ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. – Don’t be confused by the 68-60 final score, it’s still football season at Southampton Academy.

The Raiders defeated Colonial Carolina Conference foe Halifax (N.C.) Academy in the final seconds of Friday night’s road game to improve to 6-1 on the year.

With 7 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 60, SA quarterback Wesley Barnes threw a lateral pass to Tonee Hill who then connected with Matt Nixon for a 45-yard touchdown pass. Thomas Taylor converted the two-point play to put the Raiders up eight.

Matt Rose and Todd Thorpe combined on a sack of Halifas quarterback Josh Thaxton on the last play of the game to seal the victory.

“We were getting ready for overtime,” SA Coach Dale Marks said of the Raiders’ final play of the game, a Hail Mary double pass. “These are plays we practice each week, but we never really have to run them.”

Marks said the back-and-forth shootout was an important game for the team, which is in a probationary period due to late entry into the CCC and is not eligible for the playoffs this year.

“We knew we were facing two good teams on the road the last two weeks of the season,” Marks said. “These last two are our playoff games.”

For the game, Hill had 18 rushes for 228 yards and three touchdowns, while Barnes ran seven times for 88 yards. Taylor rushed nine times for 54 yards. Hill also caught a touchdown pass and threw for one as well. Nixon had four catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.

The Raiders travel to Cary, N.C. Friday, Oct. 21 to take on Cary Christian at 3 p.m.