ATLANTA — White County found its stride a little too late Friday night against Marist.
The Warriors (3-2, 0-1 Region 7-4A) outscored Marist 20-3 in the second half, but first-half mistakes doomed White County in a 35-20 loss to the Class 4A second-ranked Eagles (5-0, 1-0).
White County cut the Eagles lead almost in half with 10:30 left in the first half off a Seth Stonecypher 1-yard run and on the ensuing kickoff Jesse Moose recovered a fumble at the Marist 3-yard line.
Marist, however, denied the Warriors on four straight plays, forcing them to turn the ball over on downs at the 2-yard line. A play later, Marist's Lincoln Parker went 98 yards for the touchdown with 8:58 to go in the half.
Marist added a 35-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
In the fourth, the Warrior offense came alive, behind junior quarter J Ben Haynes. Haynes hit Reece Dockery for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 9:58 left in the game and four minutes later, Haynes scored on a 4-yard run.
White County will travel to Flowery Branch on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
