CLEVELAND — Nick Beard found himself in the right place at the right time on Friday night.
And the Chestatee linebacker made it count, scooping up a White County fumble and returning it 44 yards for the winning touchdown in a 27-21 defeat of White County in Cleveland that might just vault the War Eagles into the postseason.
Competing in a five-team region -- of which four squads make the playoffs -- every league win is precious, and Chestatee certainly took a big step toward the state bracket, as Beard's touchdown made the difference in a nip-and-tuck contest.
The game proved finely balanced throughout, as White County took an early lead through Kaleb Crane and Desmond Lowery -- only to watch the War Eagles (4-5, 1-2 Region 7-AAAA) fire back in front via touchdowns from Reggie James and Storm Yarbrough for a 14-7 halftime lead.
The wild ride continued in the second half, as White County pulled within 14-13 before James notched his second rushing score to make it 20-13 in the fourth quarter. The Warriors (1-7, 0-2) were far from finished, however, as Lowery scored from four yards out. White County then completed a two-point pass from Crane to edge ahead 21-20. And the Warriors were looking to add to that total when Beard pounced to make the difference.
Chestatee finished with 299 yards of offense -- compared with 375 for White County, 221 of that on the ground. But three turnovers and 11 penalties for 154 yards helped stunt the Warriors' rhythm. The War Eagles were also flagged 11 times for 102 yards.
James paced the Chestatee ground game with 115 yards on 21 carriesm while Yarbrough put up 53 yards rushing and 121 yards passing.
Crane finished the night with 206 total yards of offense -- 159 of that through the air. Lowery scored all three White County touchdowns.
Chestatee will wrap up its regular season on Friday against Marist in Gainesville.
White County travels to West Hall next week, where a win for the Spartans would seal a postseason berth for the War Eagles.
