Rockmart Lady Jackets swing for the fences in round 1 of playoffs

Control over 7-AA football was decided in the second half as Pepperell made a comeback over Rockmart and won 31-10 and took first place in the region.

The Dragons (5-1-1, 4-0 7-AA) got rolling in the second half and scored four unanswered touchdowns, with three of those coming in the third quarter alone as Pepperell won its Homecoming game.

Dragons head coach Rick Hurst said that his team needed a real pep talk at halftime to get them back into the game, and it was one that worked.

“I told them that if they were satisfied, I was too,” Hurst said. “And they weren’t. All of them said ‘Coach, we’re not satisfied.’ And we’re going to take this thing further, week after week.”

Turnovers hurt Rockmart in the second half as the Jackets lost the ball three times on interceptions thrown by quarterback Dylan Bailey compared to the one put up by Pepperell’s Trevor Thomas, which came in the second half.

Pepperell’s final score of the night came following the last Dragon pick by Jake Ross. Darien

Pasley drove in the 3-yard run into the end zone to cap off the night for the Dragons (5-1, 4-0).

The Dragons ended the night with 369 yards of offense compared to the 183.5 yards for the Jackets.

Rockmart head coach Biff Parson said the Jackets struggled on offense, especially in the second half.

“We put the defense in a bad position offensively with what we were doing,” he said. “Our defensive staff did a great job of put- ting together a game plan.”

Rockmart (5-2, 3-1 Region 7-AA) drew first blood on a 15-yard pass between Markus Smith and J.J. Jones in the first quarter, and kept the lead through the first half after Pepperell was only able to kick a 37-yard field goal to stay in the game.

The Yellow Jackets scored first again, and for the last time in the game, as they opened the third quarter driving down the field to put a 25-yard kick through the uprights to take a 10-3 lead.

The momentum of the game changed when Marquedon Watkins ran for a 47-yard kickoff return on the next play, which set up a short drive that was capped off by a Tae Hammond touchdown run into the end zone from a yard out.

A defensive stand and short drive later, and Thomas connected with Watkins for a 34-yard touchdown, followed by a Camron Miles touchdown on the next series off a 15-yard run.

Pepperell will host Dade County next Friday, while Rockmart is back on the road to take on Coosa.

Rockmart’s offense struggled to gain yardage against the Pepperell defense on Oct. 14.

Top: Morgan Sims ran into a wall of Pepperell defenders most of the night on Oct. 14. Above: D’Lante McClain also found himself struggling to find gaps within the Pepperell defensive line, who played tough through four quarters.