Football Preview: Pickens Dragons vs. North Hall Trojans
The Pickens Dragons will venture away from home to challenge the North Hall Trojans at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both might be coming in a bit winded given these two teams combined for 986 yards in their previous games.
Pickens will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up seven points two weeks ago, then bounced right back against Dawson County on Friday. Pickens walked away with a 35-23 victory over Dawson County. The contest marked the Dragons' most dominant win of the season.
It was another big night for Hayden Jones, who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, and also threw for 168 yards and a touchdown while completing 73.7% of his passes. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 80-yard run. A healthy portion of that aerial production (87 yards to be exact) went to Mccord Purdy.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Pickens was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 283 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, North Hall waltzed into their game on Friday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They took down the Warriors 35-21. That's two games straight that the Trojans have won by exactly 14 points.
Smith Mcgarvey went supernova for North Hall, rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries. Parker Carlton was another key player, rushing for 134 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries.
Another reason for the win was North Hall's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for six sacks. Buddy Clark was particularly dangerous to the passing game, picking up 2.5himself.
Pickens now has a winning record of 3-2. As for North Hall, they now also have a winning record of 3-2.
Friday's matchup might be decided in the on the ground. Pickens has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 176.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like North Hall struggles in that department as they've been averaging 204.4. It's looking like Friday's match might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Pickens beat North Hall 42-35 in their previous meeting back in September of 2017. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was North Hall's Jack Brown, who rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught a touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Pickens to walk away with another win? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
