MARIETTA - Walker took a big step on the road to respectability as the Wolverines upset Class A Cobb rival Whitefield Academy 26-21 in the season opener for both teams at Walker Stadium on Friday.

Walker survived a couple of big scoring plays by Whitefield Academy - a game-opening 83-yard kickoff return by Cameron Lemons and a 55-yard run off of a fumble recovery by Travis Harris - and scored twice in the fourth quarter to come from behind to get the upset win.

It was a significant win for a Walker program that is trying to get back on the winning track after suffering through back-to-back 2-8 seasons.

"This was a huge win for our program," Walker coach Ben Williamson said. "I'm especially proud of the way our kids kept coming back. We've been through some tough times with this team, but the kids have worked hard and they took a big step forward (Friday)."

Walker got its usual strong performance from running back Davis Feder, who rushed for 120 yards on 18 carries and led the way on defense as well.

The Wolverines also got a boost from freshman Evan Kasian, who rushed for 80 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns.

Walker appeared on the verge of taking the lead early in the fourth quarter when it drove the ball to the Whitefield 17.

Things turned around quickly, however, as Harris picked up a fumble from Feder and marched down the field 83 yards for a touchdown with 9:21 left in the game. Watson's extra-point kick gave Whitefield a 21-14 lead.

Walker had another chance to take the lead when Feder capped off an 11-play, 62-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 3:35 left to put the Wolverines within one.

However, a penalty set Walker back five yards on the extra point attempt and McKean proceeded to miss the kick to keep Whitefield ahead 21-20.

Whitefield was forced to punt on its next possession after being pinned back deep in its own territory.

Walker started its next series on the Wolfpack 23 with 1:55 left and took only four plays to score, with Kasian scoring on an 11-yard run with 35.5 seconds left to provide the margin of victory for the Wolverines.

"Our hats are off to the Walker School - they came to play (Friday)," Whitefield Academy coach Jimmy Fields said. "Early in the game, we had a great opportunity to pull away, but we couldn't capitalize. We're very disappointed, but we have to give the credit to Walker. Coach Williamson did a great job of coaching his kids."

It appeared to be Whitefield's night at the beginning when Lemons broke loose on the opening kickoff and raced down the field 80 yards for the score. Chace Watson kicked the extra point to give the Wolfpack a 7-0 lead.

Whitefield scored yet again on its next offensive series as quarterback Harrison Goudiss threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Forrest Parks and Watson added the extra point to increase the Wolfpack advantage to 14-0 with 7:00 remaining in the first quarter.

Feder broke open for a 56-yard run on the first play of Walker's next offensive series to take the ball from the Wolverine 30 to the Whitefield 34.

Kasian finished the drive with a 14 run to move the ball to the Walker 9 and then scored on a nine-yard run, with Jimmy McKean adding the extra point, to cut Whitefield's lead to 14-7 with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

Whitefield got an opportunity to pull away when Harrison Lowe intercepted a pass from Walker quarterback James Clements deep in Wolverine territory with 8:08 remaining in the first half and the Wolfpack proceeded to march the ball down to the Walker one.

That's as far as Whitefield would get, however, as the Wolfpack lost five yards on a delay of game penalty, then lost 10 more yards on a pass from Goudiss to Parks to move the ball back to the Walker 15 and fell short on a 25-yard field goal attempt by Watson with 3:47 left in the half.

Whitefield got the ball back soon after that when Chad Hurst intercepted a Clements pass and the Wolfpack once again took the ball deep into Walker territory, making it to the Wolverine 8 with 32.2 seconds left.

The Walker defense held firm again, however, as it forced four incomplete passes from Goudiss to give the Wolverines the ball back on downs with 13.1 seconds left in the half.

Walker got a big break when it recovered a fumble from Parks with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter and proceeded to score five plays later on a 2-yard run by Kasian with 4:28 left. An extra-point kick by McKean tied the game 14-14.