CLEVELAND, Ga. — The storylines were plenty in the annual renewal of the North Hall-White County border battle.
Two new head coaches. A new offensive system for the Trojans in more than 20 years. It had been a decade since the home team had won back-to-back games in the series.
But all of that took backstage to Mother Nature. Lightning delayed the game for more than 90 minutes. And the wet conditions played havoc on the centers, as nearly two dozen errant snaps changed the complexion of the game.
In the end, the Warriors pulled away for a 35-14 win at Warriors Stadium, getting an 82-yard fumble return off a bad snap and a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown off a tipped pass from a wet ball and wet hands. The win gave new White County Bennett his first win as a head coach in his first try. It also gave the home team consecutive wins in the series following North Hall's 51-20 win at The Brickyard in 2021.
Warriors’ sophomore quarterback Tripp Nix managed his way through the tough conditions going 7-of-16 for 91 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also added 58 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns to spearhead the offense.
Junior running back Ryan Fowler added 77-yards rushing and 55-yards receiving for White County.
North Hall’s Tanner Marsh, making his first varsity start, had flashes of what could be for the junior going 13-of-23 for 110 yards passing, including a long 37-yard strike to Ajay Jones to set up his own 3-yard touchdown run a play later in the fourth quarter.
Junior running back Tate Ruth may have had his breakout moment for the Trojans with 86 yards on 14 carries, including a 2-yard TD run that tied the game at 7 in the first quarter, as he assumed the bulk of the duties after the opening two drives.
But the defenses were the real stories for both teams producing three combined sacks, eight tackles for loss, and four turnovers.
The Trojans' defense stopped the Warriors opening drive as Britton Glover picked off a Nix pass at the goal line. The White County defense stopped the ensuing North Hall drive on downs after a bad snap on a 4th-and-4 at the Warriors' 47.
The Warriors (1-0) took advantage two plays later as Nix found Cam Wilson in the corner of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a White County punt on its next possession, North Hall (0-1) looked in prime position to perhaps take the lead starting inside Warriors territory. But three plays later, Caysen Duvall controlled a tipped ball off a Marsh pass and returned it 53-yards for the go-ahead score for White County.
The Trojans looked poised to score again, sitting inside the White County 5 early in the third quarter. But another bad snap sailed high and through Marsh’s hands with the Warriors’ Colton Turner scooping up the loose ball and rumbling 82-yards for the score and a 21-7 lead. North Hall never recovered.
The White County defense stopped the Trojans again, and Nix capped the only long drive of the night, 71 yards, with a 1-yard TD run to push the lead to 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Marsh’s long pass and score closed the gap to 28-14 with 3:29 left, but Nix finished off the win with his second 1-yard scoring run with just 48 seconds left.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/8/1125541/football-warriors-slog-past-north-hall-in-wet-conditions