BULLARD — Wanna talk about saving the best for last.

The Athens Hornets drove 64 yards for a touchdown in the final two minutes Friday night to pull out a 41-40 win over the Bullard Panthers in a thrill-a-minute District 14-AAA opener.

Hornet quarterback Chase Knighton hit Negale Miller for a 14-yard touchdown pass on the last play of the game to tie the score. That put the pressure on senior kicker Nate Gates to provide the winning point and avoid overtime.

No problem.

Gates put his foot to the ball and sent it through the uprights to put the Hornets into the win column to get the district race off to a positive start.

The Hornets’ game-winning drive covered 64 yards after the defense had stopped Bullard on fourth-and-10 at the AHS 36. With no timeouts, Knighton and the Hornets worked the clock to perfection and drove to the Bullard 14, where the game reached its conclusion after the Panthers used back-to-back timeouts.

Bullard went up 34-16 midway through the third quarter on a pair of Charlie Moore touchdown runs (10 and 19 yards). Moore finished with four touchdown and ran for 130 yards.

But the Hornets weren’t dead in the water. There was no quit in them.

The comeback began with a 10-yard scoring pass from Knighton to Negale Miller. It was boosted along by a 32-yard Gates field goal to trim the Bullard lead to 34-26.

Bullard put together a 62-yard drive that ended with Geoff Dick scoring from 10 yards out. The extra point failed, leaving the Panthers up 40-26 with 8:46 left in the game.

Dexter Warfield broke a couple of tackles and scooted into the end zone from 16 yards out for AHS with 4:31 left. The Hornets went for two points and were successful with Dhe’Ryan Jackson taking a Knighton handoff and hitting Miller in the end zone. That brought the Hornets within six, 40-34.

The stage was then set for the frantic finish.

The Hornets took the initial lead midway through the opening period on a seven-yard pass from Knighton to Miller, capping a 41-yard drive. Gates split the uprights with the PAT for a 7-0 lead.

Bullard answered before the end of the quarter. Charlie Moore passed 17 yards to Chad Hollie for the touchdown. Moore’s PAT made it 7-7 with 26 second remaining in the quarter.

AHS was on the move on its next possession, but David Howard picked off a Knighton pass and returned it 20 yards to the Bullard 46. From there, the Panthers covered the distance, getting a 24-yard run by Dick to set up a one-yard Moore run for a touchdown. Moore also kicked the extra point for a 14-7 lead at the 5:33 mark.

The Panthers didn’t keep the lead long. AHS responded with a 62-yard drive, keyed by a 48-yard pass from Phillip Griffin to Miller to give the Hornets life on the Bullard 14. Warfield ran the ball in from the one for the score and with Gates’ PAT the score was tied at 14-14 at the 3:49 mark.

Bullard wasn’t phased by the AHS scoring march. The Panthers answered, scoring on a four-yard pass from Lance Anding to Howard. The extra point attempt became points for the Hornets when it was blocked and scooped up by Anthony Crayton and returned 85 yards for two points.

Knighton was intercepted twice in the first half and Griffin recovered a Bullard fumble. He got the last laugh, though, completing 22-of-32 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns.

AHS raised its record to 3-3 with the win. Bullard saw a four-game winning streak halted and fell to 4-2.

The Hornets go to Canton next week.