BY JADEE O’STEEN
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
After two and a half weeks of fall camp, the Union County Tigers suited up and traveled north 29 miles to Baker County High School to face the Class 2S Wildcats in their preseason classic, with the varsity team outscoring last season’s Region 1-5A champions 17-7 before the junior varsity squad took the field to finish off the Wildcats by a final overall score of 34-20 on Aug. 19.
In just one half of varsity play, the Tigers’ offense controlled the line of scrimmage throughout. The offensive line seemed to be in midseason form, opening holes for senior Rayvon Durant. Durant, who had 1,457 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2021, finished with 77 yards on 17 carries.
Quarterback A.J. Cortese was 10 of 14 for 140 yards and two touchdowns, with both of those scoring tosses going to senior Daylyn Diston, who finished with 98 receiving yards.
The senior quarterback was satisfied with his team’s performance, especially offensively. Cortese claimed the Wildcats came out hot offensively, scoring within the first two minutes of play, but the Tigers responded well, going on to score twice before halftime.
Cortese showed excitement for the upcoming season and preached about the importance of unity within the team.
“If we just come together as a family — as one — and try to perfect the mental part of the game, I believe that we can go along way this season,” Cortese said.
Cortese, who has 781 passing yards and 18 touchdowns for his career, has been the star quarterback for the past two seasons and helped lead the team to the third round of the playoffs in 2021.
Andrew Thomas, who has been the head coach the past two seasons, stated, “All in all, I think we played well.” He claimed there were a few things that needed “cleaning up,” but that it was a good test for the Tigers to play a team as good as the Wildcats.
Overall, Thomas was especially thrilled with the performance of his team in this preseason setting on the road.
The varsity Tigers get the real season started on Friday, Aug. 26, opening on the road in Jacksonville against another quality opponent in University Christian. University Christian, which is in the newly created Class 1M (Metro) after playing in Class 2A, went 7-5 last season, going 1-1 in the playoffs.
University Christian has finished with a winning record the last 12 seasons, averaging nine wins each season during that span. The program won state championships in 2012, 2015 and 2016, while finishing as state runner-up in 2017 and 2020.
The JV Tigers, who outscored Baker County 17-13, host Buchholz on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m.
