3. Caleb Lanford, would follow with a pair of free throws and Dodge Davis would hit his first three of the game to make it 10-2. Gaddis, would cut the lead in half as he made the layup and the foul shot.
After a bucket by Parker Davis, Gaddis again answered with a basket to make it 12-7. The Davis brothers, would then hit back to back threes to make it 18-7. Cal Faulkner, would be the first Indian other than Gaddis to score as he made it 18-9 as they would go to the second quarter.
The Dragons, began the second quarter with a 5-0 run as Dodge Davis made a basket and Jones hit his 2nd three to make it 23-9. Gaddis, then completed his 2nd and-1 of the game as that made it 23-12. After a three by Jamin Martin, Faulkner would go on a 6-0 run to make it 26-18. The Dragons, would then go on a 10-0 run as Martin hit two more threes, Dodge Davis hit a three, and Montego Morgan split a pair of free throws to make it 36-18.
Jac Chambers, would end the run with a three to make it 36-21. Morgan, would connect on a three just before the end of the first half to put the Dragons up, 39-21 going to the break.
The second half began with the Indians going on a 7-0 run as Landon Pierce hit a three, then Preston Cox and Chambers made back to back buckets to cut the lead to 39-28. Martin, ended the run by sinking his 4th three of the game. Faulkner responded with a three of his own. Martin, came right back and nailed his 5th three. After another three by Pierce, Lanford and Martin made back to back threes to make it 51-34.
Faulkner and Pierce would end the third quarter by making back to back threes of their own to cut the Pickens lead down to 51-40 going to the fourth.
Gaddis, would start the fourth quarter by making a pair of free throws to cut the lead down to 51-42. Back to back threes by Lanford stretched the Dragons lead back out to 57-42. After a three by the Indians, the Dragons would go on a 9-0 run to make it 66-45. A bucket by Faulkner would end the run to make it 66-47. McCord Purdy, would then hit a three to make it 69-47.
After a three by Jackson Pulley, Lanford would split a pair of free throws to end the ball game as the Dragons came away with the 70-50 win.
Scorers for the Dragons:
Jamin Martin: 18 points (6 threes)
Caleb Lanford: 12 points (3 threes)
Dodge Davis: 11 points (3 threes)
Parker Davis: 11 points (1 three)
Hayden Jones: 8 points (2 threes)
McCord Purdy: 6 points (2 threes)
Montego Morgan: 4 points (1 three)
7-AAA Basketball Standings:
Gilmer: 15-7 (9-1)
Pickens: 16-6 (7-2)
Dawson: 13-9 (5-4)
Wesleyan: 9-13 (4-5)
Lumpkin: 11-12 (4-6)
White County: 6-16 (2-7)
West Hall: 5-16 (2-8)
The Dragons, will once again be on the road as they head to Cleveland, Ga on Friday, February 2nd to take on the White County Warriors. The Dragons, defeated the Warriors back on January 9th. Tip off set for 8:30.
Dragons defeat Indians; tied for third in 7-AAA
PHS Basketball, Team FYN Sports December 16, 2023
Jasper, Ga — In what was the final home game of the 2023 portion of the schedule, the Pickens Dragons took on the Lumpkin Indians on Friday, December 15th. The Dragons, came in winners of two straight, and were looking to jump to a tie for 3rd place in the region standings. The Indians, came in looking to put an end to a two game losing streak, and avoid an 0-4 start in region play. A big third quarter by the Dragons propelled them to an 81-50 win.
The Dragons, got off to a fast start in the first quarter as a 5-0 run by Dodge Davis gave Pickens an early 5-0 lead. Back to back three pointers from Landon Pierce, gave the Indians a 6-5 advantage. Preston Cox, would then split a pair of free throws to make it 7-5 Lumpkin. The Dragons, retook the lead after two free throws from Dodge Davis and a three pointer by Caleb Lanford. Dodge Davis, would give the Dragons a 12-9 lead heading to the second quarter after hitting two free throws.
The Dragons, would begin the second quarter with a 6-0 run as Hayden Jones and McCord Purdy both made baskets, and Dodge Davis hit two more free throws to make it 18-9. After Cal Faulkner and Purdy traded buckets, Faulkner and Cox combined for a 5-0 run to cut the Dragons lead to 20-16. The Dragons, would increase their lead to as much as 11 in the second quarter. They would take a 32-23 lead into the break.
Purdy, got the second half going with a three to make it 35-23. After a basket by T.J. Gaddis, Parker Davis hit a three to make it 38-25. Lanford, followed up with a pair of free throws to make it a 15 point game. The Dragons, would outscore the Indians 22-14 the rest of the way in the third. The third quarter was capped off by Jones hitting a half court buzzer beater to give Pickens a 62-39 lead going to the fourth.
The fourth quarter began with Faulkner making a bucket to hopefully jump start the Indians. Purdy and Parker Davis responded with back to back three pointers to make it 68-41. The Dragons, would out score the Indians 13-9 in the rest of the fourth as they picked up a big 81-50 win.
