Friendship makes fast work of Pickett

Sep 23, 2012 12:00 am

Friendship Christian, 49, Pickett County 8

Pickett County 0 0 8 0 - 8

Friendship Christian 35 7 0 7 - 49

First quarter

Friendship Christian - A.J. Long 65-yard pass to Steven Hollis (Blake Grosch kick), 11:32

Friendship Christian - Long 54-yard pass to Stefan Remus (Grosch kick), 10:12

Friendship Christian - Long 31-yard pass to Austin Taylor (Grosch kick), 7:14

Friendship Christian - Long 4-yard pass to Parker Pinnell (Grosch kick), 3:50

Friendship Christian - Long 67-yard pass to Hunter Watts (Grosch kick), 0:12

Second quarter

Friendship Christian - Long 82-yard pass to Cale Mitchell (Grosch kick), 8:08

Third quarter

Pickett County - Dalton Gore 4-yard run (Robert Masiongale run), 1:46

Fourth quarter

Friendship Christian - Gage Bentley 2-yard run (Grosch kick), 9:45

By KIMBERLY JORDAN

Staff Writer

Friendship Christian used a monster first quarter to blow open a 49-8 win over visiting Pickett County Friday at Pirtle Field.

A.J. Long connected with five different receivers in the opening quarter, including a 65-yard hookup on the second play from scrimmage as he found Steven Hollis with just 28 seconds off the clock.

Pickett County's Dakota Tompkins fumbled on the Bobcats' first possession and Long aired out a 54-yard bomb that was hauled in by Stefan Remus to give the hosts the lead 14-0.

"I felt we did well tonight," Commander coach John McNeal said after his team climbed to 5-1 for the season. "The young guys got some playing time, and that is always good, and the older kids did a good job as well."

The Commander roll continued as Long completed passes to Austin Taylor, Parker Pinnell and Hunter Watts that each resulted in a touchdown. The score stood at 35-0 in favor of the home team at the first-quarter buzzer.

Cale Mitchell was the recipient of Long's final touchdown pass of the night, and it was good for an 82-yard score with just over eight minutes to play in the first half.

With most of the starters watching from the sideline in the second half, Pickett County put together a 10-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Dalton Gore. Robert Masiongale ran in for the two-point conversion and the score was 42-8.

"I gotta give it to [Pickett County], they play with a lot of heart, and without many players," McNeal said.

Gage Bentley closed out the evening's scoring with 9:45 to play, punching in for a 2-yard touchdown.

Long lead the way for Friendship, going 9-of-14 and piling up 364 passing yards. Commander runners added 54 yards on a combined 10 carries.

McNeal noted the Commanders have a big game coming up next week as they will play host to Region 4-A rival Trousdale County at 7:30 p.m. at Pirtle Field.