HARTWELL — Everyone knows Abbeville can run the football. That’s a given.

But when they absolutely have to, the Panthers can pass, too — and do it well.

They proved it Friday night.

Abbeville controlled the ball with a punishing rushing attack, but its barely-used passing game made the difference in a 35-21 win at Hart County. Quarterback Jimmy Thackson threw only three times, but two big completions — both for touchdowns to tight end James Power — made the difference.

“They didn’t expect us to pass,” Thackson said. “They expected us to rush the ball a lot. We’re a rushing team.”

Abbeville improved to 2-0, while Hart County fell to 1-1.

Abbeville set the tone early with a bruising four-play, 56-yard scoring drive keyed by Jeffrey Ford’s 33-yard run and capped off by Dureal Elmore’s nine-yard scoring dash. The drive took just 57 seconds, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead less than three minutes in.

Following a Hart three-and-out, an Elmore fumble at his own 27 gave the Bulldogs excellent field position. They cashed in, as Keitius Harper blasted 17 yards untouched for the game-tying score with 6:19 left in the quarter.

Defensive and special teams mistakes helped Abbeville claim a seven-point halftime lead. Hart County quarterback Landon Beck threw while being pursued by several Panthers, and an Abbeville defensive back snagged it, giving the Panthers the ball at the Hart 19.

On the very next play, Thackson completed his only pass of the half — a 19-yard tip-drill ball hauled in by Power for a diving touchdown and 14-7 lead.

“Jimmy tells us, if he’s going to throw it up, keep focus on the ball,” Power said. “So I kept focus on the ball and it worked.”

Following a Hart three-and-out, several Bulldogs appeared to have punt returner Gavagio Enwright corralled at his own 30. But he backpedaled, then moved forward — fast. Nobody caught him, and Enwright wound up in the end zone with a 70-yard punt return score, giving the Bulldogs a 21-7 lead with 9:41 left in the half.

Hart went into the locker room on a high, however, thanks to a 19-play scoring drive capped off by Jermonte Hickman’s five-yard touchdown run with 24.6 seconds left. The drive chewed 7:38 off the clock, covered 70 plays and featured two fourth-down conversions, the second a five-yard pass from Beck to Josh Carey on fourth and 3 at the Abbeville 10.

Another Thackson-Power connection built what became an insurmountable Abbeville lead. The Panthers took the ball to open the second half and marched 82 yards, stripping over six minutes from the clock.

The key? On third and nine from the Hart 16, Power snuck behind the Bulldogs’ defense and hauled in an easy touchdown catch for a 27-14 advantage.

Power said the rare passes “caught (Hart) off guard, big time.”

“Coach called it at the right time,” Power said. “The coaches knew what they were going to do. The coaching staff got it right, all we had to do is execute. And we did.”

Of course, the Panthers’ ground game helped tremendously. Abbeville ran 51 times for 268 yards, led by Elmore’s 21 carries for 114 yards.

“We knew they had a great offensive team, we thought we could slow them down a little bit,” said Hart County coach Joby Scroggs. “We didn’t do much slowing them down. They were impressive.”