MT. AIRY, Ga. — Cherokee Bluff scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to rally for a thrilling 31-24 win over Habersham Central at Raider Stadium on Friday.
It was the third loss of the season for the Raiders (1-3), where they had the lead in the second half. And they looked in prime position for their second straight win when Camden Meads connected on a 29-yard field goal for a 24-14 lead with 5:01 left in the third quarter.
That came after the Raiders’ Paris Wilbanks tossed a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes -- 10 yards to Zeke Whittington and an 81-yard strike to Landyn Savage -- and then Wilbanks added a 37-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
But they couldn’t hold it.
On the next play, the Bears’ Brooks Brien found Dylan Haley for an 81-yard bomb to pull within 24-21, and then midway through the fourth, Brien and Haley struck again for a 52-yard touchdown pass to give Bluff the lead with just under 8 minutes left.
Bluff extended the lead to 31-24 with 1:52 left and looked to have sealed the game. But Habersham Central had one last shot, driving down to the Bears’ 22 with 51 seconds left.
However, Bluff’s Landon Kemp, who also caught a TD pass in the second quarter, picked off Wilbanks to seal the victory.
Brien finished 14-of-23 for 360 yards passing for Bluff. Haley had four catches for 137 yards, KT Thompson had three catches for 88 yards, and Kemp hauled in four passes for 81 yards.
Wilbanks had a monster game for the Raiders as well. He was 17-of-28 for 290 yards passing and added 109 yards on the ground. Whittington finished with eight catches for 131 yards for Hab Central.
Habersham Central will open its Region 8-5A schedule next week on the road at Loganville.
Bluff (4-0) will play host to Banks County in its final non-region game of the year.
