Pickens County remains perfect

REFORM, Ala., - Pickens County head coach Scott Marchant knew that it would be important for his team to put points up early with a sloppy surface at G.S. Spruill Field.

The Tornadoes scored two touchdowns on their first two possessions and it was enough to hold off their previously undefeated county rival Aliceville 13-0 to remain perfect themselves at 5-0.

"I kind of knew that might be the case," Marchant said. "We wanted to try to go up top a couple of times and do some things because once the field gets nasty it's hard to break that tackle or make a guy miss if you don't have any footing. We knew we needed to make hay early and try to capitalize on it."

The two schools fumbled eight times and managed only 195 offensive yards combined on the evening in the muddy conditions.

Pickens County accounted for most of the yardage with 153 yards. The Tornadoes had 124 yards on the ground going against Aliceville's highly-touted defensive tackle Derrick Billups.

"This was a big win for us," Marchant said. "The kids worked hard all week. They prepared and the field conditions weren't exactly what we wanted but we did the best with what we had. The kids had some adversity in this game but they really fought and worked hard and got the victory. I'm proud of them."

Dominique Jones paced the Tornado rushing attack with 74 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown and also hauled in one pass for 16 yards.

Deion Curry completed 6 of 16 passing for 29 yards and an interception with four passes going to James Adams who had 11 yards receiving.

Pickens County took the opening drive of the game 63 yards in nine plays and cashed in when Adams took a jet sweep off left end and up the sideline for a 27-yard scamper. Keith Hall came in to provide the extra point giving his team an early 7-0 lead.

The Tornadoes took advantage of a high punt snap that set up their second scoring drive at the AHS 41-yard line. Eight plays later Dominique Jones ran off right tackle for a 24-yard touchdown for the final score of the night with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Aliceville has a pair of big plays but were unable to cash them into points. Marquise Mahew returning the opening kickoff of the second half 63-yards setting up the Yellow Jackets at the PCHS 26-yard line but the drive stalled.

Aliceville later got a spark when Edward Daughtry intercepted a pass and raced 73-yard down the right sideline before being caught at the 1-yard line midway through the fourth quarter. The Yellow Jacket offense went backwards from there and were intercepted on fourth-and-goal by Curry.

"Our defense is strong and we depend on them," Marchant said. "If we put them in a situation like that we expect them to have the expectation of stopping them. It's an opportunity for them to shine. The spotlight is on them for them to do something great."

Aliceville managed just 42 yards on offense and had five turnovers on the night. The Yellow Jackets totaled 38 yards on the ground and completed only one pass for four yards.

Jarvis Jones had 37 yards on 12 carries for Aliceville while Javaris Dancy was 1 of 6 passing for four yards and one interception.

Gerald Sterling caught the only pass for Aliceville.

Pickens County will put their undefeated mark on the line next week on the road at Isabella while the Yellow Jackets travel to Cordova.

Aliceville 0 0 0 0 - 0

Pickens County 13 0 0 0 - 13

First Quarter

PC - James Adams 27 yard run (Keith Hall kick)

PC- Dominique Jones 24 yard run (kick failed)

Team Stats

AHS PC

First Downs: 5 8

Rushes: 39-38 32-124

Passing: 4 29

Comp. - Att. - Int.: 1-7-2 6-16-1

Return yards: 95 0

Fumbles - Lost: 5-3 3-1

Penalties: 6-36.5 8-55

Individual Stats:

Rushing: Aliceville - Jarvis Jones 12-37, Marquise Mayhew 12-22, Lawrence Scott 3-8, Avery Colvin 1-2, Jakari Garner 2-1, Demetrius Wilder 1-(-5), Jarvaris Dancy 3-(-6), Edward Daughtry 1-(-8), Team 4-(-11); Pickens County - Dominique Jones 14-74, James Adams 6-30, Roger Wilson 1-11, Deion Curry 7-9, William Stewart 1-6, Team 3-(-6)

Passing: Aliceville - Javaris Dancy 1-6-4-1, Jarvis Jones 0-1-0-1; Pickens County - Deion Curry 6-16-29-1

Receiving: Aliceville - Gerald Sterling 1-4; Pickens County - Dominique Jones 1-16, James Adams 4-11, Jamal Giles 1-2