Dragons stay ahead in final tune-up before season opener

From Staff Reports

The Pepperell Dragons celebrated some progress on the football field on the night of Aug. 19, but they also got a better idea of how to approach the 2016 season.

Facing Cass in its sec- ond of two preseason scrimmages, Pepperell shook off a steady rain in the first half and flexed its defensive muscle as it kept the visiting Colonels out of the end zone.

“I thought we played hard and I told them any time you play hard you’ve got a chance,” Pepperell coach Rick Hurst said. “Everyone was really busting their tails out here. I like what I see in terms of our effort. It’s just how we execute right now, and that’s going to be the key going forward.”

Quarterback Trevor Thomas was 7- of- 11 passing for 80 yards in the first half — when each team played its starters — and completed a 12-yard pass to Tae Hammond on the Dragons’ second posses- sion that led to a touchdown.

Pepperell’s Hunter Chastain was the workhorse at running back for the Dragons’ first team, getting eight carries for 21 yards and getting in the end zone on a four-yard run with 1:35 left in the first quarter.

Cass was able to break free for some extended possessions in the second quarter, but Pepperell’s defense was able to end any hope of its offense completing its goal. Braden Adams and Tae Hammond led a tough Dragon linebacking corps.

The Colonels went for it on fourth-and-long on their final two possessions before halftime only to have passes go incomplete.

“I think we played a little bit better defensively tonight than we did last week, but it was a little bit cooler and it wasn’t 100 degrees out here like it was at Paulding,” Hurst said.

Pepperell’s decision to have two preseason scrimmages this season was something different for a team around Floyd County, but Hurst admitted that even with double the normal practice games they still had