The Warriors got caught in a third consecutive shootout, this time prevailing in a must-win in the final week of the regular season. The 35-28 win over Gilmer in Cleveland punched a playoff ticket with the combined win for Wesleyan over Pickens. White County (5-5; 3-3 in 7-AAA) had several leads, though the Bobcats (6-4; 3-3) would consistently tie it up.

White County got going with Ryan Fowler’s 30-yd TD run on the opening drive of the game. Gilmer would retaliate on the ensuing drive when QB Issac Rellinger ripped off a 48-yd keeper for the tying score. In the second, the Warriors used Fowler’s big-play capability again, as he tight-roped the sideline on a big run down to the 1, and punched it in from there for the 14-7 lead.

The Bobcats opened the second half with an 18-yd TD by Douglas Callihan, knotting the game at 14. The Warriors responded with a lengthy drive, capped by a 5-yd TD run by Tripp Nix with 6:50 left in the quarter. That held til the fourth. Gilmer appeared to tie the game with a 3-yd TD run by Wyatt Stokes, but the point after failed, leaving White County up 21-20. Nix found Gaines Clark for a 6-yd TD a couple minutes later to stretch the lead up to 28-20.

Aspen Hataway’s 17-yd TD though at the 4:34 mark again tied the contest, with a 2-point conversion to get the game to 28-28. Nix came up clutch with an 18-yd TD to Clark with 1:37 remaining to secure a playoff spot for the Warriors.