The Habersham Central offense made its fair share of solid plays Friday night in Mount Airy. Ultimately, though, it was Clarke Central's offense - aided by a couple costly Raider turnovers - that proved the difference as the Gladiators topped HCHS, 42-28.
"I was proud of our guys. I thought they played extremely hard," said HCHS Coach Benji Harrison. "I thought our defense in the first half played really good, and I thought we executed well on offense."
The Raiders did indeed seem to play quality ball early Friday and even carried a 21-14 advantage into halftime.
Zeke Whittington again paved the way for the Raiders' offensive success. The senior receiver caught 9 passes for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Paris Wilbanks accounted for the other Habersham TD, thanks to his 51-yard scoring run in the opening quarter.
Tied 21-21 late in the third quarter, it seemed Habersham would regain the lead. But a fumble at the goal line put the ball back in the hands of the Clarke offense. The Gladiators answered with a 99-yard touchdown drive.
"That was huge ... a turning point in the game," Harrison said of the moment. "This one hurts because I felt like we had a chance to win it."
Clarke Central wound up scoring 28 unanswered points in the second half to put the game in the rearview.
With the loss, Habersham dropped to 2-5 overall this season and 1-2 in region play. Clarke improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the region.
The Raiders hit the road to face Alcovy (Covington) next week.
To get the full story on how things went down in the Habersham Central vs. Clarke Central game, check out the midweek edition of The Northeast Georgian.