There was no shortage of offense Thursday night at Rip Swanner Stadium.

In the end, though, Tanner — as it has for much of the season — made key plays when it mattered most.

The Rattlers stayed within striking distance during their first-round game against Lamar County before using a strong fourth-quarter performance to surge ahead and outlast the Bulldogs 64-55 in the Class 2A playoffs.

Coach Oscar Bonds’ squad trailed 34-20 at halftime and 49-35 late in the third quarter before outscoring the road team 29-6 over the final 12:11 of the game.

“It was a good playoff atmosphere,” Bonds said. “I was proud of the guys for fighting until the end and never giving up.”

Trailing by two scores, the Rattlers (8-3) netted two touchdowns in a span of 45 seconds to go ahead 50-49 at the 11:26 mark of the final quarter. That second score was set up by a fumble recovery. Another defensive stop and TD shortly afterward made it 57-49 before the Bulldogs trimmed their deficit to 57-55 with 8:45 remaining.

But Tanner’s offense couldn’t be stopped.

The home team found the end zone once again with 3:55 left — the final touchdown of the night capped a 44-point performance in the second half — and then slammed the door on the Bulldogs (8-3) afterward to seal the win.

“It was huge to get that turnover,” Bonds said. “But I was more impressed that we stopped them that next drive and was able to go up by eight. They scored again to cut it to two, but that last touchdown was the backbreaker. I just attribute that to our conditioning. We were able to finish off the game strong.”

Quarterback Karl Parham completed 18 of 28 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He also added 170 yards and a score on 14 carries.

Tailan Hall (17 carries, 160 yards and four touchdowns) and Skylar Townsend (seven catches for 146 yards and three touchdowns) also provided stellar offensive contributions for a unit that rolled up 624 total yards.

Darrell Howard, meanwhile, racked up 10 tackles at nose guard.

The Rattlers will now head to the second round for the second time in three years. Awaiting them is No. 5 Pisgah.