Habersham held a 30-14 halftime lead, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the Chestatee War Eagles, who stormed back to a 41-37 win at John Larry Black Field Friday night.
Habersham Central (1-4) outscored Chestatee (4-2) 22-7 in a high-scoring second quarter, breaking a 7-7 tie. The Raiders took a 30-14 lead into the halftime break.
The War Eagles’ Nick Lyles got Chestatee on the board first with a jaw-dropping 96-yard touchdown run after looking like he was taken down behind the line. Habersham had turned the ball over on downs on the first drive of the game prior to that, with a shot at the end zone being overthrown.
However, the Raiders responded with 1:33 left in the first quarter on a Baylor Hinshaw 20-yard touchdown run to tie the game. Then AJ Curry and brother Donovan Curry broke out a big play of their own, connecting on an 89-yard touchdown pass, catch and run to open the second quarter. The Raiders’ 14-7 lead remained intact despite two other drives in which they went for it on fourth down and couldn’t convert.
With just over seven minutes left in the half, Curry again connected with Donovan Curry, who tight-roped the sidelines for 44-yards to the end zone. The score put the Raiders up 21-7. Immediately after, Chestatee quarterback Storm Yarbrough forced a pass into coverage up the middle, and it was picked off by Carson Taylor, putting the Raiders in great position to score again.
Trey Wetherton nearly got in the end zone on a 4th down try, but was brought down inside the 3-yard line. However, Andrew Lovell on the next play got a sack and safety, giving Habersham Central a 23-7 lead. Just before the break, Curry added a 47-yard scoring touchdown run, diving inside the pylon with less than a second to go.
The Raiders, up 30-7, allowed Chestatee some life going into the half, as the ensuing kickoff was taken all the way back for a touchdown by Andrew Goodall.
Chestatee lit up the scoreboard in the second half, outscoring the Raiders 27-7 the rest of the way. Habersham has a bye week before opening region play against Gainesville on the road on October 6. Chestatee also has a bye week before opening their region action against West hall on the road as well.
LOCAL SCORES
#3 Rabun 49, West Hall 8
#8 Union vs #2 GAC (TBA)
#5 Commerce 35, Athens Christian 0
Chestatee 41, Habersham 37
White 45, #10 Dawson 42
Stephens 33, Hart 21
East Hall 42, Lumpkin 14
Banks at Monticello (TBA)
Athens Academy 53, Towns 13
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#4 Jefferson 33, Gainesville 3
Flowery Branch 54, Johnson 6
North Hall 13, Fannin 0
