Dragons fall apart in fourth quarter
♦ Temple outscores Pepperell 20-0 in final 12 minutes to complete comeback effort.
The Pepperell Dragons looked to be in prime position to move back to .500, but the Temple Tigers had other plans in mind. Temple (3-2) scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to best Pepperell (1-3) 34-20 at Temple High School Friday.
The game stayed scoreless through about the first 16 minutes until Temple opened the scoring on a 2- yard rushing score by Phillip Johnson.
About six minutes later, Pepperell senior Tray Robinson took it in from 23 yards out. At halftime, the score was knotted at 7-7.
Pepperell captured the lead for the first time Friday evening when sophomore running back DJ Rogers scampered for a
46-yard touchdown to give the Dragons a 14-7 edge.
Minutes later, Johnson would find his touch with the passing game, completing a 53- yard strike to Malachi Ackles to tie the game at 14-14.
Rogers proved hungry for another one and the back-andforth swing continued as the speedster cruised 70 yards to the end zone.
After 36 minutes, Pepperell maintained the advantage 21- 14.
But the wheels came undone in the final 10 minutes as the Tigers put up three touchdowns to complete the comeback.
A 1-yard rushing touchdown, a pick six and a final 49- yard dash sealed Pepperell’s fate. At 28-21, the Dragons elected to try a field goal, but the kick was no good.
Pepperell returns to Lindale to prepare for Region 7-AA competition from here on out. First up is Dade County on Friday, Oct. 9, at Dragon Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.