Whitwell squashed a furious fourth-quarter comeback by Grace Academy to secure a 56-34 homecoming win Friday night.
The Tigers improved to 3-3 and 2-0 in Region 3-1A to set up a showdown with South Pittsburg for the region title next week.
"That's a huge game for us," Whitwell coach Tracy Malone said. "They're coming here, and it's senior night."
First, though, the Tigers had to focus Friday on the task at hand: a Golden Eagles squad (3-3, 2-2) that put up 14 points in the first quarter and 20 in the fourth.
The teams traded blows in the first quarter, with both getting touchdowns through the air and on the ground. Grace's Jimmy Green nabbed a 49-yard touchdown pass from Jared Thompson on the opening drive, and Whitwell answered with Dawson Holloway's 6-yard strike to Hudson Petty.
The Tigers then got a 23-yard scoring run from Petty, who barreled over a defender on his way to the end zone. The Golden Eagles responded in three plays, capped by a 9-yard run for Cade Tinsley to make it 14-14 to end the quarter.
"We came out fast and hung with them for a while," Grace coach Bob Ateca said. "They were able to sub a lot of players in and out to stay fresh, and I think that wore on us."
The back-and-forth opening period gave way to a second quarter that belonged to Whitwell and running back Trace Condra. After starting with 10 yards on his first seven carries, the sophomore ended the half with 56 yards on nine attempts, boosted by a 49-yard scoring run to go along with two touchdowns from a yard out.
Whitwell led 35-14 at the break, and Condra picked up where he left off to start the third quarter, punching another one in from the 1-yard line.
"Steady," Malone said of Condra. "I was happy to see him and Hudson play so well. They really care about each other. They're on the sideline cheering each other on, and we got down to the goal line at the end and Trace said, 'I'll let Hudson take this one.' They're unselfish teammates."
Backup quarterback Warner Ashworth added a 10-yard run to make it 49-14, which started a running clock for a quick third quarter.
The Golden Eagles brought back some opening-quarter magic to slow the game again. Thompson's second touchdown pass of the night, this time to Noah Gray, started the scoring, and Tinsley picked it up from there.
Tinsley cut the deficit further with his second touchdown run from 5 yards out and then a pick-six to make it 49-34 with 6:20 to play. Tinsley finished with 157 yards on 15 carries.
"We talked about it pregame," Ateca said. "When the storm comes, you have to stand tall, and we did that tonight. Cade is a great player, and we have come to expect those things from him, so it's no surprise to us."
Petty was able to stop the Golden Eagles' momentum with a big drive for the Tigers. His 48-yard catch and run helped set up another first-down run before he went 2 yards to cap the scoring. Petty finished with 160 total yards, and Holloway threw for 246.
Grace Academy got 181 passing yards from Thompson, with Green hauling in 104 of them on eight catches.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com