CLEVELAND, Ga. — White County could not keep pace with North Hall on Friday night in Cleveland, Ga., falling 42-20 at Warrior Stadium as the visiting Trojans broke the game open in the third quarter and sealed a third straight region championship.
North Hall struck on the first snap with a 64-yard touchdown pass and carried a 21-6 lead into the locker room. The Warriors got their only first-half points on a 6-yard scoring throw with 5:06 left before the break, but the extra point missed.
The third quarter belonged to the Trojans. They put up 21 straight points, adding scoring passes of 40 and 47 yards and a 53-yard scoring run in the final half-minute of the period that made it 42-6.
White County kept fighting in the fourth quarter with two more touchdown passes, from 11 yards with 10:22 to play and from 16 yards with 6:59 remaining, plus a two-point conversion after the last one.
Yards were hard to find for the home side. The Warriors ran for a single yard before halftime and 52 for the game, finishing with 272 total yards, while North Hall piled up 518 yards of offense. White County had just six points after three quarters before its late rally.
The loss leaves White County at 7-2 overall and 3-1 in Region 8-3A play. North Hall, ranked ninth in its classification, moved to 7-2 and 4-0 and has now taken four in a row in the rivalry and 26 of the last 33 meetings with the Warriors.
North Hall wrapped up the Region 8-3A title once Pickens beat Gilmer on the same night. White County goes on the road to Chestatee next Friday, while North Hall stays home to face Gilmer.
