HOMER — East Hall has figured out how to win at the right time of the season, and that continued Friday night with a 35-27 victory at Banks County to close out the regular season.

Austin Parker passed for 238 yards and three touchdowns as the Vikings came back from a 13-7 halftime deficit. East Hall will take a five-game winning streak into playoffs as it hosts Sonoraville next week in the Class AAA state playoffs.

“We’re growing up,” East Hall coach Bryan Gray said. “All our babies, all our sophomores are starting to mature and play well. Our senior leadership is really taking over. We’re as loose and relaxed as any team could be and just go play and have fun and see what happens.”

East Hall (6-4, 5-1 7-AAA) had already locked up the region’s No. 2 playoff seed no matter what happened Friday, but the Vikings no doubt wanted to continue their momentum heading into next week. Sonoraville (7-3) is the No. 3 seed out of Region 6, but Gray considers the Phoenix more like a No. 1 seed.

Jacquen Hopkins was on the receiving end of two of Parker’s touchdown passes and finished with seven catches and 131 yards. Jiel Vargas added 121 yards on the ground and scored twice in the second half as East Hall took command of the game. Tripp Rider also caught a second-half touchdown pass from Parker.

Trevae Cain rushed for 192 yards for Banks County but did most of his damage in the first half. The senior scored in the first and second quarters to give Banks County the early lead, but East Hall held the Leopards’ offense off the scoreboard in the second half. Banks County was able to keep up with the Vikings only by way of two kickoff return touchdowns on a mushy field.

“We finally got going in the second half and we were able to get some big plays,” Gray said. “We persevered and finally our defense settled down. It seems like every week it’s always the second half we settle down. We did tonight and we were able to slow down Cain, but he’s a tremendous back.

“I’m proud of the kids the way they fought. There was no quit in us.”

Banks County had one last opportunity when it forced East Hall to punt with 1:46 remaining. The punt was downed at the 7, and the Leopards were able to advance only to the 21 before turning it over on downs.

“We just couldn’t get it clicking offensively in the second half and that happens in football,” Banks County coach Biff Parson said. “Our defense rose to the occasion and got some stops and got the ball back to our offense. Even with two minutes left in the game, we still had a chance.”

Zezmon Steeple returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, pulling Banks County into a 21-21 tie midway through the third quarter. With less than a minute left in the third, Logan Hubbard found an opening down the right sideline for an 82-yard kickoff return touchdown, but the Leopards missed the extra point and trailed 28-27.

After East Hall took a 35-27 lead on Vargas’ 14-yard TD run early in the fourth, the Vikings tried an onside kick and succeeded with a recovery.

“After watching two extremely talented kick returners take it back 90 yards, I said we might as well try it because I’d rather give it back on the 50 then watch them go back another time,” Gray said.

Banks County (5-5, 2-4) needed a win and help elsewhere in the region to qualify for the playoffs.

“The program is moving the right direction,” Parson said. “We’ve been 5-5 the last two years and so it’s time to try to knock that next mountain down.”