White County Wins in a Back and Forth Thriller

In one of the most amazing games in recent history, White County wins 27-20 against Pickens County.

Last year, the Warriors lost two games against the Pickens County Dragons. The second of those losses eliminated the Warriors from the playoffs. This year, the Warriors were able to get their revenge. But it wasn’t easy.

It only took 15 seconds for Pickens to take an early lead, as Jarod Whitmore returned the opening kickoff for a TD, giving the Dragons a 6-0 lead. However, the Warriors would fire back quickly as J. Ben Haynes would complete his first of two passing TDs of the game, finding Jesse Thomas for a 52 yard receiving TD.

But Pickens County would not die without a fight early on. After J. Ben Haynes threw an interception on his next offensive drive, the Dragons would score again, as Whitmore scored for the second time. Late in the first quarter, Haynes would lead his team downfield and score a passing TD to Cooper Turner, giving the Warriors a 14-13 lead to end the first quarter.

As the second quarter began, Pickens County took control. Whitmore would score his 3rd rushing TD of the game to give the Dragons a 20-14 lead. They were stuffing the Warrior rushing attack while causing Haynes all sorts of problems in the pocket, including another interception. White County began to show one of their biggest flaws as well. They consistently lost yards to penalties in the 1st half, mainly due to small penalties such as false starts and encroachments.

Late in the 2nd quarter, Haynes would give the Warriors the 21-20 lead on a 49 yard rushing TD. The Warriors has struggled throughout most of the 2nd half, but that one play switched the momentum in their favor as the two teams ended the first half.

As the second half began, both teams began to deal with a factor not seen in the first half: Rain.

There was a small chance of rain coming into the game tonight in White County, but many fans at the stadium expected the weather to come afterwards. Although, everyone was in for a big surprise, as midway through the 3rd quarter, a downpour of rain came upon the football field. The fans in the stadium scrambled to get to their cars, yet the players on the field seemed to be fired up over a brand new ball game.

The on-field product completely changed in the second half. The 2nd half was a showcase of the two defenses. Even before the rainfall came, the Warriors had a chance to score. As a matter of fact, Cooper Turner did score, but had it called back due to a holding penalty. Pickens converted on their second chance, as they would intercept Haynes for the third time tonight. But once the rain came down, both defenses began to dominate. The offenses had no choice but to throw the ball until midway through the 4th quarter when the rain stopped. Meanwhile, the defenses continuously made stops for short yards or for loss, and both teams were punting the ball back and forth.

When the rain stopped, the Warriors had the ball, and continued to run down the clock. With less than 7 minutes remaining, a key play came. 4th and 7 with the Warriors 11 yards away from the end zone. Haynes stepped back and threw a beautiful pass to Turner in the end zone, but the ball was dropped…

Pickens County had a golden opportunity, and they weren’t going to waste it. They spent 5 minutes driving the ball down field consistently with run plays. For the first time since the first half, the Warrior defense was in shambles.

Just when the game was near it’s end, the Warriors had a moment that will forever go down in their history.

With 2:01 remaining in the game, Pickens QB C.J. Streicher was running the ball to his right. Multiple Warriors came in for the tackle, and caused the ball to come loose. Junior defender Jesse Moose scooped up the ball and ran it back all the way to the end zone. A stadium that was 25% full of people became 100% full of noise in the matter of seconds. The Warriors extended their lead to 27-20, but there was still under 2 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately for Streicher, he would throw an interception on his first play back on offense. Junior defensive back Jackson Autry was the one to make the interception, and it sealed the Warrior victory.

The White County Warriors are now 2-1 on the season. Next week, they travel on the road to play against their biggest rivals, the North Hall Trojans. To stay up to date with more White County Football updates, follow Team FYN Sports on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.