The Warriors (3-2, 2-2 in region) forced three straight turnovers in the second half to pull away with a 28-7 win over Pickens (4-1, 3-1).
At halftime the scored was tied at 7-7. White County scored first, taking a 7-0 lead on a 47-yard burst by Preston Johnson.
Pickens tied the game in the second quarter on a 24-yard touchdown run by Amario Jones.
In the second half the tide turned in the favor of the Warriors. White County forced Pickens to turn the ball over in each of their first three drives of the second half.
Also White County's running game got going and was pretty much unstoppable in the second half.
Tyrone Bishop had 117 yards rushing on 17 carries and Johnson finished with 78 yards on 14 carries. Also quarter back Trevor Elrod ran the ball 11 times for 71 yards.
Johnson gave White County the lead for good on a 3-yard run. Then the Warriors took a 21-7 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Elrod to Brandon Vaught. Then with a couple minutes left Bishop scored on a 37-yard run to make it 28-7.
White County head coach Mark Wilson said he was pleased with the effort.
"Our kids played hard and stepped up. We practiced hard the last two weeks. It was one of those hard fought battles," Wilson said.
"A lot of credit goes to our offensive line. I told them at halftime to give the running backs a second to get into the holes and that's what happened in the second half. It was a team effort."
Pickens also ran the ball well but couldn't make up for the mistakes they made.
Mark Patterson led the Dragons with 115 yards on the ground on 17 carries and Jones added 59 yards on 9 carries.
White County will play at home next week against Chestatee. Pickens will travel to Johnson to take on the Knights.
REGION 7-AAA STANDINGS WEEK 5
TEAM..............Region...................Overall
Flowery Branch....4-0-0...............5-0-0
Gainesville..........3-0-0...............3-1-0
Pickens..............3-1-0...............4-1-0
Fannin County.....3-1-0...............4-1-0
Chestatee..........2-1-0...............2-2-0
White County.....2-2-0...............3-2-0
+North Hall...........1-2-0...............2-2-0
Gilmer County.....0-3-0...............1-3-0
Johnson.............0-4-0...............0-5-0
West Hall...........0-4-0...............0-5-0
FRIDAY'S SCORES
Chestatee 28, West Hall 14
Flowery Branch 42, North Hall 21
Fannin County 21, Johnson 6
White County 28, Pickens County 7
(Gainesville and Gilmer are off)
NEXT WEEK'S GAMES
Chestatee at White County
Flowery Branch at Gainesville
Pickens at Johnson
Fannin County at North Hall
Gilmer at West Hall
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/9/125653