Dragons rise up
Pepperell outscores Pickens 14-7 in the fourth quarter for a hard-fought win. Pepperell 39, Pickens County 28
It may not have been at Dragon Stadium, but the Pepperell football team certainly found a way to light a fire in its game on Friday night.
Trailing 21-18 at halftime, Pepperell roared to life on defense in the final two quarters against Pickens in a non-region contest and found the right mix on offense to pull out a 39-28 win at Berry College’s Valhalla stadium.
The game was moved from Pepperell High School because of improvements to the school’s football field. It’s the first win of the season for the Dragons, and one that included both familiar and new players going up against the best the Class 4A team had to offer.
“We just had so many guys play for the first time in a varsity contest, and the way they performed tonight I was very, very proud of them,” Pepperell head coach Rick Hurst said. “When you’ve got those kinds of guys playing and stepping up, that says a lot about their character and how they prepare each week.”
Chris Barner emerged as the breakout player for the Dragons. With Tae Hammond sitting out the game, the junior running back had 15 carries for 54 yards and scored the first four Pepperell touchdowns.
“He’s been saying all along, ‘Coach, give me the ball,’ and tonight he did a good job,” Hurst said. “We’ve got to get it to him more often. I’m just proud of him stepping in tonight.”
Senior quarterback Trevor Thomas passed for 146 yards and ran for another 51 yards and a touchdown. Connor Chandler and Josh Ross each came up with an interception.
Sophomore receiver Payton Rhodes had four catches for 101 yards, two of which came during scoring drives in third-and-long situations.
Pickens, which scored on its first three possessions, scored just once in the second half as Pepperell’s defense found a pass rush combination that eventually led to the visiting Dragons going 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions in the final two quarters.
“We just kept telling those guys to keep believing and doing what they were doing in the first half,” Hurst said. “They just got tremendous pass rush. And obviously when you’ve got pass rush, then it becomes a little cloudy in the back half and we played very well back there.”
Pepperell (1-1) opened the second half with a frantic 52-yard drive capped off with a 5-yard touchdown run by Barner that saw him push his way backward across the goal line.
Pickens (1-1) appeared to pick up where it left off before halftime by moving the ball down the field and inside the Pepperell 10. But it stalled out and Pickens quarterback Jacob Brumby was stopped for a 1-yard gain on fourthand-2 to force the turnover.
The Dragons then went 95-yards in 10 plays, the last of which was a 4-yard run by Barner for a score. Kicker Ramiro Alanis made the extra point and Pepperell took a 32-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Pickens managed to score on a pass play about three minutes later to get within four of the Dragons, but Pepperell’s Cade Thompson held Brumby back on a run on fourth-and-5 on its next possession to get another turnover on downs.
Chandler ran for 17 yards on fourthand-4 of the ensuing drive, and Thomas capped it off with a 7-yard touchdown run with 3:14 left to seal the win.
Pepperell is scheduled to host Cedartown next Friday.