The Bearcats edged the Weddington High School Warriors, 34-29 Friday.

The Warriors drew first blood, scoring a touchdown with 4:46 left in the first quarter. Three minutes later they would score again, widening their lead to 14 points.

Brandon Ellerbe spearheaded the charge back, as he rushed for a 22-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left in the first quarter. Anson narrowed the lead to 14-7.

The Warriors kicked a field goal with 6:33 remaining in the second quarter to make it a 17-7 game.

A huge 76-yard pass to Drew Cole on the next drive brought the Bearcats even closer, but the point after touchdown failed. The score was 17-13. The score would remain the same going into the second half.

Anson capitalized on a Weddington fumble to capture the lead. Justin Teal scored at 8:21 in the third quarter. The score was 20-17.

Anson's defense turned up the heat and forced a quick punt. The Bearcats drove deep into enemy territory and Jordan Hildreth rushed for a touchdown with 1:43 left in the third quarter. The Bearcats had clawed their way to a 10-point lead.

Four minutes into the final quarter, Weddington kicked another field goal.

Ellerbe scored his second touchdown of the night with 4:43 to make it a 34-20 game. He finished the game with 109 rushing yards. Now Anson would just have to hold on.

Weddington's quarterback Anthony Boone attempted to carry the team on his back to victory. After lobbing the ball into Bearcat territory, the Warriors capped another drive with a touchdown, making it a one-possession game.

The Bearcats did everything possible to eat up the clock, forcing Weddington to use both of their timeouts. With seconds left in the game, Anson ran an intentional safety. After kicking off, the Bearcats used their last timeout.

Boone threw one last Hail Mary pass into the end zone, but his effort was futile.

Hildreth finished the game with 221 yards passing and a touchdown.

"The defense got a lift from getting Hayward Robinson back," head coach Luke Hyatt said in an e-mail. "He had 11 tackles in his first action since the season opener."

"[The] kids got down 14-0 early and fought back," he said. "Our kids take everyone's best shot every week and we find a way to come out on top."

The Bearcats will face Marvin Ridge High School Oct. 23.