MONROE - Austin Brown connected with Chuck Rucker on a 57-yard touchdown pass to rally Habersham Central to a 24-20 win over Monroe Area Friday night in Region 8-AAAA play.
The Raiders (4-4, 4-4 in region) had trailed most of the second half to the winless Hurricanes (0-7, 0-7) after Monroe Area's Patrick Malcolm had picked off a Brown pass and returned it 73 yards for a touchdown and a 20-17 lead midway through the third quarter.
Monroe Area, which was trying to snap its longest losing streak in school history at 16 games, had the game in control midway through the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes had the ball and were driving until two short plays and a punt of minus-1 yards gave the Raiders one last short with just over two minutes left.
Brown and Rucker struck two plays later and then Habersham defense held Monroe Area on downs in the final seconds.
Kevin Ellison had a huge game for Habersham with 132 yards rushing and two touchdowns. brown finished 8-for-15 for 91 yards and Rucker had four catches for 71 yards.
The game was back and forth the entire game with the lead changing hands seven times.
Habersham is just one-half behind three teams - Rockdale County, Salem, and Loganville - in the chase for fourth place in the region standings. The Raiders final two games are at home against Rockdale County next week and on the road against Salem in two weeks.
Wednesday
November 27th, 2024
11:36PM
