WADESBORO — Big play after big play for the Anson High football team doomed Weddington High on Friday.

The Bearcats (6-2, 2-0 SCC) finished with five plays that covered at least 33 yards and rallied from an early deficit to record a 34-29 victory over the Warriors.

Weddington (4-4, 1-1 SCC) jumped out to an early 14-0 advantage on a pair of touchdown runs by senior quarterback Anthony Boone, but the lead didn’t last long.

On the ensuing possession following Boone’s second TD run, Anson junior tailback Brandon Ellerbe ripped off long back-to-back runs, including the last that covered 21 yards for a touchdown.

WHS then got a 40-yard field goal from Casey Lang to make it 17-7, but the Bearcats answered when quarterback Jordan Hildreth hit receiver Drew Cole on a screen pass that went 66 yards for the score.

The Warriors led 17-13 at the break, but Anson took the lead for good just four minutes into the third when junior linebacker Justin Teal recovered a fumble in the end zone.

Hildreth then scored on a sneak from inside the 2-yard line to give Anson a 27-17 advantage. The TD was set up by a 57-yard pass from Hildreth to senior receiver Jackie Polk earlier in the drive.

Hildreth finished 9-of-15 for 250 yards and a touchdown.

“They’re so explosive and they’ve got a lot of weapons offensively,” said WHS coach Justin Hardin. “They’ve beaten people all year by making big plays and they did it again tonight. Against a good football team, you just can’t give up big plays like that.”

After another Lang field goal, Ellerbe scored Anson’s final touchdown on a 4-yard plunge with 4:43 remaining in the fourth, making the score 34-20.

But the Warriors wouldn’t go away and cut the score in half on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Boone to junior Cody Haverland.

Then, facing a fourth down with the final seconds ticking away, Hildreth ran out of the back of the end zone for a safety, leaving just six seconds on the clock.

The Warriors had one last play from their own 45-yard line, but Boone’s heave at the end zone was intercepted at the goalline as time expired.

Boone finished with 123 passing yards and a TD along with his two rushing scores. He added 62 yards on 18 carries while sophomore tailback Connor Gorham ended with 11 attempts for 66 yards.

Ellerbe finished with 17 carries for a game-high 111 yards.

Weddington travels to Porter Ridge next Friday while Anson takes the road to Marvin Ridge.

“I told our guys we’re close,” said Hardin. “We’re still learning, but we’ve got to take this loss and get better from it. It’s an emotional loss and a tough one, but after we watch the film, it’s over and time to move on to Porter Ridge. Every week is a playoff week in this conference right now, and we need a couple more wins to make sure we get in the playoffs.”