Dragons drop opener to Patriots

There were big questions surrounding coach Rick Hurst entering his first game as head coach for the Pepperell football team. As he left the field, it was only the little things Hurst could think about.

“I thought we played great for a half, and I thought we played great for most of the half, but it comes down to the little things,” Hurst said. “A missed block here and a dropped pass here. That’s the difference in the ballgame.”

Pepperell came out strong and controlled the first half, but the offense was stymied in the final two quarters and Paulding County completed a 15-point comeback to defeat the Dragons, 28-21, Friday night at Dragon Stadium.

Patriots quarterback Marquis Tre’von Lewis ran for a 31-yard touchdown and completed a two-point conversion early in the fourth to even the score at 21, and then a 70-yard punt return touchdown by Dionte’ Ruffin with 7:28 left proved to be the winning score for Paulding.

The first and second halves could not have been more different, as a steady Pepperell run game suddenly ran out of lanes and a Patriots offense was able to come up with its biggest plays in crunch time.

The Pepperell defense got the scoring going in the game, as Lewis was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the Patriots’ second possession. The score came after a punt inside the 10 and a false start to begin the drive. Meanwhile, the Dragons’ offense relied on senior running back Devyn Collins, who tallied 153 total yards and two rushing touchdowns, both in the first half. Fellow back Tae Hammond chipped in 65 total yards and another score, as the two helped the team maintain possession.

The Patriots’ offense, which scored more than 60 points last week against Clarke County, was held to six through two quarters.