The Pickens Dragons scored 10 points off Gilmer Bobcat turnovers.
And it proved to be the difference.
Gilmer lost 17-8 to Pickens last Friday in Jasper to give the Dragons their seventh straight victory in the rivalry.
“We’ve got to get better on the offensive line,” head coach Kevin Saunders said after the game. “We did not play very well up front. We have a lot to work on and have to keep getting better.
“We just got whipped tonight. That’s the bottom line. We were very poor mentally. There was not very good focus and that’s my fault.”
GHS outgained Pickens 223 to 156, but that did not tell the tale. GHS committed two turnovers. The first resulted in a PHS field goal and the next one was answered by a Pickens touchdown.
Both teams had one touchdown drive apiece that began in the opposing territory. For Pickens, it came on the first possession of the game.
The opening Dragon touchdown took eight plays and covered 63 yards. Twenty of those yards were thanks to Gilmer penalties, and the Cats committed nine on the night for 81 yards.
While Pickens spread the field with receivers, its attack was centered around running the ball. They depended on running backs Jarod Whitmore and Andrew Burrell on the first drive. Whitmore rushed four times for 35 yards, and his last carry went around the right edge for a 12-yard touchdown.
PHS led 7-0 and the drive only lasted 2:16.
Of the Bobcats’ four first half possessions, three resulted in punts and one ended in a fumble. GHS punted on its first two possessions before the Bobcat defense forced ensuing back-to-back punts for the Dragons.
Gilmer’s third drive started at its 17 with 8:16 left in the half. Wingback Kobe Stonecipher ripped off a 22-yard run to the 39 and his next rush extended into Pickens territory.
However, Stonecipher lost the handle on the ball shorty after crossing midfield and Dragon Caleb Taylor was there for the recovery.
PHS took over at its 44, and a 9-yard pass on first down ended with a Gilmer targeting penalty. The infraction cost GHS 15 more yards, and PHS received a first down at the 27.
Whitmore caught a 14-yard pass to extend the drive on third down to the 11. But the drive hit a snag when Bobcat Cameron Weaver stopped Whitmore with a thundering hit 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Kicker Jose Sanchez made a 30-yard field goal two plays later, and Pickens led 10-0 with 4:48 on the clock.
Gilmer was unable to gain a first down on its next drive and punted. Pickens had a similar fruitless drive when it received the ball. But when Whitmore dropped back to punt, the snap shot over his head.
The play resulted in a 30-yard loss and Whitmore scrambled to secure the ball in the end zone for a safety.
The final 58 seconds of the half ticked off the clock when GHS got the ball back.
The Bobcats embarked on their only touchdown drive of the game to begin the second half. The drive started at the Cats’ 11, and fullback Ashton White broke tackles at the line and raced for a 21-yard gain.
A pass interference advanced GHS to the 50 before quarterback Spenser Smith completed a 13-yard pass to Braden Jenkins. Two plays later, Jenkins hauled in a 39-yard touchdown over the Dragon defensive back to cap the eight-play drive.
GHS was held on the two-point conversion attempt and trailed 10-8 with 8:55 left in the third quarter.
The GHS defense held once more, and the Cats appeared to seize the momentum.
Stonecipher had another good run on first down and gained 16 yards to Pickens’ 27. But on first down, Burrell intercepted Smith’s pass.
On the ensuing offensive play, Dragon quarterback Sam Streicher threw a perfect pass to Mykel Hand over the GHS safety for a 32-yard touchdown.
With 6:23 to play in the quarter, PHS led, 17-8.
Over Gilmer’s next three possessions, the Cats punted and turned the ball over on downs twice. On those final two drives, GHS achieved five total first downs but stalled on the Dragons’ 35- and 49-yard lines.
Pickens did not do much on its final three possessions other than bleed the clock to secure another win.
The Bobcat defense made six tackles for a loss on the night. Whitmore rushed 19 time for 68 yards while the rest of the Dragons combined for 18 yards on 15 carries. Streicher completed 6/11 passes for 70 yards.
Stonecipher led GHS offensively with 109 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Smith completed 5/14 passes for 70 yards. Jenkins caught three passes for 59 yards.
“We have to get back to what we do and figure out how to get better,” Saunders said of the week ahead. “We just have to get better and can’t have the mental mistakes. We just had too many mental mistakes tonight.”
GHS hosts Fannin County (1-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m.