DAHLONEGA — White County quarterback Tripp Nix found his groove on Friday night at Lynn Cottrell Stadium.
The freshman tossed 267 yards and three touchdowns to help the Warriors (3-5, 2-2 Region 7-3A) beat Lumpkin County, 49-13. The win lifts White County into fourth place in the region standings with two games remaining against Gilmer and Cherokee Bluff.
Lumpkin County (2-6, 1-3 Region 7-3A) gave the Warriors all they had, holding White County scoreless in the first quarter.
But the Warriors broke it open in the second quarter when Bryson Chronic started the scoring on a three-yard run with 11:55 to go.
Nix added the second touchdown three minutes later when he found Thornton on a 21-yard strike to push the lead, 14-0.
The Warriors went up 21-0 when Nix hooked up with Darius Cannon late in the second quarter on a 48-yard pass. Cannon finished with 100 yards on four catches.
The Indians found the end zone with 4o seconds left in the half on a 13-yard pass from Cooper Scott to Harper Davenport, cutting the lead 21-7. Scott was 11-of-16 for 148 yards and rushed for 81 yards on 18 carries. Faulkner was his top target with six catches for 78 yards.
Cannon opened the second half with a 75-yard kickoff return.
Lumpkin's Cal Faulkner helped the Indians answer the big play with a 15-yard run for pay dirt to close the gap, 28-13.
The Warriors, however, added three more scores -- a Silas Mulligan 29-yard touchdown run, Nix hit Chronic on a 42-yard pass and Ryan Fowler on a 29-yard run.
Fowler led the Warriors in rushing with 75 yards on 12 carries, while Mulligan added 61 yards on 12 rushes. Zion McMullen rushed six times for 49 yards.
