Pickens thumps West Hall

OAKWOOD - After thumping West Hall 35-7 Friday at West Hall Stadium, Pickens County proved that the path to the playoffs in Region 7-AAA, subregion will have to pass through Dragon Stadium.

Pickens (6-1, 1-0 in subregion) dominated West Hall (1-6, 0-1) on both sides of the ball, but especially on the offensive line of scrimmage, piling up over three hundred yards of total offense, most of that coming in the first half of the game.

Senior running back George Weaver and Kevin Kinsey led the potent Dragon offensive attack combing for two rushing touchdowns apiece, and Weaver adding 119 yards rushing, and a 23 yard touchdown reception to boot.

From the opening kickoff, Pickens was ready to play, marching the ball 80 yards in six plays, capped off by Kevin Kinsey's 3-yard touchdown run with 9:50 remaining in the first quarter. Bradley Barnard's successful PAT gave the Dragons an early 7-0 lead.

West Hall quickly answered when Spartan sophmore running back Daniel Drummond scored from 3-yards with 4:15 remaining in the first quarter to complete a Spartan drive that began at its own 15-yard line. With Chris Luther's successful PAT, the game was tied at 7-7.

Pickens quickly regrouped, compiling another impressive drive that ended eight plays later on a George Weaver 3-yard run. With Barnard's PAT, the Dragons regained the lead at 14-7 with 1:01 remaining in the first quarter.

The Spartans appeared as though they would be able to answer, putting together a drive that started at their own 23-yard line, but were stopped at the 4-yard line by a stubborn Dragon defensive unit.

In fact, West Hall was unable to find much success in the red zone the entire game, being denied by the Dragons two more times inside the 10-yard line. Pickens would add to its lead, when Jamie Chesire found a wide open Weaver in the end zone on a fourth and long pass from the Spartan 23-yard line with 04 seconds remaining in the 2nd quarter, to give the Dragons a 21-7 halftime lead.

The second half didn't fare much better for the Spartans, as Pickens increased its lead to 28-7 when Weaver scored his third touchdown of the game with 2:15 remaining in the 3rd quarter to seal a 12-play, 96-yard drive.

After fumbling the ensuing kickoff, the weary Spartan defense was unable to stop the rolling Dragon offense, with Pickens taking just 5 plays to score again, ending on Kevin Kinsey 4-yard touchdown run with 1:00 remaining in the third quarter. Barnard's fifth consecutive PAT would put the game outof reach at 35-7.

The Dragons will not be able to relish their victory for long, though, as they will face another test when they square off against Gainesville at home, Friday, October 20.

Gainesville's 35-28 loss to Flowery Branch, creates a three way pile-up for control in Subregion B, with the winner of that game being in the drivers seat for the top spot in Subregion B.

West Hall will look to regroup as it prepares for Region rival Johnson at home, Friday, Ocotber 20.