WATCH: Rabun outlasts Warriors in injury-plagued opener

White County and Rabun County's high-powered offenses were in full swing for a quarter and a half, scoring a total of 49 points when lightning didn't stop the game halfway through the second quarter. The Wildcats won the game, which ended at 11:55 a.m. with a final score of 40-27.

#4 Rabun County led 28-21 despite a real battle between two quarterbacks. The Wildcats recovered a fumble on the Warriors' opening drive and quickly found the end zone when Ty Truelove connected with Lake Evans for a 7-yard touchdown.

Not to be outdone, Tripp Nix answered for White County with a 21-yard run. The Wildcats immediately went back to work and Truelove found Reid Giles, who evaded potential tacklers and ran in from 70 yards out. That put the Cats up 14-7 with 4:29 left in the first quarter. After getting the ball back, they took a 21-7 lead when Truelove found Evans completely free for a 25-yard TD.

On the first play of the second quarter, White County got back into the game when Nix rushed in from 3 ticks away, cutting the gap to 21-14. Almost immediately, Truelove and Co. caught up. The junior star QB shook off a few tackles and hit a bullseye from 69 yards out to extend the lead back to 28-14.

On the next drive, White County took advantage of a penalty and managed to gain ground with a few short passes. Nix passed the ball to Noel Lammers, who scored from 1 yard out to make the score 28-21 with 7:37 minutes left in the half. Just 30 seconds later, the horn sounded and a flash of lightning flashed nearby. After nearly two hours of waiting, play finally resumed at around 10:15 p.m.

Truelove scored a 4-yard touchdown with just 6 seconds left in the first half after Clayton Blalock intercepted Nix, but the touchdown failed, making the score 34-21 at halftime.
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Truelove found Jake Payne for a 65-yard touchdown to tie the game, as the Wildcats took a 40-21 lead after the ensuing 2-point attempt fell short. In the fourth, Alex Freeman threw a 56-yard touchdown to Brayden Roach to make it 40-27. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Warriors, but a turnover on downs a few series later ended the game.
While the win was nice for Rabun, Truelove left the game with an apparent shoulder injury and was seen with a sling on his throwing arm for the final quarter and a half. White County's Nix also couldn't keep his throwing arm up late in the game and was replaced by Freeman. Jason Rewis left the game with a leg injury and Jon Scott had a finger injury but returned.

SEE ALSO

Week 1: Stephens vs. Habersham and other games in the region