Dragons even region record on senior night
Sports, Team FYN Sports December 12, 2020
Jasper, Ga — Looking to bounce back after a tough loss in the final seconds to the Heritage Generals on Tuesday, the Pickens Dragons hosted the Ridgeland Panthers inside the Dragons Den for another 7-AAAA showdown on Friday December, 11th. The Dragons came into the game 2-2 overall and 0-1 in region play. The Panthers came in 1-3 overall and 0-2 in region play. After a back and forth battle, the Dragons came away with a 67-53 win.
Both teams traded buckets for the majority of the first quarter. Pickens opened up a 16-7 to lead at one point the quarter. Going to the second quarter, the Dragons held an 18-10 advantage over Ridgeland.
Junior Luke Rogers with an early bucket
In the second quarter, the Dragons were able to open things up a bit offensively, extending the lead over the Panthers to 17 at one point. Going into the break, Pickens lead Ridgeland 41-25.
Dragons on defense against Ridgeland
The third quarter was pretty even as far as scoring goes. Both the Dragons and the Panthers added 16 points each in the third. While Ridgeland cut the Pickens lead to 9 for a bit, the Dragons were able to extend it by quarters end and take a 57-41 lead over the Panthers going to the fourth.
Tucker Lowe had 19 to lead the Dragons
In the fourth quarter, the Dragons built up their lead to 20 points on two different occasions. Pickens, closed this one out and picked up their first region win of the season, 67-53.
Dragons leading scorers:
Tucker Lowe: 19 points
Noah Sutton: 15 points
Owen Moss: 10 points
Luke Rogers: 6 points
Kadyn Hampton: 6 points
Nettes continue winning ways on senior night
Sports, Team FYN Sports December 12, 2020
Jasper, Ga — The PHS Dragonettes hosted the Ridgeland Lady Panthers on Friday, December 11th in another 7-AAAA meeting. With the uncertainty surrounding the rest of the season, this night was deemed Senior Night that way the players from the Nettes and Dragons, as well as the cheer and dance teams could be recognized. The Nettes, came into the game after a big region win over the Heritage Lady Generals on Tuesday, and looked to improve their region record to 3-0 and the their overall record to 4-2. Ridgeland, came in 1-3 overall, and 0-2 in region play.
The first quarter started off slow for both teams. Plenty of shots were going up, just none would fall for either side. Reagan Harwood got the scoring started for the Nettes as she was able to connect on a layup attempt. Amanda Nelson then followed with a couple of free throws. Towards the end of the quarter Pickens saw shots start falling more consistently. Harwood got another bucket, Emma Gleason and Cassidy Richards hit back to back three pointers, and Nelson made a bucket to give the Nettes a 15-0 lead over the Lady Panthers after the first quarter.
Nettes running an in-bounds play
To begin the second quarter, the Nettes went on a 16-0 run. The Lady Panthers would end their string of bad luck with a three pointer, and a jump shot. The offense was on fire for Pickens in the second quarter scoring 35 points. Senior Kealy Hillhouse lead the way with several three pointers during the quarter. Heading into halftime, the Nettes held a 50-5 lead over Ridgeland.
The Nettes would score 35 points in the second quarter
In the third quarter, the Nettes got multiple players involved in the scoring as they continued to lead the Lady Panthers going to the fourth, 65-7.
The Nettes defense was again very good
In the fourth quarter, the Nettes closed things out and picked up their third straight win overall and in the region with a 78-7 win over the Ridgeland Lady Panthers.
Nettes scoring leaders:
Kealy Hillhouse: 19 points
Amanda Nelson: 14 points
Reagan Harwood: 10 points
Cassidy Richards: 9 points
Emma Gleason: 9 points
7-AAAA Girls Basketball Standings:
Pickens: 4-2 (3-0)
Cedartown: 2-0 (1-0)
Northwest Whitfield: 1-2 (1-0)
Heritage: 4-3 (2-1)
Central-Carroll: 3-4 (1-1)
Ridgeland: 1-4 (0-3)
Southeast Whitfield: 0-5 (0-3)
Dragons fall in tough region battle
Sports, Team FYN Sports November 14, 2020
Jasper, Ga — The Pickens Dragons hosted the Heritage Generals on Friday the 13th in a big time 7-AAAA game. It was also Senior Night at Dragons Stadium as football players, football managers, cheerleaders, cross country runners, and band members were all recognized. The games with Heritage have been historically close and exciting ones over the past couple of seasons. The winner, would find themselves in 2nd place in the region. The Generals, were able to make some plays defensively and chew up the clock to come away with a 23-7 win.
The Dragons won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. Much like last week against Ridgeland, Pickens came out in their “wild Dragon” formation. Their take on the wildcat. The combination of Jarod Whitmore, Andrew Burrell, and Kadyn Hampton helped march down the field. With freshman Sam Streicher now under center, the Dragons converted a 4th down play as Streicher found Mykel Hand for the first. The drive was capped off by Devin Hand, who took the hand off on a sweep 11-yds for the touchdown. The PAT was good, and Pickens led Heritage 7-0 as we would head to the second quarter.
The Dragons would score on their first possession
In the second quarter, both teams had their chances, but for the majority of the quarter the score remained 7-0 Dragons. The final seventy-one seconds of the first half is where things started to happen. The Generals got on the board for the first time with a 3-yd touchdown run to tie it at 7-7 with 1:11 left in the half. On the first play of the next possession for Pickens, Heritage recovered a fumble after a nice run from the Dragons. With 8 seconds left in the first half, Heritage turned that fumble into points with a 6-yd touchdown pass. Going into the break, the Generals led, 14-7.
Dragons defense looking to stop the Generals run
In the third quarter, Heritage got the ball first to start the second half. The drive ended when Senior Mykel Hand made a leaping grab for the interception at the Dragons 9-yd line. The ensuing drive for Pickens stalled and they would be forced to punt. A high snap forced Whitmore to throw the ball away as he was being pulled down in the end zone. The officials ruled it intentional grounding and since it occurred in the end zone, it was ruled a safety. With 6:39 to go in the third, the Generals now led the Dragons, 16-7. Heritage ran down 5:39 of game clock on their next possession as they were able to score on a 1-yd run on fourth down to make it 23-7 going to the fourth quarter.
Kellogg finds Devin Hand on a screen play
The Dragons began the fourth quarter with the football, but couldn’t get anything going on the drive. After punting it away to the Generals, Heritage kept possession of the ball for what seemed like close to 10 minutes of game time. The Generals would eventually settle for a 36-yd field goal attempt, but it was pushed wide right and no good. On the next play, Heritage picked off a Pickens pass attempt and were able to take a couple of knees to close this one out. Final score, Heritage 23 Dragons 7.
7-AAAA Standings:
Cedartown: 6-2 (4-0) 7-AAAA Region Champions
Heritage: 5-4 (2-2)
Central-Carroll: 5-3 (1-2)
Northwest Whitfield: 6-2 (1-2)
Pickens: 3-5 (1-2)
Ridgeland: 1-7 (1-2)
*(these may not be entirely accurate as maxpreps has the whole region screwed up and with covid cancellations things are pretty complicated. I’ve been trying to keep up with it myself. Apologies if these records are not all right)
Next week, the Dragons will be right back home for the third straight week to close out the regular season as they welcome the Northwest Whitfield Bruins to Dragons Stadium. Playoff implications will most likely be at stake in this game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm.