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October 21, 2010
PHS Football
Cats over Dragons 26-7
Photo by Debbie Roper
Dustin Nicholson takes a handoff up the middle against Gilmer County.
By Don Bryant
In one of the oldest rivalries in
Georgia high school football, the
Pickens Dragons and Gilmer
Bobcats squared off for the 53rd
meeting last Friday at Dragon
Stadium. Heading into this game,
the Bobcats led all time 31-21-1.
After winning last year, the ’Cats
made it two in a row last Friday
with a 26-7 over the Dragons.
The Dragons entered the
game at 2-4 and looked to snap a
four-game slide and hopefully
pick up their first sub-region win
of the season.
The Dragons came in the
game averaging 18 points per
game and giving up 25 points per
game. Although the Dragons
managed only one score in this
game, it was not about offense,
this game was a defensive battle
from both teams for most of the
game. With 3:00 to play, the
Dragons trailed 12-7 and it was
anyone’s game at that point, but
two late touchdowns by the Cats
sealed the Dragons’ fate as they
fell 26-7.
Throughout the season and in
cluding this game, the Dragons
have moved the ball effectively
at times but have been plagued
by stalled drives, turnovers and
missed opportunities.
The Dragons kicked off to the
’Cats to open the game. On the
opening kick, the Dragons recov
ered a fumble to begin posses
sion at the ’Cats’ 28-yard line.
After opening carries by Dustin
Nicholson and Jordan Shaw, the
Dragons came up fourth-and-
three and opted to go for it. Shaw
hit Daulton Reeves to the 20-
yard line. On second-and-10
from the 20, Shaw found Ryan
Neill in the end zone for the first
score of the evening. Titus Hen
derson made the point-after kick,
and the Dragons were on the
scoreboard 7-0 at the 9:47 mark.
The drive went 28 yards on six
plays.
Following the Dragons’ score,
the ’Cats began possession at
their own 23-yard line. After an
opening stop by Chase Mc-
Cowan and Frankie Sparks, the
Cats came up 2-and-7 at their 20-
yard line. A pitch to running back
Jacob Teague, who managed
somehow to escape several
Dragon tackles, raced 80 yards
up the sideline for the score. The
point-after kick by Lopez was
good, and the score was tied 7-7
at the 8:34 mark. The drive by
the Cats went 83 yards on two
plays with a time of 51 seconds.
The Dragons began their sec
ond possession of the quarter at
their own 35-yard line. Runs by
Nicholson, Shaw and Aaron Eu
banks moved the chains to the
47-yard line. A face mask penalty
against the Cats moved the ball
to the 45-yard line. This offen
sive series stalled and the Drag
ons were forced to punt at the
5:24 mark.
With good coverage by spe
cial teams, the Dragons downed
the ball at the Cats’ one-yard line.
A good defensive stand by the
Dragons led by McCowan,
Sparks and Lohman forced a
punt by the ’Cats with 3:15 to
play.
The Dragons began at the
’Cats’ 28-yard-line. Reeves ran
for a short gain, but the Dragons
came up third-and-long. An in
complete pass to Eubanks forced
the Dragons to punt as the quar
ter expired. The score remained
tied 7-7 after one.
For the first quarter, the Drag
ons had 57 total yards to the
’Cats’ 92. The Dragons had five
first downs and the ’Cats had
none.
The ’Cats began possession in
the second quarter at their own
14-yard line and kept possession
for most of the quarter with their
ball control offense. An 18-play
drive at the 2:55 mark led to a
34-yard field goal attempt, which
was no good. The Dragons’ red-
zone defense led by McCowan,
Sparks, Lohman, Matt Dillon
and Will Elrod kept the Cats out
of the end zone after the 18-play
drive.
After the good defensive
stand by the Dragons, they took
over and tried to establish their
running game with carries by
Shaw and Nicholson, but the
Dragons failed to convert on
third-and-long and were forced
to punt. The ’Cats took over deep
in their territory late in the quar
ter but failed to mount any kind
of drive. At the half, the score re
main tied 7-7.
The Dragons had 81 total
yards in the first half with six
first downs. The ’Cats had 143
total yards with six first downs.
When the third quarter began,
the Dragons had possession at
their own 40-yard line. On the
first play from scrimmage, Shaw
fumbled and the Cats recovered
at the Dragons’ 45-yard line. The
Dragons’ defense led by Nichol
son, Sparks and John Burmeister
shut down the ’Cats on first and
second downs. On third-and-
long, a pass completion moved
the ball to the Dragons’ 5-yard
line.
Again, the Dragons’ red-zone
defense led by Sparks, Nicholson
and McCowan, came up big and
kept the ’Cats out of the end
zone. The ’Cats settled for a 19-
yard field goal by Lopez at the
8:35 mark to go ahead 10-7
After the ’Cats’ score, the
Dragons began their second pos
session at their 30-yard line with
runs from Shaw, Nicholson and
Eubanks to move to the 48-yard
line for a new series of downs.
The Dragons picked up another
first down on the ground game to
the ’Cats’ 35-yard line. On the
next play, Shaw attempted to hit
Eubanks, but was intercepted at
the 10-yard line with 5:24 to play
in the quarter.
With possession at the 10, the
’Cats had minimal gains on first
and second downs. On third-and-
long, the Dragons were assessed
a personal foul which moved the
ball to their own 40-yard line. On
their first-down play, another
penalty against the Dragons for
un-sportsmanlike conduct moved
the ball to the Dragons’ 25-yard
line at the 3:48 mark.
The ’Cats moved to the Drag
ons’ 18-yard line but defensive
line stops by Lohman, Neill,
Sparks and McCowan, and a per
sonal foul against the ’Cats
forced the ball back to the 38-
yard line.
This drive stalled and the
Dragon defense forced a punt as
the quarter expired. The drive by
the ’Cats went over 12 plays with
no points scored. At the end of
three, the ’Cats were still on top
10-7. At the end of three quarters,
the ’Cats had 226 yards and the
Dragons had 121 yards.
In the final quarter, the Drag
ons began possession at their
own 10-yard line to start the
quarter, and with their running
game picked up a new series of
downs to the 20 where they came
up third-and-long. On fourth
down, the ball was snapped high
out of the end zone for a two-
point safety for the ’Cats. They
led 12-7 with 8:34 to play.
After the safety, the ’Cats got
the ball back at their own 45-
yard line where another good de
fensive stand by the Dragons
forced a punt at the 7:30 mark.
With plenty of time remaining
and only trailing by 5 points, the
Dragons began possession at
their own 25-yard line. After two
short carries, the Dragons came
up third-and-long, when QB Tan
ner Brumby was intercepted by
the ’Cats, which they returned
for a TD. The score was waived
because of two costly penalties
against the ’Cats, one for rough
ing the passer and one for un
sportsmanlike conduct. These
penalties cost the ’Cats nearly 40
yards and returned the ball to the
Dragons at the ’Cats’ 48-yard
line with 5:37 to play.
This possession was short
lived as the Dragons tried to con
vert on fourth down. The ’Cats
took over at the Dragons’ 47-
yard line with 3:30 to play and
leading 12-7. The ’Cats kept the
ball on the ground during this
possession and went on a seven-
play, 46-yard drive covering 2:52
to score on a Teague run with 38
seconds remaining. The ’Cats
pulled ahead 19-7.
The final possession by the
Dragons began at their own 38-
yard line. On first down, QB
Brumby threw an interception
that was returned for a TD with
13 seconds to play, which sealed
the deal for the ’Cats as they won
26-7.
The Dragons fall to 2-5 over
all with this loss and 0-3 in sub-
region. They will travel to
Allatoona on Oct. 22 with kick
off at 7:30.
Game Stats
Pickens vs. Gilmer
Dragons
Total yards - 123
Passing - 52
Rushing - 71
Leading rushers
J. Shaw - 34 yards on 16 car
ries
Aaron Eubanks - 31 yards on
6 carries
Passing
Shaw 5-11, one TD, 16-yard
TD pass to Ryan Neill
Def. Yards allowed - 263
Individual tackles
D. Nicholson - 10
Zach McCoy, A. Eubanks, J.
Shaw - 7 ea.
Matt Dillon - 6
3 Dragon turnovers, 2 inter
ceptions and one lost fumble
Georgia Football
Dawgs roll again
By Don Bryant
After a
commanding
win the previ
ous week
against Ten
nessee, the
Georgia Bull
dogs made it
two in a row
last Saturday
as they rolled
over the Van
derbilt Com
modores 43-0 in Athens.
Not only did the Dawgs win
in commanding fashion, but this
win was the first shut out by the
Bulldogs of an SEC foe since
their 18-0 win at South Carolina
in 2006. This win was also the
first shut out of an SEC oppo
nent inside Sanford Stadium
since a 47-0 win over Miss. State
in 1997.
Georgia receiver Kris
Durham had another solid per
formance as he totaled a career-
best 112 yards on four
receptions. During the suspen
sion of A.J. Green earlier in the
season, Durham was the top tar
get in Georgia’s passing offense.
He leads with 453 yards on 22
catches.
In the game on Saturday,
Durham had a 5 5-yard gain on
Georgia’s first play from scrim
mage and a four-yard TD that
made the score 19-0 midway
through the second quarter.
After being suspended for the
Dawgs’ opening game and strug
gling with fumbles against South
Carolina and Miss. State, run
ning back Washaun Ealey had
his best game of the season
against Vanderbilt. He had a 58-
yard run late in the first quarter
and wound up with 123 yards on
17 carries and one touchdown.
Ealey’s only other 100-yard
game in college was last year at
Georgia Tech when he ran for
183 yards.
It was all Dawgs in this one as
they dominated early and never
looked back. At the half, Georgia
led 22-0. Georgia rolled up 547
yards. QB Aaron Murray had an
other solid game finishing 15-of-
24 for a career best 287 yards. In
his last three games, the redshirt
freshman has completed 48 of 76
passes for 774 yards and 7
touchdowns.
With these last two blowout
wins, hopefully the Dawgs will
gain confidence as they head into
the next two weeks with games
at Kentucky and Florida. Geor
gia’s record improved to 3-4
overall and 2-3 in SEC play.
ML Baseball
Championship Series begin
By Don Bryant
After winning their opening-
round division series, the four
best teams in baseball advanced
to the American League and Na
tional League Championship se
ries games.
In the American League
Championship Series, the New
York Yankees, last year’s World
Series champs, will face the
Texas Rangers. The Yankees
took care of the Minnesota
Twins in the American League
Division series. The Rangers
went 5 games to dispose of the
Tampa Bay Rays.
In the National League
Championship series, the Giants
will match up against the
Philadelphia Phillies. The Giants
advanced to the championship
series with a 3-1 series win over
the Atlanta Braves while the
Phillies had little trouble with the
Cincinnati Reds.
The Yankees and Rangers se
ries could go either way as both
teams have solid hitting and
pitching, but the Yankees have
been in the post-season many
times. This series could go the
distance, as the series is tied 1-1
at the time of this article.
With the Giants and Phillies
squaring off in the NL champi
onship series, these two teams
throughout the year have had
probably the best starting pitch
ers in baseball. The Giants are
the only team in baseball to have
beaten the Phillies’ starters this
year. This best-of-seven series is
also tied 1-1 at the time of this
article. This series could also go
the distance.
The Phillies are trying to be
come the first NL club in 66
years to win three consecutive
pennants. They are going for
their second World Series title in
three years. There could be an
other Phillies-Yankees match up
in the World Series.
Odds makers give the Phillies
an edge over either the Yankees
or Rangers in the World Series.
PHS Cross Country
Sharp top Invitational attracts 750 runners
The 3rd Annual Sharptop
Cross Country Invitational
brought 750 mnners from 19
high schools and 10 middle
schools to Roper Park last Satur
day for 6 exciting races. This
year’s invitational was spon
sored by Renasant Bank, ETC,
Steve Moranos Allstate, Jasper
Counseling Associates and Mt.
Hope Community Church. Clear
skies and mild temperatures
made for very good race condi
tions and some exceptional per
formances by nmners from PHS,
PCMS, and JMS in addition to
18 other high school and 8 mid
dle schools in attendance. Com
plete race results for this
invitational as well as other high
school and middle school com
petitions around Georgia can be
found at www.gatfxc.com
The starters pistol fired first at
8:35 a.m. when the middle
school girls race began, includ
ing a field of 81 girls. The mid
dle school race distance for cross
country is 3200 meters, or ap
proximately 2 miles. Nicole
Cook of American Heritage
Academy took first place overall
in 13:05.44 in leading her team
to a 2nd place finish with 33
points. The Junior Hoyas
(“feeder” middle schools for
Harrison High School) placed
2nd as a team with 43 points.
Among local schools competing,
the PCMS girls placed 6th with
145 points and a team average
time of 15:37.16, while the JMS
girls placed 8th with 180 points
and a team average time of
16:29.36.
Finishing in first position
from PCMS in the girls race was
Caitlin Dillon who finished 16th
overall in 14:25.51. Also running
well were teammates Jillian Ter-
hune (15:30.93), Hannah Shi-
nafelt (15:40.44), Rachel
Clements (15:46.16), Katie
Adams (16:42.74), Chelsea Gib
son (17:02.07), Amy Miranda
(17:04.84), Jordan James
(17:06.55), Makayla Bailey
(17.28.35), Aspen Collett
(17:47.68), Cassie Lioti
(18:24.65), Lyndsey Crowe
(18:47.53), Ansley Cook
(18:51.12) and Kayla Duckett
(19.39.45).
The first finisher from JMS in
the girls race was Sydney
Romine who ran 14:57.82 for
23rd place overall. Also running
well for the JMS girls were
Jessie Clary (15:49.78), Savan-
Wyatt Ingram (left) of PCMS heads to the finish at the 3rd
Annual Sharptop XC Invitational this past Saturday ahead
of Noah Trepper from American Heritage Academy. Ingram,
who had been ill and not running at full strength for this
meet, still managed to finish 7th overall in 12:26.98 (3200
meters). He has won most of his races this fall by wide mar
gins including a HS junior varsity race at the Ridgeferry In
vitational. Ingram will be running in the Georgia State
Middle School Championships at Bleckley County Middle
School on Oct. 23. Good luck Wyatt!
nah Laney (16:23.10), Sophia
Macking (16:23.35) and Hannah
Breedlove (18:52.74).
The MS boys race was next
on the agenda, with 85 anxious
runners toeing the line at the
start. The order of finish for the
first 2 teams was identical to the
MS girls with the Junior Hoyas
finishing 1st with 35 points fol
lowed by American Heritage
Academy with 61 points. Finish
ing 1st overall was Matt Stanley
of the Junior Hoyas in 11:35.20.
PCMS finished in 3rd place with
92 points and a team average
time of 13:04.74, while JMS fin
ished in 5th place with 143
points and a team average of
13:54.00.
Finishing in first position for
the PCMS boys was Wyatt In
gram (12:26.98) followed by
teammates Sam Davis
(12:58.76), Tyler Ledford
(13:08.17), Dylan Curry
(13:24.08), Clay Callan
(13:25.70), Kyle Watters
(13:37.66), Ryan Wofford
(14:45.32), Justin Lioti
(15:43.78), Luke Stephens
(16:14.63), Parker Walters
(16:34.55) and Dillon Shelton
(17:43.48). For JMS, Julian
Continued on 2B
Jordan Heffner of PHS
has almost reached the turn
towards the finish at the
Sharptop XC Invitational.
Heffner helped the Nettes to
an 8th place finish out of 16
teams scoring by finishing
51st in 23:38.77 over the 5K
race distance. The PHS
’Nettes and Dragons will
race next at the Carrollton
Last Chance Invitational on
Oct. 23.