The Pisgah Dragons outlasted the Loyd Star Hornets on Friday night in a run heavy game.  The Dragons won 42-30 after a late surge by the Hornets.

The Pisgah offense wasted little time setting the tone as Dragons senior quarterback Zane Cothern scored on the first possession of the game.

The Hornets took the field in quest to answer the early score of Pisgah and were forced into a short fourth down situation. Loyd Star’s attempt on fourth down was brought to a stop by senior linebacker Trace Crockett.

Pisgah took full advantage of the opportunity given to them by the Hornets.  Cothern connected with fellow senior Trevor Hallett to stretch the Pisgah lead to 14-0 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

The Loyd Star defense forced a turnover late in the second quarter, but the Loyd Star offense stalled out on a lengthy drive.  The Hornets fumbled on a fourth and inches situation late in the second half.

Loyd Star went into the half down 21-0.

Loyd Star quarterback Dane Smith and his team kept fighting in the second half as they cut into the Dragon lead.

The Hornets mounted a scoring drive that was capped off by a five-yard run by sophomore Eric Birch.  Smith connected with senior Zabien Price to convert on the two-point conversion.

Pisgah answered in a strong way with a quarterback run by Cothern to extend the lead. The Hornet offense would not go away easy as Smith led them on a scoring drive to cut the lead to 12.

Pisgah’s leading rusher — senior Noah Thweatt — put the game on his shoulders from there on out and made some critical rushes to keep Loyd Star at bay.

“We were right there with them a lot of time,” said Hornet head coach Brian Ford. “Not getting the ball across when we had it inside the one and turning it over early in the game really hurt us.”

“Poor tackling is the other thing that cost us a lot, but our kids did not quit and they kept playing,” said Ford. “We have been starting too late and not capitalizing on our opportunities.”

By Steve Cooper