7-AAA Region Standings:
Gilmer: 7-2 (4-0)
Wesleyan: 6-5 (2-0)
Pickens: 6-4 (2-1)
West Hall: 3-6 (2-1)
Dawson: 5-4 (1-2)
White County: 3-8 (0-3)
Lumpkin: 2-9 (0-4)
The Dragons, will be on the road next week as they travel to Blue Ridge for three days of holiday tournament action starting on Tuesday, December 19th as they take on the Fannin Rebels. Tip scheduled for 8:30 pm.
Dragons drop region opener to Lumpkin
PHS Football, Team FYN Sports September 23, 2023
Jasper, Ga — 7-AAA region play began on Friday, September 22nd as the Pickens Dragons took on the Lumpkin County Indians. The Dragons, came into the game with a 1-3 record after a couple of tough games to close out their non-region schedule. The Indians, came into the game undefeated at 4-0 and ranked inside the top 10 in AAA in several polls. While the Dragons had several chances to make something happen, the Indians were able to pick up the win to begin region play, 49-14.
The Indians, won the toss and elected to receive to begin the ball game. The Indians, were able to drive down the field using mainly their run game. Their first drive ended after QB Cal Faulkner tossed a pop pass to Nolan Matthews on a sweep and he took it 18 yards for the touchdown. The PAT was good and with 9:04 left in the first quarter, the Indians led the Dragons, 7-0. The Indians, added to their lead after Mason Sullens scored on a 60-yd touchdown run to make it 14-0. Going to the second quarter, Lumpkin held a 14-0 lead over Pickens.
Dragons on defense in the 1st quarter
Nearly halfway into the second quarter, the Indians added to their lead with a 14-yd touchdown run by Faulkner. With 6:45 left in the first half, the Indians now led, 21-0. Sullens, punched in his 2nd touchdown of the night with a 3-yd run to give Lumpkin a 28-0 lead over Pickens heading into the break.
Sam Streicher dropping back for a pass
The Dragons, got the ball to start the second half. This drive, would be the most successful drive for the Dragons up to this point as QB Sam Streicher found WR McCord Purdy in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yd touchdown. the PAT from Charlie Gibbons was good and with 6:45 left in the third quarter, the Indians led the Dragons, 28-7. The Indians, were able to answer that score as Sullens scored his 3rd rushing touchdown of the game with another 3-yd run. Going to the fourth quarter, Lumpkin led Pickens, 35-7.
Dragons on offense in the second half
The Indians, opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter as Faulkner ran it in from 8-yds out for his 2nd rushing touchdown of the game to make it 42-7 Indians with 9:54 left in the game. Streicher and Purdy, connected for the second time in the game as Streicher found Purdy for a 53-yd touchdown. The PAT by Gibbons was good and with 8:58 left in the game, Lumpkin led Pickens, 42-14. The Indians, found the end zone one last time as Jackson Bell scored after a 2-yd run. The final in Jasper, Lumpkin 49 Pickens 14.
7-AAA Football Standings:
Lumpkin: 5-0 (1-0)
Wesleyan: 3-2 (1-0)
Dawson: 1-4 (1-0)
White Co.: 2-2 (0-0)
Gilmer: 3-2 (0-1)
Pickens: 1-4 (0-1)
West Hall: 1-4 (0-1)
The Dragons, will be on a bye week next week as they will have two weeks to get ready for the Dawson Tigers. That game will be at Dragons Stadium on Friday, October 6th. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.
North Georgia Week 6 Players of the Week
FYNTV, Sports, Team FYN Sports, TeamFYNSports September 27, 2022
Players of the week brought to you by:
As we wrap up Week 6, here are last weeks Players of the Week for their schools!
Chatooga- QB Quarry Gibson 95 total yards, 1 TD
The QB struggled a bit throwing the ball but he was able to connect with Trey Smith for the only Indians score of the game as well as leading the team in rushing yards averaging 6 YPC.
North Murray- Tyler Henry
Gilmer- RB Will Kiker 14 Car, 133 Yds, 9.5 YPC, 2 Tds, 243 all purpose yards, 6 Tot Tckls
Get to know the name. Kiker may be the best player in this region. He paired with Brock Titus and Hunter Watkins to combine for 339 rushing yards. The senior led the team in rushing yards and was tied for the team lead in rushing TDs while also making his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball.
Dawson- RB/LB Kade Moledor 6 Car, 71 Yds, 2 Tds, 7 Tot Tckls, 1 TFL
The captain of this Tigers team got it done again as he was able to pick up two rushing TDs in the first half, including one big 37 yard TD. He also notched 7 tackles which led the team as well as adding a TFL.
Lumpkin- WR Cal Faulkner 10 Rec, 209 Yds, 3 TDs, 5 Tot Tckls
Lumpkin dominated Pickens and Faulkner was a big reason why. His name was mentioned all night. He was Cooper Scott’s favorite target as he accounted for 79% of Scott’s passing yards.
Pickens- LB Kadyn Hampton 13 Tot Tckls, 2 QB hurries
Not a lot went the Dragons way on Friday night, but senior Kadyn Hampton had a solid performance leading the Dragons defense in tackles while also getting in the backfield a few times.
Fannin- QB Elijah Weaver 9/15, 215 Yds, 5 TDs
Talk about a good day, 5 TDs on 9 passes! Weaver showed up this last Friday leading the Rebels to a big shutout win over Gordon Central.