MARIETTA - Lassiter and Walton both needed to win Friday night, but for different reasons.

The Trojans wanted to secure a Class AAAAA state playoff spot, while the Raiders needed this to keep themselves in Region 6AAAAA contention after getting upset by Centennial last week.

The two teams played as if there was a lot at stake, but it was Lassiter which made the plays down the stretch. Two late touchdowns by Lassiter, plus a Rip Rowen interception secured a 42-28 victory and a state playoff berth for the Trojans at Raider Valley.

Ninth-ranked Lassiter (8-0, 7-0) will play at Centennial next week before finishing the regular season by hosting Roswell, which is also undefeated on the season. Walton (6-2, 5-2) fell to third in 6AAAAA after dropping two straight and will host Roswell next week before playing at Pope.

"We know we're in the playoffs now, but we're not sure if we're going to be guaranteed a home game or not," Lassiter coach Chip Lindsey said. "Everyone is excited about this, but it doesn't get easier next week though.

It looked as if Lassiter was going to pull away in the second quarter. Quarterback Hutson Mason, who passed for 347 yards and five touchdowns, threw two unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter to give the Trojans a 28-14 lead at the break.

After a record-setting game against Milton last week, Mason has passed for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns in his last two games.

Walton made halftime adjustments to Lassiter's aerial attack and made a game of it in the third quarter. The Raiders limited Mason's ability to find his receivers and the Trojans were held to just 19 yards in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Walton's offense took advantage with back-to-back scores to even things up at 28-all going into the final quarter. Andre Walkine, who led the Raiders with 64 yards on seven carries, got Walton back into the game in the third quarter on a 7-yard touchdown run.

Walton then tied it up with 1:55 remaining in the third when quarterback Joey Windler connected with Patrick Cosgrove for a 39-yard touchdown.

"We came out in the second half and put some heat on (Mason)," Walton coach Rocky Hidalgo said. "Our kids are tough and they're not going to quit. I just wish we held on to the football a little more, not make some errors and made some tackles.

With 6:01 remaining in the fourth quarter, Mason started making plays again. Starting on the Lassiter 24, it took just six plays for the Trojans to regain the lead. Mason threw a pair of 21-yard completions on the drive and scrambled for 18 yards to get a first down before finishing off with a 15-yard touchdown to Bo Shaw.

Windler, who finished with 102 yards and a touchdown, was picked off by Rowen on the first play of the ensuing drive. Lassiter finished its scoring with a 10-yard sweep by Griffin Roelle.

"Walton did great job in the third quarter," Lindsey said. "They made good adjustments, and we missed a couple plays here and there, but we did step up and make plays in the end. We had playmakers step up to make plays (Friday night), and that's why we were able to win."