DAHLONEGA — On homecoming night in Dahlonega, the Lumpkin County Indians used a stellar ground game to run past Pickens to an impressive 34-7 victory.

“I am very proud of our kids and how they executed in the second half,” Lumpkin County coach Tommy Jones said. “We didn’t really change anything at halftime, we just had kids step up in the second half and do what they were suppose to do.”

Lumpkin County quarterback Taylor Guthrie and running back Michael Flanagan combined for 264 yards on the ground and four touchdowns leading the way for the Indians.

Pickens took an early 7-0 first quarter lead on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Austin Murphy to Cooper Shaw, unfortunately for the Dragons (1-5, 0-3 Region 7A-AAA) that would also be the end of their scoring for the night.

It took the Indians (3-3, 1-2) until the 5:51 mark in the second quarter before they found the end zone, but once they got there, it was hard to keep them out.

The Indians first score came on a tough 6 yard run by Flanagan that ended a seven-play drive that began at the Lumpkin County 37.

After a Pickens punt, the Indians got the offense rolling again, this time going eight plays and eating up most of the first half clock. With 18 seconds left in the half Lumpkin, decided to spice things up a little, by faking a 30-yard field goal that led to holder Chad Fulton finding Jake McClure in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead heading to halftime.

The third quarter began with the two teams swapping punts, then on Lumpkin’s second possession of the half, Flanagan found a hole off the left end and ran 95 yards for a touchdown.

After another three and out for Pickens, Guthrie decided it was his turn to get in on the scoring, scrambling for 69 yards to the end zone to give the Indians a commanding 27-7 lead with 4:42 left in the third.

The final score of the evening came with 11:11 left to play when Guthrie found the end zone again, when he scored from 10 yards out.

“We will enjoy this one, but we have to get back to work and be ready for West Hall next week,” Jones said.